NICU Strong: How to Help Your NICU Baby

By: Christine Cox, The Choosy Mommy

My baby, Cam, is almost 7 months old now (actually he’ll be 7 months on Christmas Day!) He has come a long way since he was born 7 weeks early due to me having HELLP Syndrome. You can read more about his birth on HELLP Syndrome: Knowing About It Could Save Lives.

Cam spent 13 days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). These were the hardest 13 days my husband and I ever experienced. But they were the first 13 days of Cam’s life and we had to be strong for him.

Luckily we had a team of wonderful doctors and nurses caring for Cam when we couldn’t be there. We made sure we saw him every day but couldn’t be there 24/7 because my husband still had to run his business and I still had to care for my then 2 year old daughter, Capri, at home.

I learned a lot about premature babies in those 13 days. Those two weeks opened my eyes to a whole new world of experiences and firsts – especially as a parent of two children now. And this sensitive time in my life broke me because it was so hard to see the other tiny babies in the NICU just fighting for a chance to live…any parent’s fear. I realized that we take a lot of things for granted, like assuming that infants know how to eat, breathe, swallow and suck and to do some of those things simultaneously! I prayed for Cam to learn as fast as he could to do all of those things just so he could come home sooner but I knew he would learn at his own pace.

We all feel helpless in these kinds of situations because the baby’s fate is usually out of our control. But in case you or someone you know ever becomes a NICU parent, here are some tips for managing this experience.

Eat Healthy - At Choosy Kids, we talk about eating healthy all of the time, but at this point in Cam’s life, he was just learning HOW to eat. Since he was born at 33 weeks, he was supposed to just be learning how to do those things in the womb, but instead, he was forced to learn them on the outside. It was amazing to watch him learn how to do this with the help of medical equipment, his doctors and nurses, but I needed to help too. Eating was a big deal for him. For some reason, he wasn’t able to digest the formula they were giving to him in the beginning (I didn’t even start to pump yet because I was still recovering). But once he got breastmilk, his body adjusted and was able to digest it a lot better. I had to watch what I ate to ensure I was providing the best for him through my milk and still to this day have to watch my dairy intake, as it doesn’t agree with him. The most important thing a mom can do is to FEED the new infant, whether by breastmilk or formula, to establish an early loving relationship. But if you are breastfeeding, make sure you eat a healthy diet and up your calorie intake as suggested by your doctor to ensure you are sharing enough calories with your baby. Also remember to drink a ton of water – you’ll need it!

Just Breathe - Cam also had to learn to keep breathing while he was eating. There were a couple of times that he had bradycardias, or heart rate dips, while he was eating but we were lucky in that he pulled himself out of them. Some babies need to be touched to be reminded to breathe again. “Bradys,” as they call them in the NICU, are quite common. Unfortunately, every time a baby has one, he/she had to stay in our NICU another 5-7 days for monitoring (situation could vary depending on location). This was the hardest thing for me because every morning when I would call to check on him, I prayed he didn’t have a brady because I knew it would just add on extra days to his stay. As a parent, you need to remember to just breathe too. Babies can sense a lot of emotions so if parents are tense and stressed while visiting their NICU infant, they will sense those feelings. Take time throughout your day to just decompress, let out your feelings and just breathe deep.

Be Strong - As a parent, there is only so much I can do with a child in intensive care, but I knew I had to be strong for Cam, Capri, and my husband because they were just as much as part of this experience as I was.  To me, being strong meant looking forward to tomorrow as it was one more day closer to Cam coming home. Being strong meant not blaming myself for his early birth because it was out of my control. And finally, being strong meant just being there for him. Holding him, bathing him, even putting clothes on him…these seem like minor things, but he was so little so I had to be confident in my abilities and tell myself that I had the strength to do these things for him.

If you are currently a NICU parent, there are many resources available for you at the hospital. Talk to the nurses and social workers about your situation to ensure you are NICU strong. Choosy Kids also has a CD for babies called Our Special Time. The focus is on daily routines and active learning for early brain development and body awareness, which is perfect for all babies!

