Picky Eaters

Many children come to The Schlinic with a history of picky eating habits. An article in Exchange Magazine cautions parents that the child may demand certain foods each day, but his or her NEED is for nourishment. Demands and needs are not the same and parents are encouraged to meet needs and limit demands. It can take many exposures for a new food to become familiar to the picky eater. Start by putting a small teaspoonful on your child’s plate on 4 different occassions with no requirement to do anything with it. The next 4 times they are only required to smell it. The next 4 times, just lick it once. After that, just leave it on the plate and see what the child will do. Do not demand that they take any bites. Hopefully your child will try some. If not, you need to consider that they may have an intolerance to the smell, taste or texture, or possibly have an allergy to the food. Attempt a different new food using the same system. You might want to have your child help to prepare the food that is being introduced as this helps with familiarity and motivation. Children who only eat light colored foods and mostly carbohydrates are NOT getting the nutrients that are necessary for proper development. If these suggestios don’t help it may be advisable to contact The Schlinic at 856-692-9292 for professional assistance.

Scroll Down this Page for Information on our Kaleidoscope Kids Kamp Programs

Mercury in High Fructose Corn Syrup

The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy reports that some products containing corn sweeteners are contaminated with mercury. Some of the products with the highest levels are Quaker Oatmeal to Go, Hershey’s Chocolate Syrups, Manwich Bold Sloppy Joes and Smucker’s Strawberry Jelly. We know that there are many conditions we are seeing in our young children that have a link to overtaxed immune systems. There is an overabundance of chemicals that must be metabolized from our environment, personal care products, cleaning products and the foods we consume. When a system cannot process the overload there can be negative changes in learning, behavior and health.Since we cannot control all of the exposure, it is important for childrens brain function and health to make the choices that are better for them when possible. There are many products on the grocery shelves that we call food but have no inherent food value. Food in the biological sense comes from living things and already contains the chemicals that we need in the right proportions. A good clue that a grocery product is not a real food is a long list of added vitamins and minerals. This is only necessary when a product is devoid of value from the start. Pregnant moms can improve their babies outlook right from the start by becoming aware of toxic overload and taking steps to lessen its impact. The report on high fructose corn syrup and the manufacturing processes that cause it to contain mercury can be found at www.healthobservatory.org/library.cfm?refID=105026.

 

Scroll down for information on our Kaleidoscope Kids Kamp programs.

Face Paint Recall

The FDA has recalled Water-Based Face Paints sold by Oriental Trading Company. A cluster of adverse effects occured at an event and included swelling, burning, itching,and rash. Significant microbial contamination was found in the products that were manufactured in China. Specific item numbers can be found on the website at www.fda.gov

SCROLL DOWN FOR DETAILS ABOUT OUR KALEIDOSCOPE KIDS SUMMER CAMP.

Chewing Gum Makes Kids Smarter-CAUTION

You may see reports of a study that found math scores were improved when students chewed gum. On Fox News they suggested an increase in blood flow to the brain and although not part of the study, it was reported that children felt calmer and that anecdotal reports indicate that gum chewing can help calm children with ADHD. So far this is true-Occupational Therapists have known that chewing is a primary organizing activity that can indeed produce a relaxation response as well as positively affect the auditory system. Here’s the CAUTION-We know that sugared gum has risks for the child’s health and dentition so it is assumed that sugarless gum is a good choice. Most gums today contain an ingredient called aspartame-this is a neurotoxin and most definately should not be consumed by children. Even adults can suffer serious health problems as a result of this chemical. The difficulty with gum is finding one that does not contain this harmful ingredient. I have found that even regular gum with sugar has some in it, even though its use was as an artificial sweetener. The only gum I have found so far without it is Chicklets, although you do have the sugar in that product. The alternative is non-nutritive chewing. We have a variety of products available but a good homemade option is a piece of exercise tubing or aquarium tubing with or without a knot in it. Unfortunately this is not always seen as socially appropriate so some kids will just keep biting on their pencils. It’s great in the privacy of your home though for studying and homework. What else boosts brain power? Water! I think it should be on every desk. At the Schlinic we carry Young Living Essential Oils and one in particular, peppermint, raises the oxygen level in the blood which improves learning. This is only with a therapeutic grade oil though, not the aromatherapy kind. By the way, there are also some products that can be slipped over a pencil for chewing purposes and kids can’t stick it on the bottom of the desk!

SCROLL DOWN FOR INFORMATION ON OUR KALEIDOSCOPE KIDS SUMMER KAMP.

