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paid sick leave

Four out of ten workers do not have paid sick leave. This unique phenomenon has a great impact on public health. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has identified paid sick leave as one of the three most important ways to reduce the spread of illness in the community along with handwashing and proper food handling. Paid time off from work allows a person to seek medical care, recover from an injury or illness faster, and care for a sick child or adult family member without jeopardizing the family’s financial security.

Paid sick leave promotes better public health by eliminating the spread of disease when sick workers are at work. They are clearly less productive, make more mistakes and are unable to maintain high quality services. Research shows that the disease is frequently spread by workplace contact from worker to worker in all industries. This is particularly poignant in service industries, particularly food services, where both workers and customers are at risk. One in six Americans gets food-related illnesses resulting in 125,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths each year. At least 20% of these cases can be traced back to a sick food worker.

Most people who don’t get paid sick leave work part-time or lower-paying jobs that don’t provide benefits. The short-term economic impact of time lost from work causes people to go to work when they are sick. They cannot afford to care for a sick child or take them to a health care provider. Children are more likely to come to school sick, leading to additional negative impacts on the health of the community. There is an economic and social impact on family income, children’s education and school performance. The CDC recommends keeping children home for 24 hours after their fever subsides to limit the spread of illness and allow adequate time for recovery. Research confirms that sick children get better faster with a parent present. Adults recover faster when they can access medical care and get adequate rest. Return to work in less time and more productive lives are the dividends.

Paid sick leave changes the dynamic in important ways. Promotes public health by slowing the spread of disease by keeping workers and businesses healthy. The return on investment by any metric is a positive economic and social benefit that far outweighs the alternative. Three municipalities have passed mandatory sick leave standards, including San Francisco, Milwaukee and the District of Columbia. After several years of experience with minimum sick leave standards, two-thirds of employers support them and tens of thousands of workers have benefited. Job growth has been enhanced in these same markets by implementing these benefit standards. National data shows that workers who have a sick leave benefit gain an average of 9 days a year, but only use it 2-3 days a year. The fear that the abuse of a sick leave benefit is simply unfounded. Companies that provide paid sick leave report higher morale, higher productivity, and fewer employees who actually come to work sick.

The lack of paid sick leave is a serious public health problem with many economic and social implications. There are many existing models for sick leave and its associated benefits. Policies that promote a better balance between work and personal health result in better employee morale, less turnover, and better public health.

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A checklist for classroom acoustics

Finding the reasons why children have learning problems at a basic level can be a difficult experience for parents and guardians. It is imperative that parents and guardians give proper attention to the environment that fits the classroom where their children are taught. Research has shown that a significant percentage of children can have their learning experience hampered by extreme noise and reverberation. As a parent, you should take steps to find out if the classroom in which your child is taught is in need of acoustical remediation. If the issue of reverberation and extreme noise is not properly controlled, it could cause educational failure and delay in children.

reverb problem

Reverberation is still one of the problems that could make the learning process a terrible experience for children. Once a room is reverberant, it lacks the ability to absorb sound, and this will not allow children to hear and grasp the content of the tutorials given by their teacher. When there is a case of extreme reverberation, it will be difficult for students to understand what is being taught. The good news about reverb is that it can be treated. There are several tips to keep in mind when you want to know if reverb is the main problem. These tips may include;

• Painted tiles in the classroom

• Classroom ceilings are over ten feet

• The classroom is made up of a solid ceiling that is devoid of acoustic tiles.

Check background noise

The causes of background noise are as follows; adjacent land uses, ductwork in adjoining rooms, and HVAC equipment. Getting to the root causes of background noise will require the expertise of a professional acoustic consultant. You can take the following series of tests in a vacant classroom:

1.1. Turning off air conditioning

The first step in understanding the classroom environment is to ask the teacher or instructor to turn off HVAC equipment for critical lessons. It should be noted that equipment that is louder than a loud whisper can change the way a consonant sounds to children.