Additionally, if you are pregnant, learn more about HELLP Syndrome so you know the warning signs.

I’d love to hear your NICU strong story if you were in this situation. And even if you had an uncomplicated birth experience, how did you overcome any early issues with your new infants – whether it was eating, sleeping, etc. We are all parents so we are in this together!

About the Author: Christine Cox is the blog master and The Choosy Mommy for Choosy Kids. She has always had a passion for writing and is honored to contribute her work to this blog. Most of her writing inspiration comes from her daughter, Capri, who is fun-loving and full of energy, and newborn son Cam. Click here to learn more about Christine.

The Empty Space Club

By: Dr. Linda Carson

It’s back to school time and my thoughts turn to young children adjusting to new environments, routines, and faces. It can be exhilarating for some and frightening for others. Even play time can test a child’s enthusiasm and eagerness.

Almost all young children love to move around, and given a little bit of open space, moving may change to galloping or running. We have all watched and winced as our youngest children collide with coffee tables, chairs, playground equipment, and of course, other children. Have you ever wondered how children actually learn to control their movements, or how we can help them become more skillful movers?

Space awareness has complex components, but in simple terms for home practice, space awareness is:

Knowledge about space, and how I use and manage my body in relation to objects, obstacles, and other movers.

For decades, preschool children have been introduced to sitting or standing on a carpet to define the place (or space) that belongs to them. And many teachers have children return to their place after doing an activity somewhere else. Most teachers call this place “personal” space or “self” space.

But space awareness is more than a spot on the floor or carpet. Young children need lots of practice time for learning about locations in space (up-down, high-low, on top-below, over-under, in front of front –behind, etc.) and judging distance. From a child’s perspective, if my self-space is how much room my body needs in my “place,” what happens when I start moving around the room or play yard in something called shared space? It can be a bit challenging but we can help children learn that they take their self-space with them into shared space…and so does everyone else! And now, the familiar safe and self-regulated movements become VERY challenging when other things or other children are included.

So how can we help children avoid collisions while having fun learning about space relationships when playing games, moving to music, pretending, and simply exploring? One way is to use props like a hula hoop to not only be the child’s “place” on the floor, but to help your child actually pick up self-space and see that it moves around too. This also helps children “see” the self-space of others while practicing. Another helpful strategy for applying concepts to a young child’s awareness of space is to use the terms empty and full to your advantage. Using containers or cups with water, sand, cereal or other items in them help demonstrate the difference between empty or full. This brings with it lots of opportunity for dialog and discussion…even math and measuring concepts. If children understand empty and full, and have practiced with hands on props and desktop visuals, they have the foundation necessary to apply the vocabulary and the concepts to their own movements and their relationships with obstacles and other people.

Choosy Kids has a song about moving only into empty spaces. It encourages children to look for and move into spaces that are empty and not filled with another person. The song even empowers children by welcoming them into the Empty Space Club if they can move and play without bumping into anything or anyone. As the song plays, do the movements with your child that are asked for during the song and during the chorus (designed as a rest period). Make up movements that you can do together, for example:

"I Love (hands over heart or draw a heart on chest) 

Being in the Choosy Kids Club   (hand sign for C)

I Love (hands over heart or draw a heart on chest) 

Being in the Empty Space Club (make up a movement for empty, i.e. point to the floor and move your hand in a circle)"

Download your very own Empty Space Club membership card and present it to your child if he or she is intentionally looking for those empty spaces instead of bumping into unsuspecting siblings or friends!

Other fun things that you can do at home to practice space awareness include using available toys and props around the house to review important location words, for example:

Can you put your toy under your chair?

Can you put your toy behind the vacuum cleaner?

Can you put your toy on top of your bed?

Can you put your toy in front of your foot? Is it near to you or far away? 

Can you put your toy far away from you?

