no.1/june 2011 children’s health & happiness
TRANSCRIPT
AN iNdepeNdeNt SUppLeMeNt by MediApLANet tO the MiAMi herALd
Children’s health & happiness
The United States Tennis Association is leading the charge in making this summer one of the best yet for kids in south Florida
make healthy moves together
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AN iNdepeNdeNt SUppLeMeNt by MediApLANet tO the MiAMi herALd2 • JUNe 2011
Challenges
the state of children’s health
Too many of our children are unhealthy. Some don’t get enough of the healthy, nutritious foods their growing minds and bodies need. Others eat too many of the wrong things and aren’t as active as they should be. It’s up to us to change that.
Over the past three decades, the rate of c h i l d h o o d obesity in the United States has tripled.
Nearly one in three of our children is overweight or obese, and less than 22 percent of them are getting the recommended amounts of fruit and vegetables each day. The health and future of our children is in jeopardy, and the implications are serious.
To put it in perspective, one in five children now faces increased risks for serious obesity-related conditions. In fact, Type-2 Diabe-tes, hypertension and high cho-lesterol are striking our children more than ever before. To put it plainly, if we can’t stop this trend, today’s generation of children will be the first to live shorter lives than their parents.
The path to obesity Our children’s lifestyle has changed dramatically over the past two decades. From physical education classes being cut in schools to the explosive popular-ity of video games and social net-working, our children’s concept of
“play” now involves a chair and a screen. Yet this is only just the tip of the iceberg.
There are so many factors that have a hand in the diminishing quality of our children’s health; we must recognize and address each of them. Food portions, for instance, have gotten bigger, fast food is seemingly everywhere and our culture promotes less physi-cal activity. It all adds up to our children eating more bad food and moving less. And often, economi-cally disadvantaged kids live in “food deserts,” where access to healthy food is limited. We have to provide balance. For starters, it’s important that schools promote healthy lifestyles through gym classes and cafeteria menus, but it’s more important to realize that our children’s habits have come from the people they look up to most: us, their parents.
From the choices we make at the dinner table to the way we spend our free time, we have created what experts call an “obesogenic environment,” which means we’ve made it easy for our children to gain weight and all the more diffi-cult to lose it.
It’s imperative that we introduce
healthy changes into every aspect of our family’s lives. And the best way to enact positive change is by doing it together.
The solution is easyThe keys to success are simple: make the healthy moves together. Whether it’s letting your child choose a new fruit or vegetable in the store to include at the dinner table or discovering a new outdoor sport everyone can enjoy, positive change is possible when the steps are fun. Use this summer to get your family off the couch, get them outside, and explore the world as a family. Just an hour of physi-cal activity a day will positively impact their health—and your relationship with them as well.
Through diet, activity, and fam-ily involvement, you can take ownership of your child’s and your family’s health. We can raise a healthier generation, but it is up to each and every one of us to excite our children about making those healthier lifestyle choices and reverse the health crisis that is affecting their generation.
Dr. reginalD Washington
A harvard study suggests that if we switched from white rice to whole grain brown rice we could reduce diabetes by 36 percent.
One in three babies born today is expected to develop diabetes later in life, unless something dramatic changes. What if white rice helped trigger diabetes and brown rice helped to prevent it, regardless of weight or lifestyle? That’s just what a 2010 Harvard study suggests.
The problemMost core food preferences are learned during critical early win-dows of opportunity (I discuss this at length in my book, “Feeding Baby Green”). In America we have raised a generation where most children learn to get zero servings of whole grains daily by the time they are 18 to 24 months old.
Official recommendations encourage us to replace white flour
with whole grains for children and adults, but this is very difficult because we usually start after taste preferences have already formed. Let’s start earlier, when babies won’t mind at all.
Today, the majority of babies in America are given white rice cereal as their first bite of solid food. White rice cereal isn’t just babies’ first food. In the US, this processed white flour is the number one carb eaten by babies from the first bite to the first birthday.