1.2. Check outside noise in the form of car traffic

The constant presence of noise will hinder the clarity of speech in the teaching space and will disrupt the purpose of learning.

1.3. Search for sounds in adjoining spaces

This method works best when you have all your HVAC equipment turned off. Once you hear sounds from adjacent spaces or rooms or activity movements in other rooms within the same environment, the classroom may not be completely insulated against noise diffusion. It has been found that when there is an abnormal level of background noise, teachers or instructors will be forced to increase the tempo of their speeches. Also, here’s another technique that involves utilizing all your HVAC and lighting fixtures in full working order. Look for the place that has the highest volume of noise in the classroom, close your eyes as this will not allow you to read the teacher’s lips, and pay attention to how the teacher mutters some words that share the same sounds from a close distance. . If you find that you are having trouble getting the phrase right, the classroom most likely requires an acoustic revival.

You can exploit a device called a sound level meter to check for background noise. Make sure the sound meter is of a durable quality that can provide analysis below thirty-five decibels. Be sure to test the classrooms to find out the sources of the noises. Once a classroom has a vacant background sound intensity greater than 35 decibels, that classroom is unable to provide the lucidity of speech that young children need for reading and language acquisition.

Talk to an acoustician and have them thoroughly check classrooms and other spaces for the real causes of strange sounds. They will be able to suggest the proper measures that will help you get rid of any threatening sounds.

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Teach your children to pray: the five fingers method

When my daughter was two years old, we were teaching her to say thank you. She had just finished when Keith leaned in and whispered, “Tell mom she’s pretty.” Katie quickly clasped both hands back together, closed her eyes, and said, “Dear God, please make Mommy pretty. Amen.”

But most of my girls’ prayers tend to go like this: “Thank you we had a good day today. Please help us have fun tomorrow! Amen.”

And I’ve decided this isn’t good enough. So here is our plan to really teach you how to pray:

A. Model prayer for your children

Children are not going to learn sincere prayers until we pray sincere prayers in front of them. So each night after dinner, have a mini-prayer session where you pray fervently for something important to your family: a family member who needs God, a financial situation, a personality conflict. Something. When they hear you pray for someone, they learn how to pray too!

B. Teaches different types of prayer

We are starting a new program where we are encouraging you to branch out in prayer. There are different variations for this, but here’s one I’m working on. Look at your hand. If you notice, you have five fingers. Ask the children to raise their hands and for each type of sentence, they can raise one finger until their entire hand is raised.

1. Praise

Thank God for who He is, for something about Him, for something He has done.

2. thanksgiving

Thank God for something he has done for you today. Encourage children to make this as specific as possible. Not just “Thanks for my mommy,” but “Thanks for giving me a mommy who comes to my hockey game” or “Thanks for my mommy who hugs me.”

3. Request from another person

Ask God for something. Once again, make it specific. No “feeding all the children” unless they are very young. It is better to ask God to give money to a family he knows, or to help your sponsored child and his family, or to help someone you know who is sick. If there is a constant need, pray for it every night. But try to encourage them to pray for something new too.

For example, we have a close friend whose five-year-old daughter is currently undergoing treatment for leukemia. We pray for her every day and then add other requests as well.

4. Confession

What did you do wrong today? Hint: Kids are much more likely to pray this if you model it. Every time you make a mistake, immediately confess it to God in front of them. If they see you doing it, they won’t feel as uncomfortable doing it either. And don’t let them say, “Forgive me for being selfish.” Always encourage them to use “when” statements: “Forgive me for being selfish when I didn’t want to share my lego.”

5.Request for you

I think this should always be the last one, because the other prayers help put our hearts in line with God. Then you are in a better place to make your own requests.

But this one can be difficult. It is okay for children to ask for something for themselves. But make sure you don’t treat God like Santa Claus. Not “God, please give me a new bike.” Ask them what their biggest struggle is. Maybe it’s getting along with a sibling, or a teacher they don’t like, or solving math. Pray for it.

