Be A Healthy Role Model - 10 Steps to a Heart-Healthy Child
(Posted 2/24/06)

Hey parents! Your kids are watching you.  When it comes to nutrition and activity habits, you can lead by example. 

Children are a reflection of their parents and will model their family's eating patterns, experts say.  Make healthy eating and exercise part of your everyday lifestyle so your child will learn these habits into adulthood.  "Children are influenced by the adults around them," says pediatric cardiologist Vickie Diamandakis Pyevich, M.D.  "If our kids don't see us following what we preach, it's going to be a hard sell." 

Help your child learn to live in moderation, and don't forbid certain foods.  "Forbidding foods doesn't work," Dr. Pyevich stresses.  "It sounds punitive to say 'You can't have this Pop Tart or cookie.'  It's not the one cookie that will hurt your child.  It's the 10 cookies he or she eats while sitting in front of PlayStation all afternoon." 

Statistics show that most parents of obese children are also obese themselves.  Obese children also are more likely to become obese adults, putting them at risk for numerous diseases.  The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends limiting television and video time to a maximum of 2 hours per day. 

Here are 10 tips for improving your family's health: 

• Limit time spent in sedentary activities, including television, video games and computer play.  Kids already spend a significant portion of their day sitting down during the school day. 
• Encourage your child to be involved in active play at least one hour a day.  You will notice better behavior, too, when your child is allowed to "spend his energy". 
• Be an advocate for daily physical activity at school.  Encourage school personnel to promote active play at recess and daily physical education classes, if possible.  Kids who can release energy through activity perform better in the classroom. 
• Does your kitchen need an overhaul?  Take a close look at pantry shelves, cupboards, the refrigerator and freezer.  What are the first foods you see?  Are you tempted by high-calorie, low-nutrition "snack" foods or are there plenty of nutritious choices?  Can you look around your kitchen and easily find the ingredients for four or five healthful meals?  After you do this visual inventory, make a list of staple ingredients needed to stock a healthful kitchen. 
• "Merchandise" healthy food choices.  What you see is what you will eat.  Set out a big bowl of fruit or cut-up veggies; display finger string cheese and low-fat yogurt in a visible place in the refrigerator; and stock the snack cupboard with whole-grain crackers, air-popped popcorn or pretzels. 
• Plan weekly menus.  It may sound boring but putting a little thought and planning into mealtime generally yields big health (and economic) advantages. 
• Make better choices when eating out.  Many of the major restaurant chains publish nutrition information about their menu items.  Either ask for a nutrition brochure or access the information online. 
• Tempt hungry kids with healthy snacks.  Kids often have extra large appetites after school, before bed or following sports practice.  Be sure to set out nutritious "grab foods".  
• Limit the amount of "liquid calories" available, such as soda pop, fruit drinks and other sweetened beverages.  Encourage kids to drink water, milk or sugar-free drinks. 
• Resist the temptation of making every activity an eating activity.  Food is available virtually everywhere you go these days, whether it's a sporting event, movie or trip to the gas station.  Eat before you go or pack your healthy snacks. 

-- Story by Linda Barlow, Genesis