Which is near and which is far? Toaster and bed? Door and toothbrush? 

Standing in your personal space, can you put your hands up high? 

Can you put one hand low?

Can you put one hand high and one hand low?

Make up games that involve judgments of space like tossing or rolling a ball over a line, into a hoop or into a laundry basket.

Design an obstacle course with pillows and stuffed animals as obstacles in shared space. The child must find only empty spaces to move, hop, gallop, jump, etc. while avoiding each obstacle.

Practicing space concepts in a fun and playful way lays a foundation for the development of self-regulation, as well as a respect for the personal space of that other children and adults.

What have you tried to do to help your child learn about personal and shared space?

About the Author: Linda Carson, Ed. D, is the founder and CEO of Choosy Kids, LLC, and the Ware Distinguished Professor Emerita at West Virginia University. An award winning, nationally recognized expert, Dr. Carson has devoted her career to promoting healthy preferences for young children and the adults who make decisions on their behalf. Click here to learn more about Linda.

Diabesity: Prevention Is Possible

By: Dr. Linda Carson

We recently posted a blog by Lindsay Dawson who shared a very personal account of learning that she had a diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes when she was young. That blog made me reflect on my own experience with diabetes. My sister was diagnosed later in life with Type 2 diabetes, and since then she has lost much of her vision and one of her legs to this dreaded disease. In the past 15 years she has managed her diabetes with lifestyle changes and much healthier eating.

Type 2 diabetes used to be called adult onset diabetes but in recent years, the age of onset has moved younger and younger. Children as young as six have been shown to have elevated blood pressure and cholesterol. Childhood obesity has steadily increased over the past three decades. An interesting book written by Francine Kauffman, a pediatric endocrinologist, describes the consequences of our lifestyles of convenience. She says that we have designed comfy environments and foods (non-foods) that are going to do us in.

Dr. Kauffman also warns that diabetes and obesity are so linked together that soon physicians will be diagnosing them as a single syndrome known as diabesity. In fact, Diabesity is the name of her book. It is written for parents to help them understand ways to prevent both obesity and diabetes in children. The CDC has published trend maps that show how the prevalence of both obesity and diabetes has revealed a similar progression in recent years.

http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/data/center/slides.html

Experts agree that many cases of Type 2 diabetes and obesity can be prevented or minimized with healthy nutrition and physical activity. To be sure that your family is getting the preventive benefits from your food, try to eat more leafy green veggies, beans, and fruits. The fiber, vitamins, and minerals in plant-based food are what we should have everyday to nourish body and mind. Eating natural, unprocessed foods that are nutrient dense rather than calorie dense, will contribute to healthy metabolism and blood sugar levels.

For many, a daily diet of fresh fruits and veggies will also result in healthy weight loss! Wondering how to know if a food is nutrient dense? Think of it this way, if it is grown as a plant, try to eat more of that. If it is manufactured or processed in a “plant”, try to eat less of that. The processing takes away nutrition. And when selecting or preparing food for your family, remember the caution from Dr. Kauffman: We’ve designed environments and diets out of convenience that one day soon will do us in. Everyone is busy and convenience is wonderful, but lets all try to make healthier choices for our children and families.

So feed them well and move them more. Listen to a song by the same title and let us know what strategies you do to promote plant flavors, plant protein, and plant fiber?

About the Author: Linda Carson, Ed. D, is the founder and CEO of Choosy Kids, LLC, and the Ware Distinguished Professor Emerita at West Virginia University. An award winning, nationally recognized expert, Dr. Carson has devoted her career to promoting healthy preferences for young children and the adults who make decisions on their behalf. Click here to learn more about Linda.

10 Unique Foods My Toddler Eats!

By: Christine Cox (aka - The Choosy Mommy)

Many toddlers are what parents call picky eaters but I like to refer to my daughter as a choosy eater. Ever since I introduced her to Choosy, she now tells me to be choosy about what I eat. Some days it backfires (I really wanted that cookie the other day) and other days it is a nice reminder. But let’s be real…whether she is picky or choosy, she is still deciding what her and I eat…mostly her.

