Three Holiday Lessons for Children

By: Christine Cox, The Choosy Mommy

As we near closer to the holiday season, I feel like I have been teaching my 4 year old a lot of lessons at one time. This year is going to be a special holiday season because she is really starting to enjoy family traditions and is getting in the holiday spirit. In my family, we talk a lot about Santa and his reindeer, the elves at the North Pole and how exciting Christmas morning is going to be when all of the presents magically appear under the tree. But there are also lessons that I am trying to focus on to ensure my daughter values more than just presents during this time of the year and through life. No matter what holiday you celebrate, here are three life lessons that can be nurtured in all children this time of the year.

1. Giving is Better than Receiving

This is a hard lesson to teach children who are really excited to unwrap presents they have received from others. Unfortunately, there are people in our world who have very little so I have made it a goal this holiday season to teach Capri about different family circumstances and to hopefully engage her feelings about giving something of hers to someone else. I have taught this lesson with the help of our Choosy Kids team. Each year, the Choosy Kids team “adopts” a family who is less fortunate and struggling to make ends meet. We provide gifts to the family to help them have a special holiday together. There was a 2 year old little girl in the family this year so I took it upon myself to explain to Capri that this little girl, right now,  doesn’t have as much as Capri has and it is up to us to make sure she has a great holiday. So we went through Capri’s toys and picked out things that she wanted to give to the other little girl. I couldn’t believe the things she wanted to give her. Stuffed animals that she loved, slept with at night, and carried around during the day were toys she wanted to give to this little girl because “she will love them too” as she said. It didn’t stop with this little girl. We have since picked a name off of the giving tree at school and purchased a gift for a child there and have made monetary donations to different organizations that mean something to our family. I always make sure to ask Capri how she feels after we give something and she tells me good and I usually get a big hug. The tears always swell up in my eyes because she is getting it!

2. Say Thank You, Even if it Wasn’t What You Wanted

A prime example of this actually happened pre-Christmas to my daughter. Capri and Cam’s Grandmother gave them a new movie to watch. Actually, Capri and I had already watched this flick in the movie theater and when her Grandmother gave her the movie, instead of just saying thank you, she went on to tell her that she doesn’t even like that movie (but in reality she wasn’t thrilled with the movie theater experience…she’s 4). Regardless, I had to try to teach her that Grandma’s feelings might have been hurt because Capri didn’t graciously say thank you for the gift. Whether the gift is something your child may have asked for or not, we need to nurture and encourage the thank you’s. If your child is still not thrilled with the item, you can revisit my first lesson about giving and maybe find a child who really would like the gift and have your child experience giving in this way..

3. You Don’t Have to Buy Anything

Most children do not have a full understanding of money or buying something until they are in elementary school (trust me because Capri thinks we can buy anything and everything on Amazon). A good lesson to teach children this time of the year is that you don’t have to buy something to be able to give it as a gift. Sometimes homemade items are the best presents, and sometimes just your presence is the greatest gift. I have taught this lesson by asking Capri to make her own Christmas cards to send to people, by having her make cookies for the neighbors, and when she is a little older I plan to teach her about volunteering and helping others, something that doesn’t cost a dime! 

What are some other lessons that you can think of that are good to teach this time of the year?

About the Author: Christine Cox is the blog master for Choosy Kids and owner of The Choosy Mommy. 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 son Cam, who is learning new things everyday. Click here to learn more about Christine.

Free Printable Choosy Activities for Cold, Indoor Days

Winter is here! And even though that means going outside to play in the snow, build snowmen and do snow angels, some days (for those of us who live in colder sections of the country) it is just too cold to even step foot outdoors. The winter season can be especially hard on parents and caregivers because children are stuck inside and “bored”. We have your solution! It is time to plug in your printer and print out some Choosy Kids activities for everyone to do while you are stuck inside on cold, winter days.

This is just a small sample of the free downloads Choosy Kids has to offer. You can check out all of the freebies, plus Choosy Kids products, including music, at www.choosykids.com. Just click on the links to download and print Choosy desktop activities that your young child will enjoy. They serve as great discussion starters too so you can extend the themes into conversational learning opportunities!

Coloring Pages

Chef Choosy

Listening

Wash Your Hands

Dot-to-Dots

I’m the Boss

Trace Choosy

Apple

Holiday Pages

Valentine’s Day Cards

Match Three

Winter Maze

If You Can: Trash the Stash!

By: Jamie Jeffrey, M.D., FAAP

The nights are cooler and fall is on its way. For a lot of families this is a perfect time to increase their outside physical activity. The cool breeze is perfect for a family walk or trip to a nearby park. That is the good news. But… Fall also brings a flurry of holidays and celebrations. For health conscious families, this can be a tough time to keep the little ones (and ourselves!) on track with nutritious choices.

We start with Halloween followed by Thanksgiving and Christmas. More than ever, these holidays seem to revolve around food, food and more food to celebrate the holiday. The traditional Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday are loaded with food choices saturated with fat, sugar and salt. It makes it really tough to stay healthy. But one of the worse holidays for our kids is Halloween. Candy.  Candy. Candy. Candy at school, candy at Grandma’s house and treat-or-treat at the mall AND in their own neighborhood. Every kid knows which neighbor hands out full size candy bars. Most kids now are seen carrying pillow cases. This is a “supersized” plastic pumpkin. Like a whole pumpkin full of candy isn’t enough for our kids!