The solutionIf we just made the simple switch from white rice to whole grain brown rice for babies we might cul-tivate a taste for whole grains and prevent millions and millions of people from developing diabetes.
even better...For that very first bite of solids, though, I prefer choosing some-thing that doesn’t come in a box or jar. Let your baby see a real whole food in its natural state, something she’s seen you eat before, such as a banana or an avocado. Let her handle the whole food. Let her smell it. Let her see you eat some, and then let her see you mash up a bit, perhaps with some breast milk. If you are nurs-ing, she will already have expe-rienced the flavor in your breast milk before.
Her strong desire to imitate you and to learn from you, coupled with this powerful combination
of seeing, tasting, smelling, and touch creates a profound learn-ing experience that is deeply sat-isfying and fun. Let a whole food mark this momentous occasion—or a whole grain cereal. But not processed white flour rice cereal.
The Harvard study suggests that if we switched from white rice to whole grain brown rice we could drop diabetes by 36 percent. Consider a future population of 300 million in the U.S., with 100 million expected to develop dia-betes. A 36 percent reduced risk would represent a huge savings of life, limb, eyesight, money and health.
It’s time to change babies’ first food and give them a healthy start. They deserve to love the taste and texture of great food. They deserve a chance to beat the odds of getting diabetes.
Changing the odds for your baby
Alan Greene, mD, faapFounder, drGreene.com & the White Out Movement; Author, “raising baby Green” and “Feeding baby Green”
Dairy foods provide a power-house of nine essential nutrients important for a healthy diet. Try these tasty snacks!1. Blend low-fat strawberry milk with banana slices and ice.2. Alternate apples slices and reduced fat Cheddar cheese cubes on skewers.3. Layer reduced fat Colby Jack cheese and smoked turkey on crackers.4. Layer granola and fresh fruit with your favorite low-fat yogurt.5. Freeze squeezable yogurt for a quick and creamy popsicle.
For more tips on healthy foods, check out the Dairy Council of Florida at www.floridamilk.com
mommy bloggercatherine mccord:eating healthier can be fun if we do it together.
We recommend
pAGe 7
innovative solutions p. 4doctors at the University of Miami hospital discuss the therpeutic power of cord blood.
Questions & answers p. 6dr. barbara Moore, president and CeO of Shape Up America, helps parents make meals more fun.
“Getting kids to try new, healthy foods can feel like an impossible goal, but no matter how old your kids are, you can get them excited about trying new things.”
dr. reginald washingtonChairman of the board of directors, Action for healthy Kids and Chief Medical Officer, rocky Mountain hospital for Children
1 Nearly 32 percent of children aged 10-17 living in Florida
are overweight or obese.
2 In Florida, 46 percent of over-weight or obese children
watch three or more hours of TV on an average day.
3 Over 40 percent of parents with obese children have
been contacted by the child’s school about a problem he or she is experiencing in school.
4 Twenty-one percent of youth believe cigarette use helps
control weight.
Facts courtesy of the Florida Chartbook
fast facts
Mediaplanet’s business is to create new customers for our advertisers by providing readers with high-quality editorial content that motivates them to act.
folloW us on facebook & tWitter! facebook.com/mediaplanetUSAtwitter.com/mediaplanetUSA
alan greene, mD, faap
try this!
children’s health & happiness 1st edition, June 2011
publisher: kate [email protected] developer: paul [email protected] designer: missy [email protected] director: Jon [email protected] manager: Jackie [email protected]
contributors: dairy council of florida, disney magic of healthy living, max friend, dr. alan Greene, catherine mccord, dr. barbara moore, dr. reginald Washington
distributed within: miami herald, June 2011this section was created by mediaplanet and did not involve the miami herald or its editorial departments.
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AN iNdepeNdeNt SUppLeMeNt by MediApLANet tO the MiAMi herALd4 • JUNe 2011
Saving Cord Blood. Saving Lives.