There are many times where I put food on her plate and she won’t touch it. But there are more times that she sees something that her dad is eating and she wants to try it. I will tell you that she has my husband’s pallet in that she prefers salty, spicy and sour over sweet. I love my sweets! So at least she knows who will lead her to the foods that she will love….DADDY!

Which leads me to my discussion about ten unique foods that my toddler eats. Maybe your child has unique tastes too? This is no way means your toddler HASN’T tried these foods, but these are just some things that my husband and I are really surprised that she likes. I’ve noticed that when I say I like something, she does become more open to trying, so maybe give this new Choosy Kids song, Yum Yum Yummy, a listen and sing it when trying something new!

1. Green Olives – This one isn’t so weird in that I do know some kids that like olives but she will just eat them as a snack. I HATE olives, no matter the color, but her dad also loves them.
2. Banana Peppers – Another snack food that her and her dad share a love for. The smell…uhg, it gets me every time but she loves them!
3. Wasabi Peas – Now this one really threw me for a loop. Daddy was eating them one evening and she decided to give one a try. At first I was a bit nervous because I figured, whoa, too spicy, but she ended up eating a handful (not at one time!)
4. Oil and Vinegar dressing on Sweet Butter lettuce – Otherwise known as ensalada verde in our family. This is a gem as it is a pretty low calorie dressing. It is a so simple in that you just sprinkle some extra virgin olive oil and white wine vinegar over your lettuce. A little salt to taste.
5. Pickled Cauliflower – This was a shocker to myself when my toddler came home from Grandma’s with this new favorite!
6. Frozen Waffles – This one might not be so different, but at least we aren’t drenching the waffle in butter and syrup. Just a plain, frozen waffle!
7. Soy Sauce – She loves rice and won-ton soup, but give her a dish of soy sauce and she’ll dip anything in it to try!
8. Pepperoni – Again, maybe not so different but many toddlers find this to be too spicy.
9. Green Onions – She will dip her green onions in salt and eat 3 or 4 of them!!
10. Tuna – I just mix a can of tuna with mayo and onion and make a sandwich out of it. She’s loved this for as long as I can remember.

Let me know if your child has tried or even likes any of these foods. Please post if you have a food you think my toddler would love. We are always willing to try new things (well, daddy will have to try it first I suppose).

About the Author: Christine Cox is the blog master and Choosy Mommy for Choosy Kids. She has always had a passion for writing and is honored to contribute her work to this blog. Most of her writing inspiration comes from her daughter, Capri, who is fun-loving and full of energy. Click here to learn more about Christine.

Moving and Music: Essential For Child Development

By: Dr. Linda Carson

By age three, most children have acquired around 1,000 words. By the age of six, they have acquired nearly 10,000 words! This highlights the significant role we have during the first five years of life to lay the foundation for expanding vocabulary as well as using language for learning and communicating.

How can busy parents support and enhance this significant stage of child development? Probably the easiest way is to talk to children as much as possible. In the youngest toddlers, describe what they are doing as they explore and experiment. With preschool children, ask questions and have conversations about everything from what they might see in nature to their preferences for activities or foods. And be intentional about introducing new and unusual words so that your child’s vocabulary expands. Another very important but easy way to build vocabulary, and at the same time encourage a love of books, is bedtime reading.

While you are at it, add words to your playtime. Babies think and communicate with their bodies before they actually think with words, so your day to day playful interactions can be very meaningful for learning as well as for building bonds of trust and love. During early childhood, children learn a lot with their bodies and about their bodies. There are rich vocabulary words to be experienced by moving and exploring.

You can download this Healthy Vocabulary Framework chart of vocabulary words from Choosy Kids that can be used to mix and vary active learning experiences for young children. You can also listen to Choosy Kids song, I Am Moving I Am Learning, which incorporates words on the chart.