Now all five fingers are up, and the children have not yet said: “Help me have fun tomorrow!” So you are well on your way to raising prayer warriors! Congratulations and don’t give up!

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Walleye Recipes: Delicious Walleye Dishes

I am about to give you some of the most delicious walleye recipes you will ever taste, so much so that you will have to learn how to catch walleye. If you love to eat walleye, here are some of the easiest to make and most delicious walleye recipes you’ll ever find. Walleye are also very good for you, like all fish. What more could you ask for: Good for you and delicious!

The first walleye recipe is very simple. Take your pike-perch fillet and sprinkle it with lemon pepper. Then wrap it with slices of bacon. Next, lightly oil your baking pan and gently lay the fillets in a row.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes and you have a delicious walleye meal.

The second recipe is called Walleye and Morel. Here are the ingredients:

  • 1 pound walleye
  • 1/2 stick of butter
  • 1 onion finely chopped
  • 1 minced garlic clove
  • 2 tablespoons tarragon wine vinegar
  • 3 tomatoes, chopped
  • a handful of chopped morels

Saute all ingredients except walleye in butter for 5 minutes. Place the pike-perch fillets on top of this mixture, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Next, remove the fillets to a hot plate and cover to keep warm.

Now, turn up the heat under the mushroom and vegetable mixture to bring the liquid to a half boil. For this sauce on the fish and ready. This is my favorite recipe, period. If you don’t have morels, use store-bought mushrooms.

Here is a recipe for stuffed walleye. List of ingredients:

  • 1 pike perch per person
  • 8 ounces crab meat, shredded
  • 8 ounces of corn
  • 2 cups mushrooms, sliced
  • 1/2 loaf of bread, cubed
  • 2 ounces of olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon of pepper.

Gut and skin the walleye, but leave the heads. Wash the body cavity. Brown the mushrooms in oil in a pan. Add the bread cubes and sauté 10 minutes. Next, spoon the mushrooms and bread into a large bowl and add the thawed corn, crabmeat and seasonings. Mix well. Hold fish upside down and fill body cavities with stuffing mixture. Place fish on foil in baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Enjoy!

Finally, here is a recipe for Walleye Court Bouillon:

  • 6 pounds walleye fillets
  • 1 liter of water
  • 1 cup white vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon prepared mustard
  • 1 small garlic clove, minced
  • 1/2 tablespoon cayenne pepper

Combine all ingredients except fish in a large shallow baking pan. Place the walleye on a rack and place them in a pan at least 1/2 inch above the liquid. Cover the pan with aluminum foil. Place on a stove burner, bring to a boil, and reduce heat to a simmer. cook for 30 minutes.

I don’t know about you, but I’m going to get some walleye out of the freezer right now!

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7 Easy Side Activities For Single Moms (Or How To Earn Extra Money If You Have No Money)

This holiday season there were hundreds of requests for assistance for this Christmas. Many are single mothers who are barely making ends meet. For one reason or another, there simply wasn’t enough money to make ends meet, not to mention buying gifts and food for Christmas. Some moms are sick, disabled, or underemployed. The tragedy is that their children faced a bleak Christmas and it was not their fault.

Fortunately, there were many good Samaritans who helped these families facing difficult times. Most children will wake up on Christmas morning with toys and clothes under the tree and a table full of hot food thanks to the kindness of others. It will be a memorable vacation for everyone, but that single mom still has to face the reality of the other 364 days of the year. How will you do the remaining days of the year? What will the next year bring? What can I do to achieve a better life for myself and my children?

The answer is to find a way to earn extra money either by getting a second (or third) part-time job or by finding a way to earn money at home using the skill you already have. Here are seven side hustle or ways to earn extra money for temporary or long-term financial needs.

