Healthy Environment for Kids

Proper  Hand-Washing 

The simplest way to reduce your child’s exposure to germs is to encourage him to wash his hands after playing with the family pet, using the restroom and before eating meals or snacks. Little children may not like washing their hands so it is important that you first teach the proper technique and also keep an eye on them to make sure they are doing it properly. Here's the proper hand washing technique: 

• Use warm water.
• Lather with soap for 10 to 15 seconds. Any soap will do.
• Have your child(ren) sing a favorite song while hand-washing to help them wash for a longer time.
• Rinse hands and dry well with a clean towel.
• Shut off faucet with paper towel and not bare hands.

Removing Shoes When Entering the Home 

By wearing our everyday shoes indoors, we bring in all sorts of microbes to our home environment that then get trapped in the fibers of our rugs or carpeting. This is especially disturbing if you have a baby that is crawling on the floor and putting her fingers in her mouth. Taking your shoes off when you come inside is one way to reduce your child’s exposure to germs and microbes that are brought into the home underfoot. Here’s how to keep critters from entering your home:

• Place a basket for shoes in your garage or backdoor.
• If necessary, place house shoes in the basket so people can change footwear if they don’t wish to go barefoot.
• Instruct family members to remove shoes at door.
• Improve the Air Your Child Breathes. 

There are lots of allergens in the air that make it hard to breathe or trigger allergy or asthma attacks in children. While air quality is a global problem, there are steps you can take to improve the air around your child. Here’s how to improve air quality at home: 

Outdoor Air

• Reduce exposure to motor vehicle exhaust by restricting his play near heavy traffic areas or during heavy traffic times (e.g., rush hour). 
•  Work with your neighbors and city council to stop unnecessary vehicle idling in your neighborhood. 

Indoor Air

•  Do not allow anyone to smoke in your car or home. Infants and children exposed to second-hand smoke are more likely to suffer from respiratory disease, ear infections, allergies and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). 
• Keep your home as clean as possible. Dust and vacuum rugs and upholstery frequently to reduce asthma and allergy triggers such as dust, mold and pet dander.
• Limit your use of aerosol sprays such as certain hair sprays or air fresheners.

Why Kids Need To Play Outdoors

We all want to raise bright youngsters that will one day grow up to do brilliant things (or at least keep themselves out of trouble, wink). Did you know that the early building blocks for your child’s brilliance begin at home, specifically in the backyard?

Unlike indoor play, playing outdoors is a multi-sensory learning experience. Children get to hear, see, smell and touch elements that help them apply what they are learning at school. Children are also exposed to stimuli that challenge them to use their brains in unique ways. Emerging child development research supports that playing outdoors helps children develop executive functions, behavioral skills and increases their attention span.

So what’s an ideal outdoor play setting? Outdoor playscapes could be natural or constructed. A natural playscape is one that has very little man made construction. Residential communities near lakes, rolling hills or trees provide excellent natural playscapes for children who can be accompanied by an adult during their playtime. An urban playscape is another option that is similar to a natural playscape. The difference between the two is that an urban playscape is consciously shaped to encourage interaction with nature. Examples include the Street Scrabble installation in Seattle, the Riverbank Project in Madrid and the bike routes that are popping up on downtown streets everywhere.

The above are ideal existing options for exposing children to nature through outdoor play. However, if you’re like most of us city dwellers you probably have a modest backyard that’s nothing more than a manicured field of grass framed with a few potted plants. Don’t worry, you can still raise an organic kid in the city by creating a constructed playscape. With approval to build on your property, you can create a constructed playscape that’s a simple maze or tunnel path or an extravagance like Jurassic Park in your backyard. It’s really up to your imagination and budget.

Any of the mentioned options are terrific choices that will benefit children’s physical, spiritual and intellectual development and likely help them to value and care for the world. Who knows, you may raise the child who grows up to find a solution for pollution or puts an end to deforestation.

5 Tips for Raising a Smart Kid

Will he be a doctor or a politician? Will she be a scientist or the first female president? Putting your kid on a path to any of these possibilities starts with creating an environment that nurtures his intellectual development. Here are five brain building strategies that will help your kid develop a strong mind:

1. Healthy Body = Healthy Mind. As a child grows adequate nutrition is needed for the brain to fully develop and function. Foods to include in your child’s diet include eggs, fruits, fish and vegetables which contain the brain health-supporting nutrients choline, B-vitamins, omegas and antioxidants. When feeding your child fish, or if eating it while pregnant, be sure to select low-mercury fish like tilapia and salmon.

2. Read. Without question reading to children and encouraging children to read on their own helps them to build their vocabulary and learn language skills. Also, many children’s books have story lines that help children develop critical thinking and social interaction skills.

3. Playtime. It’s more than just horsing around! Unstructured play helps children to stretch their imagination, become aware of other’s feelings, and engage in regular and enjoyable physical activity. As children get older, they also gain valuable friendships through play. Additionally, a study published in the Journal of Pediatrics found that children are better behaved when they have play breaks during the day.

4. Time to Talk. Did you know that the number of words you speak to your child can boost his brain power? Researchers Hart and Risley’s work and book Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experience of Young American Children found that children who heard more words by age 3 years had higher IQs and better academic performance than their peers.

5. Mindful Role Model.  Remember, home is the first classroom and your child is learning from your actions. When your child sees you reading he is more likely to pick up a book. When you daughter sees you enjoying art or music, she is more likely to engage in those activities. If your child hears you using certain words, he or she is also likely to speak those same words.

From allowing your child to play regularly to varying his diet with nutritious brain supporting foods, there are a lot of effortless actions that will help you raise a smart kid. Here’s to the next generation’s brain power!

Related Article:  Lead Exposure Affects Children’s Brain and Behaviour 

Fun Ways To Teach Children How to Garden

Want to get your kids to love fresh fruits and vegetables? Get them involved in gardening! Gardening can be an engaging activity that teaches kids about colorful nutritious foods while also instilling in them the value of caring for the source of their food –the Earth.

Here are a few tips to get your kids excited about a day in the garden:

Fun Factor. In the garden there’s no shortage of opportunities to intrigue and mesmerize your kids. You can do this by showing your kids an enormous vegetable, finding worms or showing off the vivid color of a fruit at the peak of ripeness.

 Cool Gear. Kids love to play dress-up and even role-play to bring their characters to life. Why not outfit your kids in junior size gloves, jeans, hats and gardening tools so they can become a little gardener for the day. You may want to read Two Old Potatoes and Me by John Coy and Carolyn Fisher, The Curious Garden by Peter Brown or Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert to help your kids get into the little gardener role.

Projects. While tilling and adding nutrients to the soil is better left to an adult, nurturing a seed is definitely a project for your kids. To make the project more engaging, have your kids decide what they want to grow and then give them the responsibility of watering it on a regular basis and monitoring its growth from seed to stem to mature plant.

Delicious Rewards. To reward your kids for their hard work in the garden, have them select a few recipes that will incorporate produce from the garden. Involve them in the preparation of these dishes so they will get to experience the garden-to-plate process.

These are just a few ideas to get your kids excited and involved in the garden. Whether you start with these, or a few ideas of your own, you will be fostering an authentic connection to fruits and vegetables that puts your kids’ health and the earth first.