Combining music with deliberate movement has even greater impact on early learning. When young children hear music, they naturally respond by moving their bodies. Movement and music have been shown to influence and enhance the healthy development of the brains and bodies of young children. Music stimulates both sides of the brain. When childhood songs encourage movements that use both sides of the body and incorporate healthy messages, a powerful double whammy learning experience is taking place inside the child.

“Developmentally appropriate music activities involve the whole child-the child's desire for language, the body's urge to move, the brain's attention to patterns, the ear's lead in initiating communication, the voice's response to sounds, as well as the eye-hand coordination associated with playing musical instruments.” (Harman, M.A. Music and Movement - Instrumental in Language Development, http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=601).

So music and movement can not only build vocabulary and motor skills, they can also lay the very necessary foundation for school readiness and school success.

Choosy Kids is a company devoted to early learning through music and movement. Listen to samples of well-conceived, fun-filled songs that encourage active learning.

You can check out more blogs like this from a team of 51 other bloggers at the #Blogger52Project, brought to you by The Quinntessential Mommy.

About the Author: Linda Carson, Ed. D, is the founder and CEO of Choosy Kids, LLC, and the Ware Distinguished Professor Emerita at West Virginia University. An award winning, nationally recognized expert, Dr. Carson has devoted her career to promoting healthy preferences for young children and the adults who make decisions on their behalf. Click here to learn more about Linda.

Be a Choosy Role Model with Fruits and Veggies: Give a Smoothie a Try

By: Christine Cox (aka Choosy Mom)

Some days it is tough getting your child to sit down and eat a meal, let alone a healthy and nutritious meal with the right amount of fruit and veggies. We’ve all been there. I spend an hour making a healthy dinner with my daughter attached to my leg screaming because she is “starving”. I really do feel great because I know she is going to get the right amount of fruits/veggies/meats, whatever it is that I am making, when she eats her meal. And finally, the meal is ready to eat and she decides she’s not starving anymore and runs off to play. I sit down at the table and just stare at my plate. It looks great and is healthy, but now my child, who was so hungry an hour ago, isn’t willing to take even just one bite.

It is hard to teach young children about time because when they are “starving” they want food NOW and not in an hour when it is ready. So what is a parent to do when hunger strikes?

Sometimes offering a drink is best! And if your child has been a picky eater, maybe a baby and me fruit and veggie smoothie would be a choosy choice! It won’t fill them up, but it will ensure they get a great serving of fruits and veggies!

To find out what amounts of fruits and veggies a child should be having, I’ve turned to Choosemyplate.gov. I have also found that the parent or care taker has to be a food role model. So if you make something that you don’t like, chances are your child may not like it too! But trust me, the smoothie recipe below was a winner for everyone in my house!

Thank goodness for Aimee Kleer-Gonzalez and her blog, BargainBites or I wouldn’t have ever tried, or thought to combine fruits and veggies, in a smoothie! Give this quick drink a try when dinner isn’t ready yet or even as a breakfast drink!

Baby and Me Smoothie #1 

What You Need:
1 cup Spinach
4 Strawberries (or 1 bananna or 1/2 cup frozen mangoes)
3/4 cup Plain Greek Yogurt **
1/2 cup Juice (Orange, Pear, Banana, Morning Blend, and Pineapple all work well)
1 tbsp Chia Seeds
1 cup Frozen Peaches

A short and simple list (that you can make up and change)!

To make the smoothie, just add these ingredients to the blender and blend!

It took my child a little while to decide that she liked it, but in the end, it was a winner! "Yummy, yummy in her tummy" is what I constantly heard after she took a drink! We made this for breakfast and she not only drank her smoothie, but continued to eat her breakfast as well. It wasn’t filling but it ensured she got some fruits and veggies in her diet!

Choosy would love this smoothie since it is green and nutritious! What other smoothies do you think Choosy would like? Share your recipe with us and we will be sure to give them a try! 