Baked goods – Most moms can bake cookies, brownies or other desserts. Use your skills to make some profit by baking your special items and selling them to the people around you. A lot of people don’t know how to bake and would pay you to do so, especially for the holiday season.

vacation helper – Christmas season is party season and the party hosts need your help. You can hire yourself to help with party organization, decorations, and cleanup after the party. Place an ad on Craigslist, your local penny-buyer newspaper, or in the newspaper that offers your services. You can hire your services throughout the year for upcoming holidays.

errand service – People are busy and often need a second pair of hands and feet to take care of their basic needs. Picking up and dropping off dry cleaning, paying bills that require in-person contact, ordering party supplies, personal needs, or for a sick relative. Buying food, gifts or tickets are also valuable services. Let everyone know you offer this service and/or place an ad in the newspaper. Hang flyers at the local grocery store, gym, or anywhere the pros hang out.

pet services – If you like pets, you can provide a valuable service to people who need to walk dogs, take care of pets or manage waste. Pets are like part of the family, so people will pay a premium to make sure their pets are well cared for. Walking the dog is essential for the health and well-being of the animal. When owners go away for the weekend they don’t always want to leave their pets in a boarding house. You can keep the pet at home or go to the owner’s house. Waste management is something that no one particularly cares about, but it has to be done. Whether it’s for a backyard dog, cat litter box, hamster cage, or bird cage, your pet waste removal service would be an easy way to earn extra money.

Special Cleaning – When people think of cleaning service, they think of cleaning an entire house or office. What most people considering this service don’t realize is that most cleaning services don’t clean everything. There are some things that require a special person to tackle. Cleaning a refrigerator, oven, garage, or attic can be a monumental task. The customer requesting the service has probably put it off for some time and would be happy to pay you handsomely to take care of it. You can outsource your work to cleaning services, tell your family and friends about it, or place an advertisement and flyers in the appropriate places.

beauty service – If you have talent in the area of ​​beauty you can earn a considerable amount of money. Women all over the world are in constant search for beauty. Your hair, nail or makeup talents are in demand. You can specialize and cater only to the elderly (they want to be beautiful too), children, or certain types of hair or skin. The options are endless.

typing – As simple as it sounds, writing is not a skill that everyone possesses. If they have the ability, they may be too busy to hit the keyboard right now. Typing jobs can range from very simple to very complex. If you have a computer and a printer, then you are in business. Clients can be students (at any level), small businesses, individuals, and professionals (lawyers, doctors, and many others). You can write directly from notes or fix the content by formatting, revising, or editing. Charge more for extra services as well as for fast delivery service. If you must print and deliver a hard copy, that’s another fee to collect. In tough economic times you don’t have to suffer in silence. Put on your thinking cap and start thinking of ways to earn extra money. Not only does he help himself, but he shows his kids how to be creative, innovative, and self-sufficient too!

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What are the stages of reading development?

What are the stages of reading development?

Reading development can be divided into two main stages: learning to read and reading to learn. Learning to read involves mastering the sound structure of spoken language, understanding the alphabetic principle, decoding words, and gaining fluency. Once readers begin to gain fluency, the cognitive demands of reading shift from trying to decipher sound-symbol relationships and deciphering words to comprehension, understanding another or multiple points of view on a topic, and gaining knowledge.

The stages of reading development progress on a continuum throughout a lifetime of reading. Positive early exposure to writing and wordplay sets the stage for early success in reading. This often translates to more frequent reading and readers being able to integrate the new learning with their own knowledge.

learning to read

1. Pre-read

Reading development actually begins before children are aware of letters and words in print. Before learning about the alphabet, children must be successful with their oral language skills. These oral language skills begin with exposure to nursery rhymes that help children develop and hear the sounds of words. Once children learn to hear the sounds of words, they begin to focus on the components that make them similar or different. This is called rhythm and alliteration. Rhyme and alliteration provide the foundation for developing phonological awareness.

At this point, prereaders’ understanding of how words and patterns sound allows them to focus on smaller units of speech sounds. These units are called phonemes. Phonemes are speech sounds that are roughly the same as a letter or combination of letters but not as large as a syllable. When children master phonemic awareness, they can blend letter sounds, segment phonemes into words, and manipulate phonemes to form new or meaningless words. Being comfortable with sounds produced in isolation, being able to break words down into their small, meaningless components that are phonemes, and being able to manipulate the sound structure of words are all necessary pre-reading skills.

