According to the Ottawa Citizen which is a newspaper published in Canada there is a movement afoot to ban the advertising of junk foods in order to reduce obesity in the “under thirteen” group of children.
This was motivated by a study done by a progressive kid’s doctor named Dr. McKeown who is the chief medical officer of health in Toronto, Ontario. This doctor is saying that kid’s eating patterns influence how and what they eat as an adult and this has a life long consequence in terms of their health. No kidding! The kid that eats pizza in front of the television now is probably still going to be in the habit of doing that when they are thirty-five.
So the idea is that you have to get your children eating healthy now, which is something that I wholeheartedly agree with. It is why I cook so much with my children now. I am trying to teach them healthy eating habits they can take with them for the rest of their life. By teaching them how to cut carrots, make muffins and create other healthy foods I am also teaching them how to stay healthy and live a long life (as well as how to not spend a mint on food.)
Dr. McKeown is like the Michael Moore of kid’s food and his banning of junk food is an idea that is way ahead of its time. It is probably not going to happen but this doctor is going to try to get rid of unhealthy foods that are marketed to kids in Canada.
The doctor’s attempts to lobby the Canadian government seem to be scaring the junk food companies as quite recently sixteen of Canada’s largest candy, fast-food and soft-drink companies promised not to advertise directly to children under 12, or to market only healthy snacks (like milk) to them. This is at least a start. I would think that banning junk foods and instant foods in cafeterias would also be the next logical step.
I for one thing think that this is a great idea as I am sick of seeing kids falling for the idea that certain foods are healthy when really they are not. There are lots of foods out there being marketed as being nutritious when really they are quite unhealthy. For instance many of the drinks out there that are called a good source of Vitamin C are actually full of sugar. The same goes for many different types of cereals. I am half expecting to see a commercial soon that goes – “Ice cream- A good source of calcium!” Or how about “Coca-Cola – a natural source of real cane sugar!”
Banning the advertising of junk food certainly would be a start. This measure would also make my kids less demanding every time we go to the grocery store. Currently they are always asking for foods that are just not that good for them.
According to a show I watched on ABC ( the Dish Network) recently about cooking with your kids there is a lot more to it than just teaching them a life skill that they can use the rest of their lives. There are also many other benefits.
Learning to cook with me could increase a kid’s vocabulary in general. They learn more exotic terms like baste or agitate or steam. They also learn a fair amount of math especially when it comes to using the measuring cups and measuring spoons. Studies have been done at Harvard that also prove that parents that who have a little bit of dinner conversation with their children tend to raise kids who are smarter and have larger vocabularies.
Letting your kid cook with you makes he or she feel trusted and like you know that they can achieve great things. Cooking is confidence building. They feel the sense of accomplishment and feel like they are contributing to the family. Furthermore it is a chance during a very busy day to spend quality time with your kids. It is important to view them as help in the kitchen and not as a liability so this can work. Remember it is key to teach your kid the value of teamwork and the joys of giving and sharing.
By doing this and sitting down together for a meal you train your kids not to eat in front of the television. Kids that don’t eat in front of the boob tube have more respect for their bodies, as they are more aware of what they are putting into it.
Another good aspect is that if you make an agreement with yourself to cook with your kids more you will find yourself spending less time with them in restaurants. Making your own junk food is also cheaper and economical.
Nutritionally eating and cooking with your kids is also superior, as you are not generally eating junk food while you are cooking. Usually home cooked meals are low in calories and fat. By feeding them at home you are also teaching your kid to have a discerning food palate and crave more than one kind of food. They also become more manually dexterous and are more likely to be able to be trusted with a cooking implement like a knife when you are not around as they have had some practice using it.
Educationally kids can use organizational and creative talents while cooking. Decorating a cake or making a pizza usually involves a bit of a visual sense or the food will look unattractive. Kids also become more sensual as adults as they learn an appreciation and respect for food through its sounds, smells, tastes and textures.