Fun With Kids Doesn’t Have to Cost Much

Time with children is about the quality of the interaction together. Good experiences and lasting memories have no relationship to the amount of money invested. The payoff is joyful exuberance, that quality of childhood that is there for your pleasure when you chose to be present in their space. Creating the context for your fun is not difficult or expensive. www.zenhabits.net lists 100 ways. Plan a sunrise breakfast. Let your child help with the menu, help pack the food, select which sheet or blanket you will bring outdoors and what special place in the yard or park you will sit to watch the sky brighten. While you are enjoying this time together, talk about the things you can see, hear and smell from this vantage point. Of course you could plan the same type of event as a sunset picnic.  If it’s too late for a meal, bring fruit that you cut piece by piece as you share it.The book  THE BIG RED BARN  would be a great story to share because it describes the end of the day on the farm and the illustrations get darker as you near the end of the story. Why not bring crayons and a drawing pad. Draw what it looks like from your evening vantage point. Want to see joy and laughter-put on some music and dance together. If you dance well you might want to model some steps for your child to follow. Two left feet-make up some “crazy” dancing and laugh away. Kids just love this one- go play in the rain! Look for some old clothes and put on some boots. No boots- dare to go barefoot or wear just socks. Lay out some towels by the door and a plastic bag to get the wet soggy clothes to the laundry room. A warm bath afterward would be icing on the cake. What to do out there in the rain- stomp a puddle, catch drops on your tongue, spin in a circle with your arms outstretched and your faces to the sky, look for bugs, watch water run down a tree trunk, play with squirt guns. Remember paper airplanes? Make a whole bunch then fly them around the house. Dive bomb some off the top step or hold your child in the air and let it rip. Have a chase to retrieve them, gently tackle your child so you can get to  it first, but don’t really. Let them squiggle out of your arms and beat you to it. During this season we remember how much children like to go on a hunt. Don’t wait for egg time. Use straws, paper cups, stones, a stack of washclothes, matchbox cars-anything at all that you have a bunch of -and hide them for a hunt. Indoors or out this is a fun activity. You could even use the airplanes from the previous activity. Remember that you have to pretend to be hunting too, except that you often look in all the wrong places and don’t find them. Be playful-move slowly toward a spot, say you think you’ll find one there,  when you do, jump up and down in celebration, when you don’t (because you planned it that way) exagerate your response, Oh Rats!!! I know I’ll find you somewhere!!! Here I come!!! maybe you’re hiding——–UNDER HERE!!! Plan an end to your fun and games. Have a special glass of water together, one that you squeezed an orange into or put a drop of lemon juice in. A bigger treat- share a delicious smoothy. Let your child drop some strawberries and banana pieces in the blender. Add a little juice or water. Make it thin and use a spiral straw for fun. Watch the liquid go up and down each others straws. Make it thick and you can feed it to each other with spoons. Pretend you are going to give the bite to your child, then quickly snatch it for yourself with a hearty laugh, but quickly get the next bite ready for them.  Need a calm activity-flashlight to the rescue. Lay on your backs with the lights out. Chase each others lights around the ceiling, or follow the leaders pattern. Great when you want time with more than one child. Turn your light off, ponder aloud where it might have gone-then in a flash- it appears in a new spot. Laugh about how tricky your light is. Flashlights are fun under a blanket together too. Read a book, build a structure or sing songs under there. Are your children older? Write a story together. Take turns adding the next event and laugh when it is goofy. You do the writing—give your child a break from school type work and just let their imagination run wild. Lets get back to basics. This weekend, try a no cost activity and see if you don’t feel great about it afterward.

SCROLL DOWN to see the details on our Kaleidoscope Kids Summer Kamp.

Ball Park Beef Franks Recall

Some packages with this label may actually contain cheese franks. This may pose a health threat to people with cheese and milk allergies. The products recalled have a “use by” date of May 7,2009. Further information can be found at the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service at www.fsis.usda.gov

SCROLL DOWN FOR OUR SUMMER CAMP INFORMATION

Kaleisoscope Kids Summer Kamp

/Spring is a few days away but it’s time to think ahead to summer. Kaleidoscope Kids will enjoy ooey,gooey, magical, marvelous sensory activities, movement for fitness and fun, cooperative games, creative arts and expressive music and dramatic play experiences and fun forays into literature and storytelling.

Six weekly Kamp sessions will be available for children 3-8
Saturday Kamp for children 9-12 will run 6 weeks
Mini Kamp is a special week for two year olds
Handwriting Kamp will strengthen skills just before the start of school.

Kaleidoscope Kids:
Ages 3-4    9-11:30   Ages 5-8    1-3:30

Includes a parent group every Wednesday

Handwriting Kamp runs Monday-Thursday, 8/24-8/27
Kamp time is 6-7:30PM

A $100.00 non-refundable deposit is due by June 1,2009 for one session and an additional $50.00 for each additional session. A $20.00 fee per session will be assessed for registrations after this date(space permitting).

ALL KAMPERS WILL RECEIVE A KALEIDOSCOPE

Call or visit The Schlinic for registration details

Doodling is Brain Smart

Doodling may have been thought of as a lack of concentration, but new research suggests otherwise. Findings in the journal Applied Cognitive Psychology suggest that doodling may in fact stop daydreaming, the real culprit behind lack of attention. Doodling was shown to help participants remember details in an otherwise boring presentation. It was sufficient to stop daydreaming without affecting performance on the main task. Daydreaming does in fact have a very positive role in creative thinking, but during meetings or in the classroom the doodle in the margins may be just the thing for improving recall.

TV Viewing Before Age 2 Study

Currently on the news are reports from a study conducted by the Children’s Hospital of Boston and Harvard Medical School about television viewing. The study participants were children birth to age 3. The major finding was that “contrary to marketing claims and some parent’s perception that television viewing is beneficial to children’s brain development, no evidence of such benefit was found.” People who support such claims are usually referring to educational programming and teaching videos. Those of us concerned with child development know that interaction with people and the environment is the basis for the best outcomes in all areas of learning. Although the study authors go on to conclude that neither did they find evidence of harm, it must be noted that the study was limited to language and visual motor skills. Television is a passive process and therefore does not provide an enriched sensory experience upon which the infant, toddler or young child can build the foundation skills that result in optimal growth and development. Time viewing TV is time not spent in real life experience with a trusted caregiver in which attentional skills, social skills and problem solving skills are developed. Time with people or sensory toys is always preferable to television viewing. However, if your child does watch TV or video, it is best done with a caring adult who talks about what is being watched, points to important images and follows up with reading stories related to the program content.