Prereaders must also master letter naming. Children who are able to identify letters quickly and accurately have an easier time learning letter sounds and word spellings than children who are less familiar and accurate. This is because knowing the names of the letters allows children to learn their sounds faster. That is, it accelerates the prereader’s ability to understand the alphabetic principle, which is simply the understanding that letters and words are made up of corresponding sounds. This understanding provides pre-readers with the key to “unlock the code” and start reading.

During this stage of reading development, pre-readers master the sound structure of spoken language, pretend to read, retell stories from picture books, enjoy having stories read to them, and recite the alphabet. The pre-reading stage generally lasts from the end of preschool to the middle of kindergarten.

2. Emerging readers

Emerging readers can begin to learn to connect sounds with letters and words in print. They soon realize that letters represent sounds and notice that combinations of letters make different sounds. Parents and teachers often notice the beginnings of this stage when children use made-up spelling. This occurs when emerging readers write words as they sound, which is a typical part of this stage of development, as these beginning readers overgeneralize their new skills because they only have a rudimentary understanding of reading rules. Emerging readers often memorize the visual, ie, spelling, components of words or whole words and develop a “sight” vocabulary. Thus, this stage is characterized by increased sound-symbol correspondence, increased visual memorization of high-frequency “sight” words, and invented orthographies.

Children in the emergent reading stage read high-frequency words as well as phonetically regular words, continue to enjoy having stories read to them, enjoy stories that are predictable and relevant to them, need exposure to new vocabulary to increase their comprehension, and They are usually able to pronounce one-syllable and sometimes two-syllable words. The emergent reader stage usually lasts until the end of kindergarten or the middle of first grade.

3. Early readers

Early readers are in the beginning stages of becoming fluent. They are generally more efficient at pronouncing words and are becoming more and more automatic at recognizing parts of words and decoding them. During this stage, readers learn to fragment common parts of words (eg, re-, un-, -ed, or -ing) that they can transfer between words, increasing efficiency. As their fluency increases, early readers have more cognitive processes available to them to understand what they are reading. Therefore, they direct more and more of their energy towards understanding what they read. Early readers soon realize that there is more to understanding than what is explicitly said in the text, and they may recognize that they have to reread a sentence or passage to understand what is inferred. This is an important step in reading development as readers begin to be strategic, recognizing that they are reading with a purpose. The early reading stage usually lasts until the end of second grade.

4. Transitional Readers

Transitional readers refine and extend their decoding skills, increase the automaticity of word recognition, increase their reading speed, increase their vocabulary knowledge, and increase their level of comprehension. This stage can be seen as an extension of the early reading stage or as a prequel to the fluency stage. The transitional reading stage can last until the end of third grade.

read to learn

5. Fluent readers

Fluent readers are comprehensive readers. In this stage they go from learning to read to reading to learn. Reading at this stage becomes more useful. Students can tap into their background knowledge for information and connect with the written text. At that stage, readers began to more fully develop their understanding of meanings that are not explicitly stated. They are able to read the subtlest nuances of text. Fluent readers are exposed to strategies they can use to increase their understanding of what they read and continue to learn new words that help with comprehension. Fluent readers can usually only take or see one point of view in the text they read. This stage can last until the end of the ninth grade.

6. Multiple point of view readers

Readers in the multiple viewpoints stage can critically analyze the text they read from different perspectives. They tend to read a wide range of styles and topics. Multiple point of view readers have an understanding of the metaphors and allegories they use to extract meaning from the text. They continue to build their vocabulary and use multiple strategies to increase comprehension. Students at this stage learn to write creatively and persuasively. The Multiple Points of View stage usually lasts until the end of high school.

