Posts Tagged ‘health/wellness’

Michelle Obama is on a mission to get our kids moving and eating more healthfully.  She wants to end childhood obesity in a generation.  Which means what she is really saying is that she wants YOU and all the other moms out there to step it up and start changing what you feed your kids in addition to getting them off the couch and into the backyard to play, each and every day.

It Starts With Food

Everyone in health care, the government, the media and even the First Lady seem to agree that what we are feeding our kids is making them fat.  From sugary sodas and juices, snacks filled with trans-fats, salt and sugar to fast food, it seems like mothers across the country are getting the blame for feeding their kids all the wrong things.  So the government recommends swapping unhealthy choices for lots of vegetables and fruits (with the emphasis on vegetables), water and low fat milk to drink and home cooked meals that start with fresh ingredients from the grocery store.

So Mom, how are you doing with these recommendations?  Do you give in and let your kids eat the “bad stuff” to avoid fights at the dinner table?  Are you too tired after a long day of working either in or out of the home to cook dinner?  Will your kids actually eat vegetables?

Then You Need To Get Moving

The second area the experts say needs improving is getting our kids moving.  Among the recommendations at the LetsMove.gov website is limiting television time to ONE TO TWO HOURS a day. Which means, Mom, that you have to set a good example and limit your TV time to two hours a day too.  That also means putting your thinking cap on and coming up with alternative activities for your children to do, like hobbies, games and participating in sports, to name a few.

So, is this realistic and doable?  Or is television not just entertainment but a way to keep your kids occupied so you can get other things done around the house?  Can your family really survive on just one to two hours of TV a day?

From Recommendations to Real Life

So we want to know what you are doing to prevent your kids from getting fat.  Leave a comment and let us know if these recommendations from the experts really work in your real life.  We want to know what obstacles you face it trying to keep your kids healthy and active.  For example, instead of all the advice, what could the government be doing to really make a difference and turn the childhood obesity epidemic around?

Don’t forget to take your questions and reactions over to the Chatty Exchange and touch base with other mothers trying to keep their kids from getting fat too.

I know I am not the only mother that has ever been in this position — where a Dr or nurse is telling you something and you want to believe them, but something is telling you what they are saying is not right and you need to speak up. Either you speak up then or never at all. With me, it is usually then. I try to be nice about it; if that doesn’t work, I start to get mean. This has happened to me twice in my life.

The first time was when my son who is now almost 3, was a little over 6 months old. He was learning to crawl when we moved from a house with carpet to a house without carpet. Of course he wasn’t used to this no carpet thing. One day he was crawling on our bed and trying to crawl off of it (our bed wasn’t that high off of the ground since we had our mattress and box spring on the floor) and he ended up falling and hitting his head. I thought nothing of it until the next day when he woke up and he was hot. I thought he was teething so I took him to the tub to cool him off and noticed this giant egg on his head! I was so scared. I called my husband into the bathroom and said we need to take him to the ER now!

When we got to the ER most of the nurses and doctors were telling me that was just his soft spot, blah, blah, blah. They did an x-ray and said they didn’t see anything. They said there was no need for an MRI. I told them either they were doing the MRI or I was doing it… “Take your pick!” Needless to say, they did the MRI. We were told to go to his pediatrician later that day.

When we went to the Dr he said that I was right with demanding an MRI. He couldn’t believe that they weren’t going to do the MRI because that is the best way to tell on a baby if something is wrong. So, mommy was right — he fractured his skull!

The second time was this past week. My daughter who is 6 years old, came down from her bedroom complaining that her foot hurt. I told her to sit down and prop it up. She seems to complain over any little thing, so I wasn’t sure anything was wrong. After a while, she wouldn’t walk on it or let anyone touch it. I called my husband who was at work and asked him what he thought. He ended up coming home and said children that young can’t “fake” a limp… so I called her doctor and got her in.

When I got to the doctor, he said something was wrong with her foot and ordered an x-ray. We went and had the x-ray done and came home. The doctor’s office called about 2 hours later and said it was broken and scheduled an appointment with an orthopedic doctor the following day.

The ortho was “pretty sure” her ankle wasn’t broken and that it was possibly a sprain or a hairline fracture. He put a cloth brace on it and told us to go home and come back in 5-6 weeks. Needless to say, I wasn’t too happy about this. The more I thought about it and the more I researched it online, the more I knew we wouldn’t be waiting 5-6 weeks to return. I called back and told them that her foot needs to be in a cast because this brace they put on it isn’t helping and provides virtually no support!

After a good bit of arguing back and forth and another visit to the ortho, turns out Mama was right — and now she has a pretty purple cast.

Have YOU ever had a similar experience?

My protector.

Abuser.

Enemy of happiness.

Stolen childhood.

Confusion.

Aging too soon.

Teenage Rebellion.

Bruised.

Broken deep inside.

Grown Woman.

Marriage.

Refusing to trust.

New Protector.

Safety.

Falling in love.

Taking back.

Healing.

No longer afraid.

You won’t hurt me anymore.

If you or someone you know is being abused in any way
please reach out.  You don’t have to suffer in silence.
Verbal or Mental/Emotional abuse is abuse all the same.
Talk to someone you trust…then get out.
If someone you know is being abused, it is okay to speak out.
It’s better to be hated for outing an abuser
than to learn of a death because you didn’t…

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. As such, you may see a plethora of pink from pinned-on ribbons to new webpage graphics to ties and other attire… all of this is in attempts to honor those who have battled with breast cancer as well as to raise public awareness of the issue. While October is the power-promo month, the NBCAM website is available every day of the year to provide information and references to those interested in learning more about the fight against breast cancer – and, according to the National Breast Cancer Awareness Month website, the fight to encourage the “practice of regular self-breast exams to identify any changes, scheduling regular visits and annual mammograms, adhering to prescribed treatment, and knowing the facts about the recurrence” of breast cancer.

This month, in respect of Breast Cancer Awareness, Colloquy Moms is featuring our readers – have you or has someone you love fought this battle? Send your story to team@colloquymoms.com along with a short bio, a link to your blog (if applicable), and a photograph (if available). Submissions will be accepted through October 25th as celebration of the NBCAM’s 25 years of awareness, education, and empowerment. All acceptable submissions will be featured between October 17 and October 31st! Our purpose is to inspire, to inform, and to enlighten others about the seriousness of breast cancer and the necessity of getting involved in the fight to continue to move forward in research and public awareness.

Spread the word – save a life!