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innovative solutions: a different health insuranceWhen you listen to Dr. Joshua Hare, director of the Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute (ISCI) and profes-sor of medicine at the University of Miami, share his views about stem cell research, you cannot help but feel a profound sense of hope regarding what this field of medicine will soon be able to accomplish.
“What we’re experiencing right now is a sea of change—a major trans-formation in medicine. The whole stem cell field is exploding right now, in particular with children’s health. For chronic conditions and incurable diseases that once required trans-plants or major surgery, we instead envision injecting stem cells so that the body can fix itself. In this decade, I think stem cell treatment will go from experimental to approved therapy. There is real excitement and promise in this field because there’s so much good that can happen for every major organ system, ranging from brain to skin to bone. ”
This intense optimism has already found validation in reality, as innova-tive strides in stem cell research have made their way into actual treat-ments for patients, particularly in the realm of cord blood transplants, in which noncontroversial, adult stem
cells are extracted from the umbilical cord immediately following the birth of a child. According to Dr. Andre-ansky, director of the Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplant Program at Uni-versity of Miami, “After a birth, that blood is usually discarded as biologi-cal waste, but it should be collected because it can be stored and later used as a potentially lifesaving product.”
Dr. Andreansky has seen this first-hand, as he recently performed a cord blood transplant to successfully help a young boy fight secondary leukemia. Originally the child was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor located in the muscle cells of his face, which was treated with radiation chemotherapy. But last summer, the cells in his bone marrow began to develop abnormally and eventu-ally turned into secondary leukemia, which required a combination of
both chemotherapy and a stem cell treatment. Often, stem cells are har-vested from bone marrow, but due to the unique nature of the boy’s dis-ease, doctors were forced to modify the treatment. They turned to cord blood. After much searching, two cord blood units were finally located in a New York public blood bank and proved a viable match, and the boy is now successfully recovering from the treatment.
The power of cord bloodWhile the amount of stem cells in one cord blood unit is normally ten times less than stem cells found in bone marrow, cord blood stem cells are more likely to graph, and there-fore more successful in treatment. Several studies attest to the success-ful outcomes of cord blood trans-plants as compared to bone marrow
transplants; research has lead to successful treatment of 80 diseases, including leukemia and sickle cell anemia. At present, Duke University is researching how stem cells can be used to treat cerebral palsy.
According to Dr. Keith Merlin, chief of obstetrics and gynecology at Signature Healthcare, “If donated and stored, these cells can be retrieved and used in the future for the treatment of many life threaten-ing diseases. By banking privately, your child and family have access to this potentially lifesaving therapy.”
Private banking ensures the best possible match for a family member if a transplant were needed. When weighed against the cost of going through insurance to find a donor from a public bank, a cost that can near $30,000, private banking is a family’s best option. According to Dr. Andreansky, “I usually tell people asking if they should do it, that based on our current knowledge, there is a slim chance that people will end up needing it. However, there is a chance that this cord blood may be used in the future to do amaz-ing things, perhaps like regenerate hearts. I encourage people to do it.”
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inspiratiOn
Why carry your baby The physical closeness between a mother and her baby is vital to the child’s sense of safety and emotional development.
Recent studies now demon-strate that mothers who carry their babies more frequently actually lower, instead of raise, the instances of crying fits. The peaceful rhythm of being inside the womb manifests itself in the feeling of being held close to the mother’s chest through baby-wearing carriers, which creates a sense of security and calmness. Through this practice it also becomes easier for moth-ers to utilize their hands, as well as nurse their children more often since they can more easily respond to early feeding cues. The sense of touch and reas-surance that accompanies this tactile bond is irreplaceable, and with baby-wearing devices, mothers can provide a warmer environment that continuously affirms their maternal pres-ence for the child. Through such parental care, both the mother and child can grow together.
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don’t miss!
