Healthy South Dakota

Parents

Television Time

kids watching TV If you are concerned about the amount of time your children are watching TV, you can try this formula for limiting their TV time. Tell your children that time for watching TV must be earned. You can establish some rules like:

1 hour of reading or studying = ½ hour of TV or 1 hour of active play = ½ hour of TV.

In order not to make it appear that other activities besides watching TV are punishment, discuss with our children all the things they like to do. And let them help you make a list of all the fun things they talk about. Then keep a tally of the things they do and enjoy. Let the child choose the things they want to do to earn their TV time. Encourage them to be active by doing some of the fun things with them.

Snacks for 1-2 year Old Children

baby in high chair Snacks are good for your child! They are a “mini” meal and help your child to grow. Offer your child a variety of nutritious snacks from all of the food groups: milk, meat, vegetables, fruits and breads and cereals. Juice should be limited to not more than 6 ounces or ¾ cup a day. Avoid offering foods that are high in fat, sugar and salt like chips, fries, doughnuts, soda or sweetened drinks, cakes, cookies or luncheon meats.

There are some foods that should be avoided due to the risk of choking. These include: whole hot dogs, nuts, whole grapes, hard candies, hard pieces of fruits or vegetables, popcorn, peanut butter spread thick and seeds. Foods such as hot dogs and whole grapes can be cut into smaller pieces and then are safe. Fruits and vegetables that are cooked until soft can be cut into smaller pieces as well.

Breast feed — it's healthy and saves money

breast feeding mother Breast-feeding is well-known for the health benefits it provides to both mom and baby but it is also a huge benefit to your pocket book. Money saved on breast-feeding can really add up quickly.

A year of “standard” formula can cost $ 2650.00
A year of “specialized” formula can cost $ 6750.00

What would you do with the extra money?

Body Mass Index (BMI) calculator for children and teens

CDC has an online tool to calculate BMI-for-age for kids and teens. It displays numeric results, a graphic that shows the weight category, and plots the BMI on a printable growth chart.

Healthy snack idea - Try a low fat ice cream sandwich made with oatmeal cookies..

Too much screen time can threaten attention span

Healthy snack idea - Mix sliced fruit in a single serving pudding cup.

Games for preschoolers

Help Your Child avoid weight gain by limiting television and encouraging activity. New research suggests children’s body mass index (BMI) rises more than twice as fast during summer break versus during the school year. Increased tube time during summer could add up to 1,000 extra calories a day.

Small Steps Change of the Month

Get moving by volunteering to clean a local highway, park or stream.