Food for Thought: Stay Healthy During the Holidays!
It's that time of year again! We have many food temptations available over the holidays and we tend to eat more than we intend to. Whether it be children or adults, staying healthy throughout the winter and holidays can be difficult to do. Here are some tips to help you include healthy activities and eating into your holiday schedule.
Eat a variety of fruits and vegetables. Include all colors of food to get the most nutrition available to you. Different colors of foods contain different phytochemicals, a component of food that provides protection from certain diseases.
Get plenty of exercise. Ice skating, walking, mall walking, sledding, or exercising to your favorite music with all family members can give pleasure to everyone even when it's cold outside.
Make some hot chocolate with skim milk. A good cup of cocoa will warm you up and provide about one-fourth of the calcium you need for the day.
To get all of the vegetables you need, make a pot of vegetable soup...let the kids add their favorite vegetable to the mixture along with some unfamiliar veggies like chopped turnips or kohlrabi.
Dip always makes fruits and vegetables taste better, for a treat, whip up some Pumpkin Peanut Butter Dip. Mix together ¾ cup of canned pumpkin, ½ cup of brown sugar, ¾ cup of peanut butter and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Serve with apple slices or crackers.
Get plenty of rest. Most of us need at least 8 hours of sleep a night – getting enough rest will help keep you healthy.
Enjoy your family throughout the seasons...maintain a positive attitude...it helps your sense of well-being and affects your health.
Follow these tips for a healthy and happy holiday season!
- Shirley Camp, Nutrition and Wellness Educator
All About Kids: World Holidays
As the holiday season is approaching, it is a great time to teach children about holidays around the world. An important holiday for Muslim children and adults is Ramadan. Ramadan is the ninth month of the lunar calendar and is a very holy month for Muslims. Muslim adults fast from sun rise to sun set for the entire month. However, children typically only fast some days or part of the day. Helping others, kindness and good manners are all important parts of Ramadan.
At the end of Ramadan, Muslim families celebrate Eid-Ul-Fitr with a morning prayer at the Mosque, followed by a party at lunch and sometimes visits to amusement parks. Families often decorate their homes and children receive gifts of new clothes, toys and money. On Eid day Muslim people say "Eid Mubarak!" which means "Have a Blessed Eid!"
For more information about the Ramadan holiday, check out these web sites:
Shopping smart takes time, skill and practice especially during the holiday season. Each of us needs to practice smart shopping to get the most for our money. Try these shopping reminders to make holiday shopping more manageable:
Think before you buy! Ask yourself . . . do I need this item? Will it fit into my budget? Spending only $5.00 a week on things you don't need will cost you $260.00 in a year. And . . . coupons don't always save you money. Buying something you don't need or won't use because you have a coupon isn't smart shopping. You may also find that an item on sale or a store brand item is cheaper than the product you have a coupon for.
Check it out! Find out all you can about a product before you buy it. Read about the product. Talk to people who own the product. Ask the salesperson to show you how the product works. See if the product really does what the commercials say it does. Learn the usual price of an item. Check the usual price of an item with the sale prices that a store is offering. Is the sale price cheaper than the usual price of the item? If the answer is yes, then this may be a good buy.
Find out a store's return policy! Be sure to check a store's return policy when purchasing a product. Do you need an original receipt or will a gift receipt be sufficient? Does the store offer cash refunds or only store credits? Do you need the original packaging to return an item? Do items need to be returned by a certain date following a purchase? For example, do you have three months from the purchase date for a refund or credit?
Consider the facts! Think about the product facts that you read or are told. Which facts are the most important to you and your family? Remember that because a company made a product of high quality one year does not mean that the company makes high quality products every year. Smart shoppers consider the facts before they buy.
Compare! Smart shoppers shop around. Visit or call three stores to compare the price of the item, the different models of the item and the return rules of each store. Buy from the store that gives you the most for the money you spend.
Choose! Be picky! It's your money. Think about what you are getting for your money. Remember if a product or a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is!
Shopping smart takes time and patience. Researching a product or service and comparison-shopping will help you as a consumer get the most for your money throughout the year.
