February is "Reading Month" at my daughter's preschool. They get stars for every book they "read" for the month and they get prizes at the end of the month when they have a special "Dr. Seuss" party. My daughter has decided she wants to get the most books on her list for her class. She is entertainingly competitive :)
In honor of reading month, here are some tips for reading to your young child:
1. If your child has a short attention span, try using your own words to describe what is going on in the book, rather than reading the text. Point to objects on the page to engage your child's interest. Early board books are "sing-songy" which also captivates their interest.
2. Be expressive. Adopt different voices for different characters. Children easily learn to imitate this when they are old enough to read for themselves.
3. Move your fingers around the page if there is movement going on in the story. Show them where the action is in the story.
4. Point out new objects so that your child hears new words and learns to associate them. When they are old enough, use "Show me the ..." to involve them.
5. With older children, ask them to tell you what THEY see in the story, ask things like "What is going on here?"
6. At 12-18 months, teach your child to turn pages. If they turn quickly (which often happens), revert to telling the story rather than reading the text.
7. I recently read this and it is so true: kids sometimes like reading time not for the books but for the bonding experience and cuddle time they get with their parents/caregivers. Just another way that reading to kids benefits us too :)
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Child Car Seat Recommendations
This has come up a lot at work lately. There are new recommendations about child car safety seats - you can find this published at www.nhtsa.gov.
INFANTS should be in a rear-facing car seat; most infant car seats are "bucket-style" and fit into a base which stays belted into your car LATCH system. Newly recommended: keeping your young child REAR-FACING until age 2, even after you switch to a convertible car seat. Be sure to check your manufacturer specifications - I know both Graco and Britax have weight and height recommendations on their websites. Your carseat should have a sticker on it with these listed. Many children reach the HEIGHT limit before they reach the WEIGHT limit. If they get close to the height limit or their head is obviously above the top of the car seat, it is time to buy a new seat.
CHILDREN 1-3 year old: keep rear-facing as long as possible, now preferably up until age 2. When your child reaches the height limit for your car seat, you can convert to a forward-facing car seat with a harness. A five-point or harness restraint is preferred.
CHILDREN 4-7 years old: Forward-facing car seat with a harness until the weight/height limit is reached. At that time, you can convert to a booster seat in the backseat. Most of the time, booster seats are recommended until a child reaches the height of 4'9".
CHILDREN 8-12 years old: Keep your child in a booster seat until he or she is big enough for a shoulder and lap belt to fit correctly on the body. The shoulder belt should lie snug across the shoulder and chest and not cross the neck or face. The lap belt should lie across the upper thighs and not across the stomach. Your child should remain in the back seat - it is safer there.
CHILDREN 12-13 and up (depending on size) can sit in the front passenger seat.
INFANTS should be in a rear-facing car seat; most infant car seats are "bucket-style" and fit into a base which stays belted into your car LATCH system. Newly recommended: keeping your young child REAR-FACING until age 2, even after you switch to a convertible car seat. Be sure to check your manufacturer specifications - I know both Graco and Britax have weight and height recommendations on their websites. Your carseat should have a sticker on it with these listed. Many children reach the HEIGHT limit before they reach the WEIGHT limit. If they get close to the height limit or their head is obviously above the top of the car seat, it is time to buy a new seat.
CHILDREN 1-3 year old: keep rear-facing as long as possible, now preferably up until age 2. When your child reaches the height limit for your car seat, you can convert to a forward-facing car seat with a harness. A five-point or harness restraint is preferred.
CHILDREN 4-7 years old: Forward-facing car seat with a harness until the weight/height limit is reached. At that time, you can convert to a booster seat in the backseat. Most of the time, booster seats are recommended until a child reaches the height of 4'9".
CHILDREN 8-12 years old: Keep your child in a booster seat until he or she is big enough for a shoulder and lap belt to fit correctly on the body. The shoulder belt should lie snug across the shoulder and chest and not cross the neck or face. The lap belt should lie across the upper thighs and not across the stomach. Your child should remain in the back seat - it is safer there.
CHILDREN 12-13 and up (depending on size) can sit in the front passenger seat.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Why is High Fructose Corn Syrup Bad for You?
Everyone knows that obesity is a rising problem in the U.S. When counseling people on their diets, we commonly focus on eliminating extra calories, "empty calories" such as those found in sweetened beverages. Many beverages contain high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) - not just regular soda, but sweet tea, lemonade, fruit drinks, and even some sports beverages. In a NHANES study done from 1999-2004, it was found that US adults consumed 12% of their total daily energy intake from sweetened beverages. For adolescents and children, the numbers were 13% and 10% respectively. Those at higher risk for obesity amd cardiometabolic disease, minorities and those in lower socioeconomic groups, tend to consume the largest amounts of sugar-sweetened beverages. Aside from the actual number of extra calories one is ingesting, HFCS itself is thought to be dangerous to one's health.
