Valentine Tips for Kids

Avoid the sugar overload! For most people, Valentines Day brings up memories of candy hearts, chocolates and heart shaped cookies. While these treats are fun, indulging children (and ourselves) in all of them can be just too much. Choose one luscious treat and then use some of the tips below to make your kids’ Valentines…

Sticky Soda Solution

What no soda?! As this Kim and Jason comic strip (click on it to make it bigger) points out, sometime kids (and adults) crave something sweet and fizzy. Here’s a solution to the sticky soda problem! Each time I speak to an audience and advise them to cut the soda out of their routine, I…

Snacks vs Treats

A little trick for better choices My friend Jill Fleming shared a great strategy for making healthy choices. She is a registered dietitian and her strategies have changed how my family eats. By understanding the difference between “grow foods” and “treats,” my six-year-old daughters can make a healthy choice. It works! Grow foods are items…

Are your kids getting fat this summer?

More and more schools are addressing the problem of childhood obesity with increased activity and better food choices, but here’s the problem.  What happens when kids leave the structure of school for the Summer? They gain weight according to a recent study conducted by the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Gone are the days of our childhood,…

Less Stress for Easter

My Dad, psychologist and all around wise man, used to say, “Even good things are stressful.” I guess it is little wonder why having your family converge for holidays can produce stress. Stress over getting dinner to the table. Stress over living up to Mom or Grandma’s cooking expertise. Stress over limiting the overeating. Stress…

Prank, Laugh & Connect

Clay loves April Fool’s Day! My wonderful husband is devious and secretive, but fortunately he uses his powers for good. For years he pulled pranks on me before my eyes were fully open on the first morning of April. Now he has a new audience. Our six-year-old daughters! He greeted them this morning dressed in…

Beat Back-to-School Stress: Smell The Apples

Everyone has heard “stop and smell the roses”, but at back-to-school time I think it is time to “Stop and Smell (or taste) the Apples!” Anyone with kids has experienced the bittersweet moment of dropping them off at school on the first day.   A new school year is exciting, but the stress of new schedules…