February is American Heart Month. The American Heart Association is recommending that children get 60 minutes of exercise every day. The heart is a muscle and needs exercise to keep it strong and working at its best, just as every other muscle in your body. There are many ways to get your 60 minutes in every day: take your dog for a walk, play your Wii game, dance to your favorite songs, run, shoot some hoops or throw a football with friends, practice your soccer juggling or ride your bike. Heart disease can start at a very young age.

March is National Nutrition Month. Do you eat right? In spring 1991, the School Food Service Research Review stated that teens ate too few servings of foods that contain iron, calcium, vitamin A, and beta-carotene. Many students did not eat fruits and vegetables. Teens’ food choices are influenced by social pressures to be thin, athletic, to gain acceptance or just to assert their independence from parents. Teenagers need extra nutrients to help their bodies through their growth spurt which begins in girls at 10 or 11 and in boys at 12 or 13. Teen’s bodies are growing in height, hormones are changing and they are affecting every body organ, including the brain. Iron is especially important with the start of menstruation in girls and increasing lean body mass in boys. About one half of adult bone structure is deposited during your teen years and thus, calcium is a very important mineral for your bodies.

Being an overweight teen increases likelihood of death by heart disease at ages 60-70 and increases the likelihood of gout, colon cancer, and arthritis many times more than those that were not overweight teens.
 
 

Request to Administer Medication at School
Permission For Self Administering of Medication

When I think of the month of February I think of hearts, flowers, cards, Valentines Day, love, and romance. This shouldn’t be the only time we think of these things, but this month seems to bring these thoughts, with their associated feelings, to the forefront. Our kids need to know that we love them all the time. Children, especially teenagers, still need to know that you love them, even if they act like they don’t care.

Some ways you can show your kids you care are:

• Give more hugs and verbal reinforcement. Don’t  assume your kids know you love them, tell them.
• Let your love for them show in the way you look at them, the words you say, your tone of voice,  and your body language.
• It’s not true that all kids want their parents to stop hugging and kissing them when they become teenagers. Ask your children what feels comfortable for them, and respect their   boundaries.
• Eat at least one meal together every day. This gives you a chance to catch up with each other.
• Set aside one evening per week for family activities. Brainstorm as a family things you might like to do, then agree on which ones to try. Be open to ideas from all family members, and be willing to share your child’s interests.
• Spend uninterrupted time with each of your children individually. Try to make this a daily event. It may be just 10 minutes but it lets them know that your time together is important.
• Talk with your children about what would make your home more inviting and comfortable for them and their friends.
• Be loving toward your spouse or partner. Children learn to love by example.
• Be your child’s biggest fan. 

All people need to feel loved and appreciated! For example, when my son was in elementary school and taking his lunch I would always put a note in his lunch bag that said, “I Love You” or “Have a Great Day,” etc. and always sign it “Love Mom.” He acted like it is no big deal that I did this and he may have been a little embarrassed in front of his friends at lunch when he pulled it out, but a few months later I found a note in my purse. In his handwriting that said, “I Love You, Mom.” I still carry that note in my purse today and probably always will. I should get it laminated before it falls apart. That’s the best love note I have ever gotten!