Parenting Journals

Category: Diet

  • Sugar Overload: Do You Know How Much Sugar Your Kids Are REALLY Consuming?

    Sugar and spice and everything nice. Isn’t that how the saying goes? We associate sugar with all that is good. We call people and actions sweet. We reward our children with sugary snacks when they do well. Who else remembers focusing on the lollipop prize for sitting still at the barber or being good at […]

  • Diabetes On the Rise: How to Minimize Your Kids Risk

    When we discuss type 2 diabetes we often picture older adults struggling with declining health and “later-life issues”. This narrative never really transferred over to kids in the past in the manner it does now. The common understanding was that children develop type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes was reserved for adults. However, today’s […]

  • Are Organic Snacks REALLY Healthy?

    As parents, we want the best for our children – and that includes stocking the fridge and the pantry with the right meals and snacks. However, as functioning adults in the 21st century, we also know that there is barely enough time between work and life demands to create every meal from scratch. So, what […]

  • Making Healthy Foods Fun for Kids

    By Jamell Andrews Most children will take a processed snack pack or treat over fruits and veggies any day, but with childhood obesity becoming an epidemic, finding ways to make healthy foods more appealing is more important than ever. Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the last 30 […]

  • 5 Ways to Keep Your Children Healthy — Naturally!

    It’s good to know that in our day and age, medical knowledge and the ability to obtain information have increased so vastly, compared to even just a few decades ago. But even now, prevention is a fundamentally important way to maintain our health and that of our children, so that we won’t need medical interventions […]

  • Overweight Teens’ Life Expectancies Not Increasing?

    It’s common knowledge that people’s life expectancies in developed countries have increased in the last 50 years, as science has uncovered new ways to prevent, treat and cure illnesses. But a study has found that people who were obese or overweight as teenagers are not living longer than similar people did five-plus decades ago. The […]

  • Cheerios Cereal Will no Longer Have GMO’s … but that Still Leaves the Toxic Chemicals!

    In January, 2014, General Mills foods announced that it would no longer use genetically modified organisms (GMO’S) to make its original cereal, Cheerios. While Cheerios has never contained GMO oats, the company will now use non-GMO cane sugar, instead of GM beet sugar. Growing numbers of consumers and advocacy groups are raising concerns about the […]

  • Today’s Children Are Less Fit than Their Parents: Study

    A review of global studies measuring fitness levels among children found that today’s kids have become progressively less fit than children from the last previous decades. The studies, which examined the fitness levels of 25 million youths, found that modern kids can’t run as fast or as far as kids from as recently as a […]

  • Keeping Your Kids’ School Lunches and Game-Time Snacks Safe from Bacteria

    You are a mom who understands that we are what we eat; you want to be sure that your children eat healthy, fresh, wholesome foods. Because these foods do not have toxic, artificial preservatives or non-nutritious fillers in them, you know that many of them spoil much faster. A tummy ache, or worse, can happen […]

  • Getting Your Child Off to a Good Start with a Good Breakfast!

    Before we knew it, summertime was over, and it was time for our kids to go back to school. We may no longer be able to fix elaborate breakfasts before the kids rush to school; but there are certainly plenty of breakfast choices that are healthy, tasty, and easy to prepare. We all know by […]

  • Before You Give Your Child Stimulants for ADHD, Try Some Dietary Changes

    The American Psychiatric Association estimates that between 3 and 7 percent of American children suffer from attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, ADHD, though some studies show even higher rates. ADHD diagnoses have increased by an astounding 66 percent since 2000. Many children now take prescription drugs, chiefly stimulants, to combat the symptoms of ADHD — hyperactivity, impulsivity, […]

  • Helping Your Child Lose Weight

    Because we love our children unconditionally, it is very easy for parents to become blind to any physical problems their kids may have. When a child becomes overweight, parents tend to think he or she is just a little plump or that it is just a passing phase that will end at the next growth […]

  • My Teenager Has Acne, How Can I Help?

    Acne can inflict the young and the old but is most common during our teenage years. The acne that teenagers suffer from is called acne vulgaris and is triggered by puberty’s reproductive hormones surging through their bodies. These raging hormones make the sebaceous glands enlarge and increase the production of sebum. The pores produce a […]

  • Should Kids Be Allowed to Have Caffeine?

    Many parents have strange approaches to giving their kids caffeine. On one hand, we do not think of coffee and even tea as being appropriate beverages for young children, yet on the other hand, many parents allow their children to drink soft drinks practically to their hearts’ content. And while soft drinks are lower in […]

  • How to Get a Child Off the Couch and Active

    By Jamell Andrews Getting kids away from their TVs, computers, and gadgets is one of the greatest challenges today’s parents face, and it is not getting any easier. Many parents understandably want their kids to be up to date with all the modern technology, but for every gadget and game our children gain, something is […]

  • Avoiding Sugary Cereals

    When I was little, every Sunday, my mom used to drive my brother and I to my grandmother’s house, where she would take us to church. After church, we always stopped by the local grocery store and somehow, someway, my brother and I would finagle our way into each getting a box of cereal. And […]

  • Getting Kids to Eat Healthy Foods

    By Lisa Pecos According to the USDA, kids between the ages of 9 and 13 require at least six servings of fruits and vegetables per day, with each serving being either a half cup of fresh, frozen, or canned vegetables or a medium-sized fruit. Kids between 4 and 8 need about five servings per day, […]

  • Packaged Fruit–Does it Count as a Serving?

    I try to keep fresh fruit on hand at all times, but I’m lucky–my kids love it and they eat right through it. Here today, gone tomorrow–that’s our fruit bowl. So, on the days when there isn’t anything fresh to pack in the lunches, I reach into the cupboard for eating fresh fruit at all. […]

  • Flavored Milk–Do You Use It?

    I have a 21 month old daughter that isn’t milk’s biggest fan. She’ll drink a little bit, but not nearly enough to get her day’s worth of calcium in. So one morning, I thought I’d give her some chocolate milk to see what would happen. She didn’t drink it–she guzzled it! Ever since, it’s chocolate […]

  • Understanding and Fighting Childhood Obesity

    Over the past 30 years, childhood obesity has been steadily on the rise among children aged 6 to 19. In children between the ages of 2 and 5, about 14% of them are now classified as being overweight. Approximately 20% of kids aged 6 to 11 are overweight and 19% of kids between the ages […]

  • Getting your Kids to Eat Healthy Foods

    By Jamell Andrews Parents often have meal time battles with their children. The kids decide that they do not like what you are serving them, or they just decide that they would rather have something else. Whatever the reason, one of the worst things you can do as a parent is give in to your […]

  • Soy and Health Issues in Children

    Many people have turned to soy alternatives in the belief that these foods and beverages are healthier for their children. However, consistent research over the past several years has indicated that soy products may ultimately cause more harm than good.

  • The Declining Quality of Children’s Diets and What to do About It

    According to the USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, children between the ages of two and nine have diets that are less than desirable. This is an extremely important issue because poor eating habits that start early in life are likely to continue into adulthood, resulting in a host of health problems that might […]

  • PARENTS AS TEACHERS TRAINING PROGRAM PROVIDES A RECIPE FOR SUCCESS IN FIGHT AGAINST CHILDHOOD OBESITY

    ‘High 5 for Kids’ Offers Professionals Tools to Help Improve Eating and Fitness Habits of Preschoolers By Maya Lunnemann ST. LOUIS (June 26, 2008) – Despite a reduction in childhood obesity rates recently, early childhood professionals continue to reinforce awareness among parents about their role in encouraging nutrition and fitness of their young children. Parents […]