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Archive for May, 2006
Making Your Own Baby Food
The first 4 or 5 months are simple, babies only need formula or breastmilk and they’re as happy as can be. Then it’s time to introduce solid foods. It can be a big decision. Is it hard to make baby food? How bad is the jar food? Will my baby develop bad habits depending on what he eats (or doesn’t eat) first?
Although it sometimes seems like there’s never enough time to do anything these days, the article below explains how important early nutrition is, and also how making healthy food for your baby is not all that hard or time consuming. Of course, I always keep a couple of jars on hand, just in case.
A Fresh Start to Healthy Eating
Introducing solid foods is a very important step in your baby’s development and well-being. In fact, studies show that babies who are fed nutritious, healthy diets grow into stronger kids and better-adjusted eaters than those who are fed poor diets.
Many parents don’t realize that making baby food at home is a simple and economical plan to provide your baby with the best in quality, nutrition and taste. It makes it easy for you to ensure your child gets the best start possible. Making baby food using fresh, all-natural ingredients has many benefits, including:
* Increased nutritional value
* Elimination of additives
* Improved freshness
* Added variety
* Enhanced control
* Lower costs
Parents and Sports
Being a huge sports fan myself, I do get a little nervous thinking about how I will react while watching my kid play sports. These days parents see their children as the athlete they never were. I did have great role models though, my parents were nothing but supportive as they sat through every gymnastics meet, softball game and volleyball game.
Below is a much more “scientific” article on how some overly enthusiastic behavior can actually have a negative effect on children. I will always believe that sports are a very important part of growing up, they teach teamwork, perserverence and hopefully how to lose gracefully. Let’s just hope that parents do their part to make sure the sporting experience is a positive one for their kids.
FRIDAY, May 19 (HealthDay News) — Enthusiastic parents who line the bleachers or sidelines at youth sporting events are critical to their children’s development.
Unfortunately, not all of them are critical in a good way, according to a new survey.
“Parents who are more active tend to have kids who are more active,” said study author Daniel Gould, director of the Institute for the Study of Youth Sports at Michigan State University. “At the same time, it’s really easy to fall into the trap of focusing only on winning.”
A Mother’s Touch
With Mother’s Day just passed, we find an interesting story that’s still timely.
Be grateful to your mom. Not only did she carry you around for nine months, but now new research suggests that her mothering style may have triggered genes that help determine your parenting style.
Like Mother, Like Daughter
New research reveals that a mother’s touch early in life could trigger a child’s future mothering skills. Columbia University neurobiologist Frances Champagne says that previous research across species showed that maternal behaviors are passed down from mother to daughter.
ScienCentral News has the story.
Can Diabetes Be Prevented?
As a parent, you want to protect your child from everything, which is virtually impossible, of course. But can you prevent your child from getting diabetes?
A Word of Pride
This is a touching story with a strong message.
It was one of those unexpected moments in parenting when you are able to break through and possibly make a lasting difference in the life of one of your children. It seems moments like these just happen—they are never planned or expected but occur when circumstances suddenly align.
I was installing a motion detector light on the front of our house. My 9-year-old daughter was standing beside the ladder watching. Occasionally, she would hand me a tool or ask a question. No big deal, really. Then I realized I needed to run to the hardware store to buy an electric box. They cost less than a dollar, but I didn’t have one and had no choice but to drive around the loop to get it.
That’s when it happened. Savannah wanted to ride with me. So we hopped into my truck and began our quest. The good thing about a trip like this is there is time for conversation. No one is in a big hurry or fretting about the trip. It’s a great chance to talk and listen, so that’s what we did.
Resource: Dads & Daughters
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Fun Baby Facts!
Here are some facts you probably didn’t know about babies being born in the US. Check them out, and see how your baby(ies) stack up!
When and where babies arrive
Super Tuesday: The most popular day for babies to make their entrances? It’s still Tuesday, which boasted more than 13,000 births on average in 2003. That’s about 16 percent more babies than on any other day of the week. Saturday is the slowest day, with an average of about 7,500 births (in part because doctors don’t schedule c-sections and inductions on weekends).
Some (babies) like it hot:
More newborns arrive in the late summer/early fall months of July, August, and September than any other time of the year. Paul Sutton, a demographer for the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, says it makes sense if you think about what happens nine months earlier in most of the country — the weather gets colder and people spend more time indoors with their sweeties. Also, some people plan births to coincide with summer vacations, especially teachers and other folks who get summers off. February had the fewest birthdays in 2003: about 307,000.
