Whether you are dealing with an overweight child in your home or not, you are a part of creating the solution for all our children. Prevention of future issues is as critical as addressing current ones, and encouraging an actively lifestyle for your children and family is part of that. Here are some tips from sheknows.com:

A life less sedentary

The rise of the computer age has created a world far more connected than we ever imagined. Our ability to learn about cultures far and wide, communicate with the person sitting next to you or across the country, and broadcast the minutia of our lives in increasing every second. It was unfathomable 5 or 15 years ago – much less 50 years ago. Yes, this is great in many, many ways.

Yet at the same time we are far less connected with the world right outside our windows. We are so attached to our media and our screens and our virtual worlds that we have become a dangerously sedentary people. We are not expending the calories we are taking in. Choosing to become less sedentary for and with your child is part of addressing childhood (and adult) obesity. Choosing to get outside to walk instead of retreating to the couch or the computer is not the easiest choice – our attachments to our screens is also the path of least resistance in many ways – but the choice is critical to addressing our children’s and our culture’s health for the long term.

Solange cancels concert in exchange for mommy duty

Create active opportunities

In our busy lives, it’s not always easy to be as active as we know we should be. There are so many demands on us as adults, as parents, as workers; even if we know that we should be making the effort as an example to our children, it can be hard to fit it in.

You can create opportunities to be more active in small ways.

* Start by turning off the screens, and limiting the amount of time your child is allowed to use various screens.

* Make sure you have basic sports equipment in the house and ready for play outside as appropriate to the weather – then go outside and play catch with your child.

READ MORE HERE

3 stress-less tips for working moms

[From Daily Mail]

Playing outdoors dramatically cuts a child’s risk of becoming short-sighted, research shows.

Just two or three hours of fun in the fresh air each day halves the odds of the common condition, studies have found.

The finding challenges the widespread belief that short-sightedness, in which distant objects appear blurred, is caused by an excess of close work such as computer use and TV watching.

Instead, it appears that the condition, which usually develops during childhood, is warded off by a daily dose of natural light.

The research will also strike a chord with adults whose eyesight has significantly worsened when they start working in an office.

Hey office workers, does this sound familiar? It sure does for some of us. Read the rest of the article here.