Question: What’s a painless way I can protect my child and my family from life-threatening diseases? Answer: By privately banking your baby’s cord blood, your entire family has access to a lifesaving therapy that has successfully treated nearly 80 diseases.
chanGe
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“While the amount of stem cells in one cord blood unit is normally ten times less than stem cells found in bone mar-row, cord blood stem cells are more likely to graph, and therefore successful in treatment.”
WIN A TRIP TO THE
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Plus, try for a chance to WIN a Home Tennis Kit every day
The game of tennis is now easier than ever for kids at home to play. That’s why we’re giving away a Free Home Tennis Kit every day through September 15. Plus — you could win the Grand Prize, the ultimate family trip for four to New York City including four tickets to attend the 2012 US Open!
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. LEGAL RESIDENTS OF THE 50 UNITED STATES (D.C.) 18 YEARS AND OLDER. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. Sweepstakes ends 9/15/11. For Offi cial Rules, prize descriptions and odds disclosure, visit http://usta.promo.eprize.com/sweepstakes.Sponsor: United States Tennis Association Incorporated, 70 West Red Oak Lane, White Plains, NY 10604. ©2011 USTA. All rights reserved.
TO ENTER GO TO 10ANDUNDERTENNIS.COM/MIAMI
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inspiratiOn JUNe 2011 • 5
neWs in brief
Kid-sizing tennisLearning to play a sport for the first time can be daunting. The initial experience can be especially overwhelming for a child, which can preclude him or her from embracing an activity that can offer a life-time of fun, exercise, and personal growth. In response to this challenge, the United States Tennis Association (USTA) launched its “10 and Under Tennis” program in 2008 to “kid-size” tennis to make it more acces-sible to youngsters.
Similar to the way T-Ball is used as a gate-way to baseball, this undertaking enables children to play with smaller rackets and tennis balls that move slower and bounce lower on courts that have been reduced in size. According to Scott Schultz, managing director of Player and Network Services for the USTA, “The response has been tremen-dous.” This success is largely due to the constant adjustments Scott and his team have implemented since the program’s start. “Along with ‘kid-sizing’ the sport, our collaboration with youth sports experts helped us realize that the leading cause of a child’s declining interest in a sport is the overemphasis on winning. So our strategy is to steer children away from the focus on winning and rankings.”
While Scott urges parents to expose their children to a variety of sports in order to find out which sport they most enjoy, he emphasizes why tennis specifically offers unique benefits for overall wellness that differentiate it from other athletic games: the lack of direct physical contact with other players protects children from suffering injuries like knocked-out teeth.
The physical demands of running in short bursts and eye-and-hand coordination ensure a high level of fitness and exercise. It teaches children to be good citizens by entrusting them with the responsibility to referee their own games. It is equally welcoming and engaging for both boys and girls. Finally, tennis can be enjoyed for an entire lifetime, well into the later years of life.
Children ages eight to 11 are especially adept at accepting and absorbing infor-mation quickly, making this life stage an opportune time to learn the game of ten-nis. To get started, children and parents are encouraged to partake in spontaneous play by setting up small courts in their drive-ways and backyards, similar to the way in which families play catch or shoot hoops outside. By expanding the access to ten-nis to a new generation of children, Scott enthusiastically declares, “It’s a whole new ballgame.”
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Photo: United StateS tenniS aSSociation
AN iNdepeNdeNt SUppLeMeNt by MediApLANet tO the MiAMi herALd6 • JUNe 2011
rediscover your favorite foodsThrough the monotony of our daily routines, we often find ourselves quietly succumbing to the same food choices again and again for our families.
While expanding the spectrum of the healthy food we feed our chil-dren might sound like it requires journeying far into distant, unex-plored aisles for obscure grocer-ies, the truth is, making healthier choices is as simple as modifying the staples we already have in our pantry.
Since meat and poultry are mainstays for the majority of U.S. households, incorporating tur-key, which has more protein, less fat, and less calories versus other meats and poultries (and zero sat-urated fat in the breast when the skin is removed), can transform the nutritional value for this food group. According to Sherrie Rosen-blatt, a spokeswoman for the National Turkey Federation, “Not only is turkey the perfect protein, but it’s also incredibly versatile in terms of recipes and cooking methods. It’s like a blank canvas that takes on any flavor profile very well, whether that be Italian, Southwestern, Asian, or any other style of cuisine.”