About the Author: Christine Cox is the blog master for Choosy Kids. She has always had a passion for writing and is honored to contribute her work to this blog. Most of her writing inspiration comes from her daughter, Capri, who is fun-loving and full of energy. Click here to learn more about Christine.

A Special Time with Babies and Toddlers

By: Christine Cox (aka Choosy Mom)

I remember when my now 2 year old was born and I couldn’t remember any lullabies for the life of me. This 100% explains why she gets excited when she hears The Star Spangled Banner because it was the only song my brain could process (new moms will TOTALLY understand this brain malfunction dilemma).

My point is that those early months with your newborn are a special time and music really creates a bonding relationship. To this day, if I try to sing her a song that is a lullaby (AKA – Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star or Rock-A-Bye-Baby), I get the “mommy…shhhhh!” I don’t think it is because I am a bad singer, but I think it is because she wasn’t in tune to that music from the start. I really wish I would’ve had Choosy Kids newest CD to help me introduce her to songs that are meant for her age.

Our Special Time is a CD developed especially for newborns, infants and toddlers and their play partners (that’s YOU!) It has a mix of music that everyone can enjoy – even me! I played it for my 2 year old the other day and she really did enjoy it. She started to repeat the words from Baby Baby Bounce With Me after listening to it one time! The focus is on routines of your day and active learning for early brain development and body awareness. Who doesn’t love a song that helps parents move their little ones and gets older kids get up and moving!?

Now, if I sing a song from Choosy’s Our Special Time CD, I don’t get the typical “mommy…shhhhh!” She now sings with me, starts to do the movements (that her and I made up together) and enjoys “our time together” listening to music that we both love!

What artist or kind of music have been a hit with your children? Did you have the brain malfunction like I did when it came to singing songs to your new baby? What about your toddlers? Do they like a certain kind of music? Share with me!!!

P.S. - Happy Early Valentine’s Day to you! Check out some of our free Choosy Kids Valentine’s Day downloads! Also be sure to enter our daily giveaways on Twitter. Contest ends February 14.

About the Author: Christine Cox is the blog master for Choosy Kids. She has always had a passion for writing and is honored to contribute her work to this blog. Most of her writing inspiration comes from her daughter, Capri, who is fun-loving and full of energy. Click here to learn more about Christine.

Brush Up On Dental Health Habits

By: Dr. Linda Carson

2x2 = not just 4 anymore. Now 2x2 is about healthy teeth. One of the messages that the American Dental Hygienists’ Association (ADHA) would like to emphasize this year is the importance of brushing teeth for two minutes, two times a day.

In an effort to help parents better understand why ignoring dental health can have serious consequences, and to educate families about good dental health habits, the Ad Council and The Partnership for Healthy Mouths, Healthy Lives created new PSAs for the Kids’ Healthy Mouths campaign.

The new PSAs are humorous depictions of life lessons which make the point that while parenting can be tricky at times, getting kids to brush for two minutes, twice a day can be easier than most other things parents will try to teach their children. Watch one here http://adcouncil.org/Our-Campaigns/Health/Children-s-Oral-Health. Busy parents will relate the funny scenarios in the PSA’s.

One more great resource for you is Kids’ Healthy Mouths. Among other oral health themes, this website has very helpful resources for the 2min2x campaign. There are 2 minute videos, posters, incentive ideas for charting brushing behaviors and routines, and videos for informing parents about the importance of helping young children brush for two minutes, twice a day.

You can also watch Choosy’s two minute video below to see additional messages and reminders, or use the song sample from our store. Many children have been very willing to brush teeth until the two minute song stops playing. 

Tell us about the strategies you use in your home for brushing teeth with your young children.

About the Author: Linda Carson, Ed. D, is the founder and CEO of Choosy Kids, LLC, and the Ware Distinguished Professor Emerita at West Virginia University. An award winning, nationally recognized expert, Dr. Carson has devoted her career to promoting healthy preferences for young children and the adults who make decisions on their behalf. Click here to learn more about Linda.

