Hopeark Spaces » Kids http://www.hopeark.com Tue, 21 Jun 2011 07:04:07 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.2 Your Role In Child Obesity Prevention http://www.hopeark.com/119/your-role-in-child-obesity-prevention/ http://www.hopeark.com/119/your-role-in-child-obesity-prevention/#comments Thu, 27 Nov 2008 09:56:24 +0000 admin http://www.hopeark.com/119/your-role-in-child-obesity-prevention/ There are a lot of people in my family that are over their ideal weight. Though they are not obese, they could be. The problems with family genetics are downplayed by many, but this does make a difference. It is also about environment and eating habits. Not only should your children have good habits, you should to. If you try to get them to eat well while you do not, you are contributing to the problem rather than solving it. You want think about child obesity prevention so that you know your children are as healthy and happy as they can be as they grow to adulthood.

One surprising thing that helped with my child in regards to child obesity prevention was her watching the Wiggles on television. She loved the Wiggles, and at age six, still does - though not with the same intensity. However, they Wiggles spend a lot of time singing and talking about healthy foods, and have even occasionally touched on what happens if you have too much of the wrong thing. Through these songs and shows, my daughter learned about good eating. I am surprised today at her choices. They are usually good ones and I credit the Wiggles for that - though I would like to think I had something to do with it as well.

You are going to have a hand in child obesity prevention, even if you have the help of influences like the Wiggles. You want to have good food choices around, and offer treats only sporadically. When they want to have a snack, give them some choices, but make each of those choices healthy. They may ask for other things on occasion, but they are going to eat what you have when they are hungry enough. Children will not starve, so don’t worry about that. You have to keep going with child obesity prevention.

You have to keep an eye on what your children are getting in school. Some schools are on top of things in the way of child obesity prevention, but others are not. Schools can not fix everything, but you want to know that they are getting the right foods when they are in school. When your children are in kindergarten or even first grade, they may have to bring a snack to school. I know that my school asks that we do not send in sugary items, and I don’t. Make good choices there for the sake of child obesity prevention.

Another part of child obesity prevention has nothing at all with the foods you have your children eat or keep in your home. You have to make sure your children are up and moving each day. Some can get great programs at school for this, but some have been forced to cut physical education totally or at least shorten the program. Children have to be up and moving while eating the right foods. Those together go a long way towards child obesity prevention.

]]> http://www.hopeark.com/119/your-role-in-child-obesity-prevention/feed/ 0 Strawberry Shortcake Dolls http://www.hopeark.com/3/strawberry-shortcake-dolls/ http://www.hopeark.com/3/strawberry-shortcake-dolls/#comments Sat, 09 Jun 2007 03:59:09 +0000 admin http://www.hopeark.com/3/strawberry-shortcake-dolls/ People in marketing are up against a great deal of pressure to sell products. Not only do they need to sell their ideas to the manufactures of the products, but to the public as well. It is very hard to predict what will sell well and what will not. Different parts of the country may embrace a product and other areas will have nothing to do with it. In order to appeal to a national market you have to know and understand the people you are selling to. The marketer has to know products as well as human nature. And sometimes it simply comes down to the timing of the advertising campaign.

There are a few products that stand the test of time well. Many of these are toys. Toys pass the time test well because if the parent liked the toy as a child they are more apt to buy it for their children. One item that I am surprised is still very popular is the strawberry shortcake dolls. These soft cloth dolls have survived a couple of generations of children. They were popular in the seventies and are still a hit with kids today. The reason I am surprised that they have survived is that the strawberry shortcake dolls are not animated, they do not talk or light up there is nothing high tech about them, yet young girls love to play with them. There is a full line of strawberry shortcake dolls as well as accessories. When my nieces were little they had strawberry shortcake pajamas. They also had decorations in their rooms with the strawberry shortcake dolls on them. Even at that time these dolls were old fashioned with their pinafores and bonnets. My nieces liked them because it reminded them of their favorite television show Little House on the Prairie.

I am glad to see that girls still like to play with dolls that represent a simpler time. The television show is no longer on and there has not been a similar one to take its place. It seems that the television programming is more interested in having us watch people compete against each other in reality shows instead of having story lines of family life and values. I am glad that the toy manufacturers have not followed suit. Sure there are many toys that are high tech with bells, whistles and electronics, but it is important that we still have simple playthings for our children to use their imaginations and create their own story lines with. These simpler toys are easier on parents also because they do not need to assemble them or get batteries for the child to have fun with them.

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