Learning the 3-C’s of good health

The City of Arlington has launched a city-wide campaign at the start of this new school year to try to avoid Swine Flu problems this year. They’re advocating the 3-C approach: clean, cover, and contain. Clean your hands, cover your mouth when sneezing or coughing (with your arm, not your hands!), and contain the virus (stay home if you’re sick)! I think this is a technique that should be taught to all kiddos as they grow up. No need to “tough it out” if you’re sick. Stay home and get better!

For tips on helping kids learn how to wash their hands, check our earlier post on this issue.

Improving the snack attack!

One of the best bits of advice I’ve received regarding feeding my kids came from a nutritionist. She told me, “It is your responsibility as the parent to provide healthy options; it is your child’s responsibility to decide how much he/she eats.” Over the course of a week, if you provide a range of healthy foods, your child will have a well-balanced diet. During one meal, all your kiddo may want to eat is the cheese on his/her plate, and at another meal, it may be just the veggies… but over the course of a week, everything adds up.

This is a great time to talk about presenting those healthy options. If you stock your pantry with cookies and treats, that’s what your child will see when he/she walks in there, especially if they’re at his/her eye-level. Walk into your pantry on your knees… Look around. What does your child see? Now is the time to reorganize! Put the things you’d be happy to have your child choose for a snack at his/her level — pretzels, containers of fruit, wheat crackers, applesauce, boxes of raisins, other dried fruits, healthy granola bars, etc. When your child is walking, open the pantry door to let him/her walk in and choose a snack by him/herself. If all of the options you present are equally “good,” you’ve done your job.

Similarly, look at your counters. Do you have a candy jar out there? Maybe cookies or some other savory treat? Put them behind closed doors in a cabinet. Yes, it looks very child-friendly to have a pretty glass jar of Dum Dum lollipops on the counter, but, as my mom always said, “out of sight is [often] out of mind.” Replace those options with a plate of fresh fruit and vegetables (remember, tomatoes are best stored at room temperature). Every time your child walks past that counter (whether on his/her own two feet or from the vantage point of your loving arms), the image he/she will see is a wonderfully colorful plate of delicious, fresh snacks filled with healthy sugar accompanied by fiber, vitamins, minerals, etc.

Teach your child to make healthy food choices NOW. Goodness knows they’ll be tempted when they go to school! These are techniques I’ve implemented in my own home, and I can personally attest that they do, indeed, work. Let me know how they work for you!

Hand-washing tips

One crucial skill for kiddos to learn is how to properly wash their hands (especially with that nasty flu out there). A few techniques I’ve found to be helpful include:

• Remind your child to wash the “fronts and backs and in-betweens.”
• After soaping up, sing the “ABC’s” with your child before rinsing off. This serves a double purpose — it gets those hands squeaky clean, and works on the alphabet!
• Make sure the sink and soap are accessible to your child. Obvious, I know, but if there is a safe step-stool at the sink, your child is more likely to get the job done.
• Ask your child to help you wash YOUR hands. Intentionally do it incorrectly so that he/she gets the chance to correct you!