On average, each piece of bite sized candy treat contains about two teaspoons of sugar. Multiple sources estimate an average kid will eat 10-15 treats before they get home from the trick-or-treat festivities. Do the math. That would be 20-30 teaspoons of sugar. Hmmm. No wonder they can’t seem to settle down and get to sleep. Can you say, “the energizer bunny?” No wonder my waiting room is full of kids with tummy aches the morning after trick-or-treat. I am always surprised that parents seem “shocked” and have an “ah-ha” moment when I mention that the belly ache could be from too much candy.

So how can Choosy help? Choosy teaches kids to move to music and use movement vocabulary. Halloween could be such a fun and creative time for costumes and fun games and activities. I say TRASH the STASH. Candy corn and bite size candy bars will be everywhere! Preschool, school and family parties should be based on movement and fun…the way Choosy would like it! Plus, a typical child will have to walk 11 miles to stay energy neutral for all the calories and sugar they consume.

I also can offer the following advice for parents to keep their kid’s safe and healthy during the holiday:

• Pick safe, comfortable and brightly colored costumes. Make sure kids can safely walk in their costumes and can adequately see if the costume has a wig or mask. 
• Carry a flash light and add reflective tape to the costume or trick-or-treat bag. 
• An adult should always accompany their children and go to fully lite houses of neighbors that you know.
• Eat a full, healthy dinner with lots of veggie options and lean protein like grilled chicken, turkey or seafood before trick-or-treating activities. Serve water with dinner to make sure everyone is well hydrated. 
• Make a family rule of eating candy only after inspection at home or only 1-2 items until you get home. 
• Try to ration treats and consider swapping for cash or other non-food rewards. You could also donate the candy to a local charity (even though I sometimes feel guilty about this one!).

So think of the song, “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” and substitute the word kids for girls and focus on fun activities that include movement for Halloween and all other holidays as well.

About the Author: Dr. Jamie Jeffrey, M.D., FAAP
Medical Director, CAMC Medical Center
Director of Healthy Kids Pediatric Weight Management Program
Director, KEYS

Dr. Jeffrey is a pediatrician and Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics at WVU School of Medicine-Charleston Division. She is also the Medical Director of HealthyKids Wellness and Weight Management Program (HealthyKids) at CAMC. She received her medical degree from Marshall University School of Medicine and completed a pediatric residency at Akron Children’s Hospital in Akron, Ohio. She supervised pediatric residents for the past 20 years. She lives in Charleston with her husband and four fantastic children, ages 10,15,19, and 21.

As Director for KEYS 4 HealthyKids, she works with the community to meet the mission to reverse the childhood obesity epidemic by focusing on policy, system and environmental strategies to enable more sustainable change. This will hopefully provide the system and landscape improvements where the HEALTHY choice is the EASY choice.

Look behind the white coat and you’ll see more than a pediatrician in Dr. Jamie Jeffrey.
“I’m a fixer,” she says. “I love to find problems because then I can go to work on fixing them.”

Choosy's Holiday Tale

By: Christine Cox (aka Choosy Mom)

Note: Be sure to click on the links to find recipes, tips and holiday surprises!

‘Twas the night before a winter’s holiday and Choosy was busy,

making sure the holiday was healthy and nifty.

It was important that the stockings be hung by the fire,

and on that eve he would wear his best attire.

The gifts needed be wrapped tightly with ribbon and lace,

and the perfect meal be ready for dinner at his place.

But Choosy found an issue as he checked items off his list:

the toe of the stockings just were not right,

and he couldn’t get the packages squished in there tight!

Choosy thought and thought about what the solution could be,

until he realized, of course, use a fruit from a tree!

Choosy ran to the kitchen where the fruit bowl sat,

picked up the roundest fruit he could snatch.

An orange could perfectly fill the toe of the stocking,

and leave a healthy treat for holiday morning snacking.

He shoved that orange into the stocking toe,

and it made it round, wouldn’t you know!

Since the stockings were finished, he checked that off the list.

Now it was time to look his best!

Red hat and red shoes were festive you see,

but he needed something else, something made beautifully.

Choosy looked in his drawers and all in his closest,

but that special something was misplaced - he must have lost it.

He sat and thought about what else he could wear,

Ah! That’s it, something for his neck and his green hair!

He made a scarf, wrapped ‘round his neck in a knot.

This truly made him more festive, did it not?

He smiled in the mirror, all proud of himself.

Wouldn’t you know, he could pass for a holiday elf!

Now onto the presents, everyone’s favorite part!

And Choosy knew these gifts should come from the heart.

Choosy loves music and dancing, indeed,

so his gift to everyone was his newest CD!

After moving and shaking to the songs that he loved,

it was time to cook a meal to be proud of.

A holiday feast of sorts, the finest for his friends,

made with healthy ingredients, plus yummy odds and ends.

Cranberry relish and mashed potatoes for sure,

a holiday ham big enough for 20 or more.

He gathered some fruits and some veggies and made a nice display.

It would be a fancy and healthy holiday!

Everything was ready, and Choosy was tired.

It was time to go to night-night and get snuggled in all tight.

Choosy closed his eyes and dozed off to sleep,

And the snow outside fell quietly, not making a peep.

Happy holidays to all from Choosy and his friends. 

Remember to be safe and healthy this holiday season – THE END!


We are honored to be part of A Whimsicle Life’s Count Down to Christmas project! Want even more Holiday inspiration? Check out all my fellow bloggers HERE.

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.