Undra Brown said he probably would have sat around the house all day watching TV or playing video games.
Instead, the 10-year-old spent Monday afternoon at Lansing's Foster Community Center, playing dodgeball and gluing glitter onto blue-and-white foam to create snowflake picture frames.
"We just try to provide a fun, safe place for the kids to be," said Emily Stevens, Foster's special recreation services coordinator. "Instead of sitting at home, Continue reading »
Sunday, November 23rd 2008, 4:00 AM
Obesity in youth continues to be a problem throughout the United States. As a result, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is changing the food pyramid for toddlers aged two to five.
Web site offers parents a plug and chug formula to figure out exactly how much of each food group their child should be eating. You plug in their name, age, gender and how much physical activity they engage in and poof - the formula Continue reading »
Dr. Cheryl K. Olson, of the Center for Mental Health and the Media, chimed in with an interesting take on the findings.
"It's not the violence per se that's the problem, it's the context
and goals of the violence," said Olson, citing past research on TV
violence and behavior.
There are definitely games kids shouldn't be playing, she said,
for example those where hunting down and killing people is the goal.
But she argues that the label "violent Continue reading »
I've written more than a few stories on how Americans are by and large lacking in Vitamin D, but wow, was I unprepared for what I heard when I asked Frank Greer how many babies get enough Vitamin D: "If it's 30 percent, I'd be surprised."
Greer should know; he leads the American Academy of Pediatrics' committee on nutrition, which just doubled its recommendation for daily Vitamin D intake in children from 200 to 400 IU a day. The docs were concerned Continue reading »
Single mom Melanie Holt says getting back into the dating game wasn't like an eHarmony or Match.com commercial. Four years ago, her friends had to convince her to call the man she's still dating now.
"We both weren't looking for a relationship," Holt says.
They each have two children and were cautious about introducing them to one another.
"We've tried to make decisions in our relationship based on what would be best for our children," Holt, Continue reading »