Yahoo! – Staff Writer
“Olympian Jane Flemming says new measures should be introduced to combat childhood obesity including stand-up desks in classrooms and a further walk to pick-up/drop-off zones from the school gates.”(more)
The Huffington Post – Tamsin Kelly
“More than one in nine children in England have not set foot in a park, forest, beach or any other natural environment for at least 12 months, according to a two-year government-funded study. Another equally shocking report found that the average British child spent less time outdoors than adult prisoners: 74% of children spent less than an hour in the fresh air, almost a third of children play outdoors for 30 minutes or less a day and one child in five doesn’t play outside at all. And yet children who regularly play outdoors have been shown to be happier, healthier, more confident and less anxious.”(more)
The Deseret News – Jennifer Graham
“If you give a crying child a cookie, could you be setting her up for a lifelong weight problem? New research out of Norway suggests that may be happening when well-meaning parents offer food to children as a means of soothing them. The study, published in April in the journal Child Development, found that children who were offered food to calm them at age 4 were more likely to be comforted by food at ages 6, 8 and 10, creating a potentially damaging habit that could follow them through adolescence and adulthood. Moreover, parents of children who were easily soothed by food were more likely to employ that strategy again in the future, creating a self-perpetuating cycle, the researchers said.”(more)
The Union-Bulletin – Shelby Shewchuk
“As summertime rolls around, classrooms begin to empty, and homes and neighborhoods fill up with children. I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for the little ones of this world. However, behavioral problems and signs of mental illness usually begin within the home or at school. If they are not noticed or cared for, the problem will be compounded and become more difficult to sort through in later years. I have previously shared information about Adverse Childhood Experiences and how trauma can forever alter a child’s life, even into adulthood. That is why I find it so important for parents and teachers to be educated about mental health.”(more)
The Star – Andrea Orr
“Tennis, soccer and track. Piano and band. It sounds like a lot, especially to anyone who was raised to just go outside and play. But here’s what I’ve found: Even with aftercare until at least 6 p.m. every weekday, the demands of homework, regular reading, a pretty busy social calendar and a pet, there remains enough downtime in my 9-year-old daughter’s life that I still have to restrict screen time. And that’s in a household that doesn’t have many screens. If there’s one parenting cliché more common than that of the overbooked child whose spare time is filled with sports practice, tutoring sessions and music lessons, it’s the one about the pasty kid who languishes in front of video games starved for exercise, fresh air and human contact. Considering that alternative, is being busy so bad?”(more)