Tips From My Kids!

This summer morning turned out immensely better than I could ever have planned for. We have been quite busy so far... so much so that we haven't really had any no-account time. But this morning, I took my cup of NutriCafe and a camp chair and sat out under the canopy of trees we call our "woods." Rainbow and Spiderman were playing a game of stick hockey with bamboo poles and a tennis ball. They creatively made goals out of found logs. It was blissful to sit and watch their joy.

Then Rainbow got whacked with the pole on her knuckle. No serious wound, but she was out of the game for a while. She came and sat down next to me. Spiderman followed, having no one to continue the game with. The little girls were collecting rocks around us. Like I said, this was the kind of morning I couldn't have planned. I just talked with my kids...

After a while, I thought about blogging. I was thinking of what I might write to encourage you today. I decided I would ask my kids. I said, "If you could give one health tip to the moms who read my blog, what would you say?"

Spiderman, who will be seven this month, abruptly said: "Don't eat candy; eat grapes or granola bars instead."

Rainbow, who is nine, thought about it all morning. At lunch, she said: "If you want to help your children be healthy, you can feed them lots of carrots for their eyesight and eggs so they will be smart." (You can read the reasoning behind eggs in this previous post.)

Witzy, who is just four, hummed her little Five a Day song from Signing Times Volume 6. I would love to post a video of it today, but it is not available for public use. Rachel Coleman sings this incredibly catchy song teaching little ones to count to five while they add up their fruits and veggies each day. "Any way you slice it, or dice it, or peel it, it's gotta add up to five a day!" Very cute song... so worth checking out the dvd.

So there you go. From my kids... if you want to help your kids be healthy, teach them to choose their foods wisely, making sure to include at least five fruits and veggies each day. Make it a game... and enjoy the adventure!

By the way, have you ever tried Dragon Fruit? If you haven't, be on the lookout for it. This is just the type of adventure your children will love. Even if they don't love the fruit itself, it is such a thrill to see its scaly pink outer skin and then reveal the beautiful black and white speckled flesh inside.

Enjoying the journey,