HFCS is a corn-based sweetener which has been around since the early 1970s. It currently accounts for greater than 40% of the sweeteners added to foods and beverages. It is the sole sweetener in soft drinks and sodas in the U.S. It is a mix of fructose and glucose, is easily produced and, because it doesn't take much of it to sweeten a food, it doesn't take up much storage space. Additionally, it is relatively cheap -- hence why we find it in so many foods and drinks now.
The fructose in HFCS bypasses the regular metabolism of carbohydrates in the body and is immediately synthesized into fatty acids. What this means is that HFCS is rapidly converted into triglyceride and VLDL (blood fats). Triglycerides are quickly converted into adipose ((fatty tissue) which causes obesity. Fat is also deposited into the liver which, over time, can lead to fatty liver, insulin resistance and eventually, elevated blood cholesterol. Insulin resistance can lead one over time to develop Type II diabetes. Fructose also promotes the synthesis of uric acid, which can contribute to the development of high blood pressure. Fructose ALSO reduces our body's secretion of insulin which is necessary to process the sugar load that we just ingested. A blunted insulin response interferes with the "satiety signal" -- in other words, we don't feel full. Which, of course, leads us to ingest more calories. There is actual science to this -- studies show that adolescents who ingest 8 oz or more of non-diet soda daily ingest more total calories than their peers who drink non-sweetened beverages.
Those of us who drink diet soda shouldn't feel totally left out -- the caramel coloring in colas may increase insulin resistance and inflammation due to the caramelization process.
What does this all mean? We should all be more cognizant of what we are ingesting. If HFCS is one of the first ingredients listed on a food label, we probably shouldn't be eating that. The biggest culprits are sweetened soda and sweetened breakfast cereals. But HFCS is found in lots of other things too - fruit juices, pancake syrup, fruit-flavored yogurt, ketchup, canned pasta sauce and soups, canned fruits.
Limiting processed foods is good, but reading labels is a good life-long habit which will benefit your health. You can find canned fruit and applesauce without HFCS - sugar, brown sugar and honey are also used as sweeteners. You can buy organic ketchup which doesn't have HFCS and use pure maple syrup instead of the heavily processed and cheaper varieties. Read the labels of breakfast cereals and pick those that don't contain HFCS. Thankfully, most grocery stores have an increasing number of all natural and organic options. Of course, eating more whole fruits and vegetables will be better for you than relying on processed foods.
HFCS is a corn-based sweetener which has been around since the early 1970s. It currently accounts for greater than 40% of the sweeteners added to foods and beverages. It is the sole sweetener in soft drinks and sodas in the U.S. It is a mix of fructose and glucose, is easily produced and, because it doesn't take much of it to sweeten a food, it doesn't take up much storage space. Additionally, it is relatively cheap -- hence why we find it in so many foods and drinks now.
The fructose in HFCS bypasses the regular metabolism of carbohydrates in the body and is immediately synthesized into fatty acids. What this means is that HFCS is rapidly converted into triglyceride and VLDL (blood fats). Triglycerides are quickly converted into adipose ((fatty tissue) which causes obesity. Fat is also deposited into the liver which, over time, can lead to fatty liver, insulin resistance and eventually, elevated blood cholesterol. Insulin resistance can lead one over time to develop Type II diabetes. Fructose also promotes the synthesis of uric acid, which can contribute to the development of high blood pressure. Fructose ALSO reduces our body's secretion of insulin which is necessary to process the sugar load that we just ingested. A blunted insulin response interferes with the "satiety signal" -- in other words, we don't feel full. Which, of course, leads us to ingest more calories. There is actual science to this -- studies show that adolescents who ingest 8 oz or more of non-diet soda daily ingest more total calories than their peers who drink non-sweetened beverages.
Those of us who drink diet soda shouldn't feel totally left out -- the caramel coloring in colas may increase insulin resistance and inflammation due to the caramelization process.
What does this all mean? We should all be more cognizant of what we are ingesting. If HFCS is one of the first ingredients listed on a food label, we probably shouldn't be eating that. The biggest culprits are sweetened soda and sweetened breakfast cereals. But HFCS is found in lots of other things too - fruit juices, pancake syrup, fruit-flavored yogurt, ketchup, canned pasta sauce and soups, canned fruits.
Limiting processed foods is good, but reading labels is a good life-long habit which will benefit your health. You can find canned fruit and applesauce without HFCS - sugar, brown sugar and honey are also used as sweeteners. You can buy organic ketchup which doesn't have HFCS and use pure maple syrup instead of the heavily processed and cheaper varieties. Read the labels of breakfast cereals and pick those that don't contain HFCS. Thankfully, most grocery stores have an increasing number of all natural and organic options. Of course, eating more whole fruits and vegetables will be better for you than relying on processed foods.
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