7. Construction and Reconstruction Readers

Construction and reconstruction readers often read for their own purposes (either to gain knowledge or for pleasure). These readers are generally very fluent and efficient in their approach to reading. They have multiple strategies they can use to get meaning from what they read. Building and Reconstruction readers can read multiple viewpoints, critically analyze the viewpoints and the information in each, and then synthesize and expand on that information with their own thoughts. Readers at this stage of development are experts. How developed a reader is at this point depends on her motivation, needs, and interests. The more practice one has, the better one will become.

Resume

This article describes the 7 stages of reading development by classifying them into two categories: 1. Learning to read and 2. Reading to learn. The main goal of reading is to obtain information from the text, therefore, readers must be able to quickly identify individual words in order to have sufficient cognitive resources available to understand words, sentences, and paragraphs.

The early stages of reading development focus on developing sound-symbol relationships, decoding skills, sight word identification, and fluency. Once these skills become automatic, readers have more cognitive resources available for the comprehension stages of reading development. As readers progress through the stages of Reading to Learn, they become increasingly sophisticated in their comprehension skills. Finally, as readers enter the build and rebuild stage, they use their critical analytical skills to become producers of new knowledge and not just consumers.

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Children’s Books – Bring pleasures for your children

Reading is an important habit that should be developed in children. It is necessary to survive in today’s tough competition. Help kids learn new topics and find useful information they want to know. Despite the current age of computers, books have their own meaning. Many people believe that the magic of printed words is gone, but the fact is that the Internet has made reading more popular these days.

It is true that the more children read, the better they become at reading. There are many nice things to read that give them the opportunity to have fun while reading. Children find reading children’s books a pleasurable activity as such literatures provide them with many entertaining stories and interesting information. These also help them improve their language skills, vocabulary power and their ability to express themselves.

Children’s books bring new worlds and enrich children’s lives. These give children the opportunity to learn about people and places from different parts of the world. You can expand your accumulated knowledge of humanity by reading these books. Novels that stretch children’s imaginations encourage teens to experiment and try new ideas. In fact, this literature improves children’s critical thinking and gives them the freedom to think about various topics, such as the concepts of cause and effect, problem solving, logical conclusions, etc. Now, the most important thing that comes to mind is how to find the best books for children. The following points may be helpful in finding such items.

* The easiest way is to search for the books you loved as a child. Thinking like a child, one can know the exact requirements of their children.

* The idea of ​​buying the favorite books of trusted friends and family is not a bad idea either. Your friends and colleagues can suggest some great ideas that might come in handy when searching for the best children’s books.

* Award-winning literary works can be used because such articles are appreciated by a large number of readers.

* It can also be helpful to opt for classic children’s literature and best-reviewed books.

* Many online websites offer the list of best-selling literary works for children. One can easily find their favorite books there.

In most cases, children start reading the course books. However, there are many types of literature that come with an innovative way of writing. Paperback “board books” come in themed collections. These articles are based on a number of topics that excite children. Another popular style of children’s literature is the simple picture book. These contain different images that give some messages. Since children are not very careful with their belongings, the physical construction of such books is designed to withstand rough handling by children.

The best children’s books can be found on online shopping portals. These websites offer customers many attractive plans and offers. Free gifts, incentives and cash back offers can also be found in these online marketplaces. Online shoppers should look for authentic and trustworthy sites to purchase any item. Various shopping portals are popular in UK markets. These are Abebooks, Waterstones, Penguin.uk, etc. Abebooks offers a large collection of more than 13,500 booksellers who have placed their books on their portal. The other websites provide many value-added benefits so that customers can get the most amazing shopping experience.

Some of the well-known children’s books are the Harry Potter series, Disney High School Musical, KS2 Science, Heart to Heart, etc. These literatures have been written by the renowned authors in the world. It is generally an open secret that the children’s book business is growing rapidly in the UK and the advent of the internet has benefited this industry.

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America’s children are NOT to blame for being overweight!