I am always looking for good things for my toddlers to eat and I did find this great cookbook called The Toddler Café which was written by a mom like me for moms like me to try and get the kids to eat. The treasure triangle recipe works well as kids can help and also it has that novelty appeal like a Pizza Pocket or Pop Tart. Only this recipe is high in protein and very nourishing. It contains beans and bananas so the potassium level is high as well. Best of all they are delicious and my kids love them.
All treasure triangles really end up being are puff pastry with fillings inside. The kids can help by brushing egg white on the dough. If you explain to them that the better they do this the shinier the triangle will be they are happy to do it.
One thing about a treasure triangle is that you can put anything it and a kid will eat it even if the kid won’t eat the food “naked” on his or her plate. So they are a great way to sneak some nutrition into the diet.
To make Treasure Triangles you need two tablespoons butter, two bananas sliced in rounds, a can of black beans and some diced onion. You will also need egg wash, frozen puff pastry and some cheddar cheese.
First you sauté the bananas in butter in a flying pan and then move them to a bowl. You do the same thing with onions, which you also add to the bananas. You then add a can of beans to that and you season it with salt. Mash this entire flat with a potato masher or use the back of a fork.
You can then preheat the oven to 425 and begin to unfold the pastry sheets on a floured cutting board. You can put one tablespoon of cheese in the center of each square and then put one tablespoon of the red bean, onion and banana filling inside. You then fold up the dough just like it was a nappy and arrange the triangles on a baking sheet. Bake them until they are puffed up and golden brown which usually takes about twenty minutes.
If you put the raw dough triangles for five minutes before folding the filling up in them you will get a Triangle that is shaped a little nicer.
Although the banana and red bean combination sounds odd it actually isn’t. It is very flavorful and it is a great way to sneak some protein into your kid’s diet. It is also a very soft food so it is good to serve teething types as well as older types who may be missing teeth.
You can also experiment with other fillings as well. I had some success with applesauce and yams together inside the pastry as well.
Is your kid’s bedwetting caused by ADD? As many children with ADD do suffer from sleep disorders, it is common for them to suffer from bed-wetting, also known as enurosis. Some of them sleep very deeply and may have difficulty waking up to go to the bathroom when their bladder is full. As most children with ADHD have difficulty with discipline and organization in the first place they may be less responsive to behavioral interventions. Disciplining an ADD bedwetter may make him wet the bed more which is definitely the case with my bedwetting nine year old.
Children who suffer from ADD, feel ashamed for many reasons in the first place so you should never shame them more by striking them or being harsh with them. Bedwetters and especially ADD bedwetters can’t control themselves at all. This is the result of constant criticism and rejection from their peers. Some of them just may accept the bed-wetting as one more thing in their life that cannot be changed or controlled and not make the effort to change the situation.
Bedwetting is thought to be more common in boys than girls. At age five bedwetting affects 7% of boys and 3% of girls. By age ten, it affects 3% of boys and 2% of girls. By adolescence, 1% of ADD sufferers still suffer from bed-wetting
Doctors do not know an exact cause of nighttime bedwetting (also called enuresis) in ADD afflicted children, except that the area of the brain that controls impulses seems to be under active.
Enuresis may occur on its own in normal and ADD afflicted children because of slow neurological development, a small bladder and a tendency to produce too much urine at night. It has also been attributed to anxiety, a sudden change in routine and emotional trauma. Kids that have been shocked in some way bed wet more. Kids that move to a new school will also wet the bed. Even seeing a scary movie can cause it.
Before you jump to conclusions you should realize this first. A very small percentage of children might experience bed-wetting as the result of such physical problems as bladder infections, kidney infections, chronic nephritis, diabetes mellitus, lower spinal cord problems and congenital malformations of the urinary tract. Bedwetting is also associated with enlarged tonsils or adenoids. Get your kid checked out by a good doctor if you suspect it has a physical cause.
If your kid is a bedwetter get some help or medication for him or her. This can last into adult hood for whatever reason and cause your child years of humiliation. Make sure there is not something you can do for some of her to treat this type of symptom, which may or may not be a sign that your kid has ADD. Sadly, adults with ADD will wet the bed their entire life and there is very little they can do about it as they have no control over the part of the brain that controls urges.