- Jennifer Hunt, Consumer and Family Economics Educator
In the Know: Family Traditions
As holiday celebrations are approaching, we often begin to think of those comfortable activities that take place year after year. For many the anticipation of the holidays is the anticipation of activities that are an annual occurrence. Your traditions might be a specific food that is only eaten at holiday time or a special decoration that is carefully packed away between holidays. It may be a family activity that everyone looks forward to.
These traditions are a way of passing on family values and beliefs. They provide families with feelings of stability and belonging. However, there are times when family traditions must be changed because of family changes.
If you want to establish new traditions, determine which traditions fit into the new situations. Perhaps a few changes to an old tradition will make it fit with the new situation or perhaps the tradition needs to be dropped altogether and replaced with a new one.
It is okay to carefully plan and implement new traditions. It is not the activity itself that contributes to family stability but the continuity and predictability of the activity. For further reading about adding new family traditions and the value mealtime can add to your family, check out this website: http://www.parenting247.org/article.cfm?ContentID=688&AgeGroup=3.
This article is part of the parenting 24/7 web site that has been highlighted in previous newsletter. It is full of wonderful information broken down by age range for your convenience.
- Rachel Schwarzendruber, Family Life Educator
Leisure Time: Does TV Violence Hurt My Kids?
This Saturday morning, while your children are watching TV in the safety of your home, they are witnessing over 20 to 25 violent acts per hour. The average young person will view an estimated 200,000 acts of violence on TV by the time they are 18 years old. Studies show that TV viewing may lead to more aggressive behavior, less physical activity, altered body image, and increased use of drugs and alcohol.
Research clearly shows children who watch violence on TV are more likely to fight with classmates, be willing to hurt another child, be less willing to share toys, be more likely to argue, push or break toys. Unfortunately, kids don't grow out of this behavior. Studies show boys who prefer watching violent TV programs at age 8 are more aggressive at age 18. Other studies show links between heavy violent TV watching and criminal behavior later in life.
Besides making kids more aggressive, violence on TV can make children afraid, and believe the world is a dangerous and bad place. After watching so many murders, fights and gun shots, children become less sensitive to violence, more willing to stand by while others act in violent ways, and more likely to see violence as a good way to solve problems. After all, the heroes on TV beat up the bad guys and save the day.
What should parents do?
Recognize media violence is harmful to your children. Research says watching repeated violence is bad for kids.
Limit the time your kids watch TV to no more than 2 hours per day.
Turn off violent programs. It's easy - just push the button.
Watch TV with your children. Explain the difference between pretend and real. Talk about what you think would be a better way to handle a situation.
Encourage activities instead of TV.
Set a good TV example yourself. You may need to change your TV habits for the good of your children.
If you would like to learn more about the effects of violence on TV, check out these websites:
- Judy Taylor, Youth Development Educator, Springfield Center
You the Parent: Strengthening Grandparent and Grandchild Connections this Holiday
Take advantage of the holiday season to strengthen the relationship between your children and their grandparents. This intergenerational tie is beneficial to everyone.
The grandchild and grandparent connection provides a sense of belonging and stability to children. Grandparents and older relatives who offer love and acceptance make an important contribution to a child's self esteem.
Grandparents are the link between then and now. Knowing about family history helps children to value and understand themselves and their environment.
The benefits of this relationship aren't just for the grandchild; grandparents benefit, too. When grandchildren show appreciation for the past, it demonstrates their respect of their values and the accomplishments they have made. The life of a grandparent can be given renewed meaning by a grandchild's interest in, and appreciation, for past deeds and events.
There are many ways that you can encourage the children and grandparent connection during the holidays.
Encourage your children to make a tape recording to capture the past for a cherished possession. Sample questions might be -- what kinds of toys did you play with as a child? What did you do for fun?
To strengthen your family's ties during this holiday season, conduct a little quiz about extended family members. Example questions: Who is our oldest relative? Where were your grandparents born?
Dig out the old photos for grandparents and your children to create a story book together.
Use old cards to make collage placemats for your family dinner. Holiday cards can also be cut for gift tags. While you are making them tell family stories.
Strong ties with the extended family give a sense of history and belonging to young and old alike. In today's mobile and sometimes isolated society, this can be a real asset.