It is a downward spiral. Childhood obesity is fast becoming a national epidemic, and the physical and psychological effects of being overweight can last a lifetime. While the topic of weight problems in children has become a “hot” topic in the media, too many families do not have the proper information or resources when it comes to teaching their children healthy eating habits and exercise.

Certainly, it is not easy being a child in today’s complex culture, where children have it harder than their parents, health-wise. Not only do they have to navigate a host of social hurdles in school, but overweight and obese children also face challenges, social and otherwise, far beyond those of typical teenagers. Today’s overweight kids, of which there are many, have to deal more often with discrimination from their peers and scrutiny from adults.

What we all need to understand is that placing, and displacing, guilt does not lessen a child’s suffering, nor does it make it healthier. And we shouldn’t just resign ourselves to believing that genetics is responsible for a child’s weight problem and therefore do nothing. Rather, we must teach America’s children to navigate society’s overabundance and easy access to junk food and fast food, and to make wise choices regarding their nutrition and fitness. Lobbying parents for more physical education courses in schools is a good start, but it is simply not enough.

As with adults, there is no quick and easy solution to weight loss in children. To solve a child’s weight problem, parents must help the child help himself by modifying and controlling dietary intake, physical activity, and lifestyle habits. They should also look for resources that can help their child start making small lifestyle changes RIGHT NOW that, combined, will lead to big results. Solutions do not need to be the result of clinical trials or doctoral-level dissertations. There are many new products on the market today that have been brought forth at the grassroots level by Americans who are not only concerned about the health status of children across America, but have decided to take action:

  • As the author of “It’s Not Your Fault You’re Overweight: A Story of Enlightenment, Empowerment, and Achievement for Overweight and Obese Kids” (www.notfault.com), I am among those offering a new and unique resource, not just for those children who are struggling with weight issues, but also for those who are within a healthy weight range to stay motivated to continue making wise lifestyle choices and to better understand and empathize with their peers who are currently struggling with a weight problem.
  • eDiets.com’s Trim Kids(TM) online personalized plan is another great solution to help overweight parents teach their children healthy eating and exercise habits that can last a lifetime. With a personalized meal plan, fitness guidance, and expert support, you can’t go wrong.
  • Fitwize 4 Kids (www.fitwize4kids.com), a national chain of kids’ gyms that promote teen fitness, health and wellness, is another new resource that I applaud. The company’s unique approach combines physical activity and fun through methods designed specifically for children ages 6.5-15. Fitwize 4 Kids programs build self-esteem and teach kids how to implement proper nutrition and exercise habits into their everyday lives.
  • Grandma’s Healthy Kids Club (www.grandmashealthykidsclub.com) is another wonderful resource packed with tools to help kids stay healthy. From “Yum Yum Plates” – fun, hand-painted plates that help teach kids about portion control, teen exercise videos, pedometers and other kid-friendly gear, to a variety of children’s health books, Grandma – Bev Gray 61-year-old of Indianapolis, Ind.- He is certainly doing his part, and it’s an effort I wholeheartedly support.
  • Another great frontline solution is “Thumbs Up for Healthy Living,” an educational program that promotes nutrition education, physical activity, and home learning-based activities designed to promote student wellness. Guided by the playful character known as Skipper the Thumbs Up guy, kids learn about proper nutrition, good eating habits, and a basic fitness program in a language they can understand. The show features the patent-pending (www.ezrope.net) classic EZ-Rope(TM), the jump rope without the middle(TM) that allows kids to get the physical benefit of jumping rope without the hassle, as well as a Thumbs Up For Healthy Living interactive workbook, Total Conditioning Cardio with EZ-Rope DVD, and Thumbs Up Thermal Lunch Bags, among other resources.
  • Let a former NAVY SEAL instructor and ACE-certified personal trainer take health matters into your own hands; FitDeck® Jr. by Phil Black (www.fitdeck.com) is an ever-changing 50-card exercise deck for kids ages 5-16. Fun, kid-friendly exercises require basic body movements and don’t require any equipment.