I Can’t Get That Song Out of My Head!

By: Dr. Linda Carson

Earworms...not the most pleasant visual, but it’s the term often used to describe what happens when you can’t dislodge a tune from your mind. Most of us have experienced “stuck song syndrome” even when we least expect it. You hear the opening song to your child’s favorite TV show or a commercial jingle on TV early in the day and without effort, you re-hear it again in your head. You might even start to sing or hum portions of it out loud (admit it, you know all of the words to that TV show). You go back to what you should be focusing on during the normal routines of your day and before long that same song returns to your memory and you find yourself hearing it again in your head! Why does this happen and is it helpful in any way?

There has been research on earworms or stuck song syndrome, and basically we all experience this phenomenon. Familiarity is key and as a result, earworms are not unique to any genre of music, but they are unique to each person. There is just no denying that we have music memory, both short term and long term.

Can music memory be used for learning? YES! Music is a universal teaching tool used across cultures. Memory allows us to store and retrieve information, while learning allows us to make sense of it and apply it. Sometimes, for young children, singing songs that have content or messages helps them to both remember and apply the information or message. Most of us learned our ABC’s by singing the alphabet song and there are mothers who sooth their young children by singing nursery rhymes and lullabies that convey messages of love and comfort.

Music can also contain significant content themes like health and convey such topics as washing hands, brushing teeth, eating fruits and veggies, or learning our body parts and moving them. This is a powerful combination of important content with a pleasurable element of music and melody. Children’s music that passes the “pleasant to listen to” challenge, and yet contains content that complements early learning experiences that parents and teachers are also emphasizing, can be profoundly influential, especially if messages about health behaviors are embedded in pleasant songs. We try to strategically combine music and learning by including health messages in our Choosy music. Click here to listen to samples.

Bottom line…while some adults find earworms annoying, stuck song syndrome is not all bad especially for young children and their families. If children’s songs deliberately include positive, healthy content and those songs are played repetitiously, it is likely that they will go to some memory bank in our brains. If you or your child can’t stop those songs from replaying in your minds, then that means the healthy content or messages are also stuck in your brains!

Caution: earworms work with all types of music played repetitiously so be very aware of the types of music that your child is exposed to in your home and in your car.

Let’s start a discussion of stuck song syndrome here by sharing your experiences with it. What songs have you experienced as earworms? And what children’s music have you found useful and sticky?

About the Author: Linda Carson, Ed. D, is the founder and CEO of Choosy Kids, LLC, and the Ware Distinguished Professor Emerita at West Virginia University. An award winning, nationally recognized expert, Dr. Carson has devoted her career to promoting healthy preferences for young children and the adults who make decisions on their behalf. Click here to learn more about Linda.

The Influence of Characters on a Child’s Preference

By: Dr. Linda Carson

We are all victims of food, beverage, and media marketing. And every parent has experienced the “pester power” that children impose on us at the grocery store or toy store because of what they saw on TV. Research has indicated that children often select and prefer the taste of foods when a character appears on the packaging. Does this sound familiar to you?

We know more about how characters influence nutrition choices but less about how characters might influence preferences for physical activity. We want our children to develop preferences for both healthy nutrition and physical activities that support the development of motor skills, self-selected active play, creative expression, and problem solving through movement. Many of the food and beverage characters only promote eating but not exercise.

Your child’s small circle of significant influencers can help change that! Usually the influencers of children include their family and teachers, but could also expand to include their faith based leaders, their doctor and dentist, and coaches. If you asked your children who they look up to, they may also say their favorite cartoon character, super hero or another fictional character. This is the influence of media we are talking about. American children view an estimated $1.6 billion a year worth of food and beverage marketing, and many of those ads are for foods that are high in calories and sugar, but low in nutrition and totally don’t even mention physical activity. Think of the characters that promote these foods. We could all name a handful I am sure!