Mmmm…Magnolia Cupcakes
I sometimes consider myself a real cupcake “snob”. Growing up on only home made treats as a kid, I find it tough to even like most bakery cupcakes. That was until I went to NYC and tried cupcakes by Magnolia Bakery — never dry and they have lots of (well my favorite) buttercream frosting!
A copy of their recipe is below (and here’s the link, since they look so pretty in the photo). I have one of the Magnolia cookbooks and have made the cupcakes about 4 or 5 times now.
If you follow the recipe exactly, they come out wonderful!! Disclaimer: I have to admit that it’s temptingly dangerous to have them around — in fact, I’m waiting for my daughter’s first birthday in August to have an excuse to make them again. Not that excuses are needed.
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Everyone is always asking us which is the most popular cupcake at the bakery. Most people are surprised that it is what we call the vanilla vanilla - the vanilla cupcake with the vanilla icing (and the most popular color for the icing is pink). Makes about 2 dozen cupcakes (depending on the size of your cupcake papers and muffin tins) Read more »
Help Your Child Get Organized
(via KidsHealth.org)
Any kid worth his or her salt will generate a little chaos and disorganization. Yours might tear through the house leaving a trail of toys, backpacks, shoes, and empty drink cups. Or flit from one thing to the next - forgetting books at school, leaving towels on the floor, and failing to finish projects once started. You’d like your child to be more organized and to stay focused on tasks, such as homework. Is it possible?
Yes, it is. A few kids seem naturally organized, but for the rest of them, organization is a skill learned over time. Does your child seem especially resistant to living in an orderly way? With your help and some practice, your child can develop an effective approach to getting stuff done. And you are the perfect person to teach your child, even if you don’t feel all that organized yourself!
Easy as 1-2-3
For kids, all tasks can be broken down into a 1-2-3 process.
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1. Getting organized means a kid gets where he or she needs to be and gathers the supplies needed to complete the task.
2. Staying focused means sticking with the task and learning to say “no” to distractions.
3. Getting it done means finishing up, checking your work, and putting on the finishing touches, like remembering to put a homework paper in the right folder and putting the folder inside the backpack so it’s ready for the next day.
MacLaren Triumph Stroller
After a couple of weeks of disappointing bidding on eBay (yes, I’m a stingy shopper) 
, I finally won the bid for a Maclaren Triumph. The stroller arrived on Friday, and true to my personality, I ripped open the box when I got home. No assembly required and looks good.
We took it for a stroll this afternoon and WOW! How exciting to have such a lightweight maneuverable stroller. What a joy to cruise through the aisles at Safeway — with one hand!!!
I believe it weighs about 11 pounds, but feels very sturdy and turns on a dime. After doing a lot of research and narrowing it down to a few choices, I can say this is one time where making a decision based on color & style (because it’s not the cheapest) actually produced a great result! I strongly recommend this stroller.
(BabyUniverse.com has a detailed product review)
Men Aren’t From Mars?
LiveScience.com reports:
Men and women are actually from the same planet, but scientists now have the first strong evidence that the emotional wiring of the sexes is fundamentally different. [READ MORE]
Any married couples surprised by this?
Kids & Exercise
In theory, it should be easy for kids to get plenty of excercise- with all of that boundless energy, they never sit still! Yet, childhood obesity is at an alarming rate in the United States.
Video games, TV and the increased pressures to excell academically all add to this problem. Sometimes we forget to let our kids get out and just “run around”.
Below is an interesting article on why excericise is important and essential to a healthy childhood.
When most adults think about exercise, they imagine working out in the gym on a treadmill or lifting weights. But for children, exercise means playing and being physically active. Kids exercise when they have gym class at school, soccer practice, or dance class. They’re also exercising when they’re at recess, riding bikes, or playing tag.
The Many Benefits of Exercise
Everyone can benefit from regular exercise. A child who is active will:
* have stronger muscles and bones
* have a leaner body because exercise helps control body fat
* be less likely to become overweight
* decrease the risk of developing type 2 diabetes
* possibly lower blood pressure and blood cholesterol levels
* have a better outlook on lifeIn addition to the health benefits of regular exercise, kids who are physically fit sleep better and are better able to handle the physical and emotional challenges that a typical day presents - be that running to catch a bus, bending down to tie a shoe, or studying for a test.