    These are just a few of the many examples of robust and relatively inexpensive products that can help families get up to speed in no time. Parents and children themselves must act now, as children in the United States are at risk for many complications of overweight and obesity. This is no small problem, as obesity is known to contribute to devastating illnesses and emotional depression. For the health of our nation and all of our futures, we must provide our children with the basics: the knowledge of how to live a healthy lifestyle and both the desire and the tools to do just that.

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    summer time outdoors

    The fun of summer begins when school is out and there are no more studies, that is for some kids. Schools now offer children summer school which can include catching up on graduation times or learning new skills and attending classes that need improvement. Other kids go to summer school just to be with their friends and have fun. Many schools plan outdoor activities like going to the park, the pool, or going places to see the fire department, police headquarters, and meet people who serve their community. Some children participate in crafts and games at school, but overall most children enjoy their time at summer school.

    Some of the outdoor sports still take place in most areas. Boys and girls get involved in playing T-ball or baseball, while parents and grandparents cheer them on. It’s just part of summer and being outside, even when it’s hot and muggy. This is a great time to meet other parents and neighbors you don’t always see. You will usually share a bag of popcorn, candy, ice cream and soda with your children or grandchildren, what a great time to be together. You, of course, will want to bring your camera so you can take that special photo or video of your children or grandchildren. What memories can you make of them by being there for that special moment when they catch the ball or hit a home run.

    As the summer season continues, outdoor sports like swimming, biking, camping, and just hanging out with friends are important to them.

    While mom and dad pack and get the car ready to go on vacation. The children are preparing their special toys to take with them. Some families plan to spend their time at an amusement park or the beach, while other families plan to go camping and spend time in the mountains enjoying the outdoors and scenery.

    Summer is a busy time, but it can also be a great time to enjoy family and being together. Taking time with your family is very important nowadays as the days seem to be very busy and our schedules are very packed with work and other activities. Our children and grandchildren grow up very quickly and leave home to go to school or take a job.

    We need to slow down and enjoy them while they are young and at home.

    Have a great summer outdoors together as a family.

    Relationship

    Use your brain to stop tantrums!

    Let’s be realistic. Dealing with a tantrum in the middle of the grocery store is never easy. Remember the last time your child had a tantrum. Was your stress level high? Did you feel powerless?

    Most parents I talk to agree that these angry outbursts mostly happen when a child is told “NO.” So what’s a parent to do? I have found that adults respond with anger and guilt. Parents also struggle to deal with the voice of guilt that makes them feel like a “failure” and helpless.

    Here are five brain-based tools my clients have used to stop tantrums fast!

    1. emotional regulation-It is important for children to know that they are in control of their feelings and emotions. They must also understand that they have the power to make decisions about how they will respond to frustration, disappointments, etc.
    2. Help the child know their triggers-Parenting always offers opportunities to teach your child at different levels. Many parents don’t realize the benefits of understanding how the brain affects behavior. Parents who can teach their children how to recognize their amygdala-based threats and respond appropriately will help their children reach a higher level of thinking and responding to threats.
    3. Expected behavior of the model-Were you aware that children do what you do and not what you say? One of the best gifts parents can give their children is to be a positive role model. For example, if you want your child to treat others with respect, you must model the same behavior.
    4. Connect with Felling’s-If a person feels stuck, they will do whatever it takes to get unstuck. In many cases, children lack the vocabulary to express how they feel. This makes it important for parents to help children put feelings into words. Parents may say things like “you seem very happy, you seem very disappointed, you seem excited, etc.” The goal is for parents to put words to the emotion that the child is expressing.
    5. Teach healthy conflict resolution-The goal is for children to identify their emotions and learn to control how they express their emotions. Feelings are part of the human experience. Parents should let children know that they are entitled to their feelings. At the same time, they must control what they do to express those feelings. Specifically, when children experience conflict, they need options. Parents may say “yelling doesn’t work, there are two things you can do.” When children have a clear choice, they are better able to focus, calm down, and move on. Choices also allow the opportunity to teach personal responsibility.