While we wait for food and beverage companies to begin using children’s characters to market only healthy products and physical activity, it is up to you, your family and the other significant influencers to share and repeat consistent health messaging to your child. One thing that your family can do is take advantage of what we know from research - create your own or introduce a familiar character to help deliver messages about healthy nutrition, activities that help make your body healthy, and appropriate dental health behaviors. If the character promotes it, the child is likely to be influenced by the character’s preferences! What a concept!

Your character could still be the super hero or princess they already adore. You can just create healthy scenarios for them! My character that I like to use is named Choosy. Choosy’s name stands for:

If you want to use Choosy as the healthy hero in your home, go ahead! You can learn more about Choosy and the messages Choosy promotes to create active and healthy behaviors here.

Let’s discuss how profoundly influential children’s characters are on young children. What characters have influenced your child’s preferences and in what way? 

About the Author:  Linda Carson, Ed D, is the founder and CEO of Choosy Kids, LLC, and the Ware Distinguished Professor Emerita at West Virginia University. An award winning, nationally recognized expert, Dr. Carson has devoted her career to promoting healthy preferences for young children and the adults who make decisions on their behalf. Click here to learn more about Linda.

Yoga is for Everyone

By: Kerry McKenzie

As a yoga instructor, I have had the pleasure to teach a broad range of ages. One of my favorite classes is a family yoga class where the students’ ages range from 3 to 50+. Ever wonder how children learn yoga, especially when they are so young? Imagination and a free spirit help the young learn in many ways! You can conduct your own yoga session at home by following what I did in class. You don’t even need a mat. Just use a towel or blanket so everyone involved has their own space.

At the beginning of the class, as everyone sets up their yoga mats and mingles, I play, "I Like to Move" on the ChoosyNation music CD. I encourage dancing and moving to music to get the “jitter bugs” out.

As a warm-up, I lead the class through several animal poses like giraffe, kangaroo, eagle, downward dog, upward dog, cat, cow, cobra, shark, swan, and dolphin. You can even make up your own! During each pose, I ask the participants what else they think the pose looks like. For instance, cat could also be a tiger and cow could be a howling wolf.  Within each pose, we also try to make the animal noises. Practice this especially with those who are still learning their animals and sounds!

I then walk the group through a flow of poses, moving in and out of postures using the dragon’s breath (sticking your tongue out and pretending fire is coming out your mouth on exhales). The dragon then spreads its wings, lifts its tail (one leg lifted in down dog), then surrenders as the belly is now facing up toward the sky. Finally, the dragon comes alive and flies back home with its wings wide and standing tall. The children in class love to imagine this and really get into it. I played “Puff the Magic Dragon” with this yoga flow. You could also incorporate a lion pose while playing “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.”

Another fun thing to do is play a freeze game using “Choosy Freeze" by Choosy Kids and your yoga mat, towel or blanket. Start the music and move about the room. When the music prompts everyone to freeze, jump onto a mat/towel/blanket and do your favorite yoga pose or make one up. I have learned some cool poses from young yogis.

You can also do partner yoga. For instance, the adult can do a child’s pose on the floor and then a child can climb on top of the adult and do child’s pose on top. You can see this in the picture. Children can do boat pose with their feet pressing together and holding hands and parents can try to crawl under. Then switch the roles. I renamed the pose bridge and we sang “London Bridges”. This is also in the picture! During the other partner poses the music I chose was “Lean On Me” and “Stand By Me.”

Yoga is a great way to relax, increase your strengthen and flexibility or a great partner activity! Have you tried yoga with your children? How old are they? What do you and they like best about it?

About the Author: Kerry McKenzie, B.A., M.S., has been working in education for more than 13 years. She is a Certified Health Coach, a 500 level (E-RYT500) yoga teacher and specializes in early childhood motor development. She has a passion for working with expecting moms, babies, toddlers and preschool age children and their caregivers at Greenville Health Systems pediatric clinic, child care centers and in the community. Click here to learn more about Kerry.