Upgrade your mealLast year, the organization launched an online meal upgrade calculator on www.mealupgrade.com which shows families how to upgrade traditional family meals, such as hamburgers or lasagna, by incorporating less fat and calories through the integration of turkey. The success of the site inspired the NTF to implement a new suite of
features this year, including guid-ance for preparing more nutri-tious packed lunches for school, recommended outdoor activities for families, and healthy dining out options. Rosenblatt empha-sizes that the service was created in order to “help busy moms and time-starved families realize the importance of simple changes and conscious decisions. It’s about
maintaining taste, while lower-ing calories and fat, for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.”
Get enough grainsA second category of food that offers a hidden wealth of nutritional value is grains, which commonly appear in a range of wheat, barley, oats, millet, and rye. According to the Grains Food Foundation, sim-ply exploring “a variety of grains not only ensures that you get more nutrients, but also helps make your meals and snacks more interest-ing.” By incorporating grains into your family’s diet, you can enjoy a bounteous range of nutrients, including iron, folic acid, essential B vitamins, potassium, and fiber that help maintain weight, boost immunity, lower blood pressure, prevent some forms of cancer, and increase energy. And that’s great for everyone.
Introducing healthier versions of familiar foods to the dinner table, the lunch box, and the picnic basket can help you, as a parent, ease the transition to healthier eat-ing habits without having to face your child’s reluctance to trying a new food.
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“it’s about maintaining taste, while lowering calories and fat, for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.”Sherrie rosenblattspokesperson, national turkey federation
tips to healthier eatinG
■■ make breakfast a prior-ity. feeding kids nutrient-rich breakfasts keep them full, and less likely to munch on calorie-packed snacks.
■■ Try substituting turkey prod-ucts for hamburgers, bacon, pork, and steak for a healthy, tasty, reduced-fat meal.
■■ for the perfect afternoon
snack, offer your child a handful of whole wheat crackers with low-fat cheese or peanut butter.
■■ one of the most popular whole grain foods is popcorn. dig in the next time you’re at the movies—but skip the butter!for more tips, check out www.gowiththegrain.org and www.eatturkey.com
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Upgrading your child’s favorite meals with turkey will lower fat and calories without making any tradeoffs in taste or convenience.
Learn more at
www.MealUpgrade.com
Upgrade Favorite Family Meals By Making Simple
Changes To Your Diet
With Turkey
Questions & ansWers
what are some simple ways that parents can encourage healthier eating?
■■ When families eat together, and parents eat healthier foods, kids are more likely to follow suit.
■■ Upgrade the foods you know they already love. If the child loves hot dogs—and most kids do—sim-ply “upgrading” to a turkey dog will lower the fat and calories and keep them smiling.
■■ Get the kids invested in meal planning—from picking the fruit or vegetable to helping prepare. They’ll be excited to eat the food they helped make.
how can parents make meals more fun?
■■ Theme nights are a great way to add some flair to dinner. For example, if your child is studying Ancient Rome, plan an Italian meal. Homework and dinner will be much more fun.
■■ Backyard BBQs, park picnics and movie nights can all make indi-vidual meals more unique and spe-cial—and kids can take turns choos-ing the location.
■■ Choose foods that evoke fond memories—parfait from a family trip to the strawberry field, “Thanks-giving in May,” or recreate a favorite meal from your last vacation.
dr. Barbara moore,president andceo, shape up america!
Question: How can I improve the quality of my child’s diet?Answer: Through diversifying meals they’re already comfortable eating by incorporating healthier ingredients such as turkey and whole grains. UpGrAde yoUr
child’S dieTUpGrAde yoUr
child’S dieS dieS T
3Tip
AN iNdepeNdeNt SUppLeMeNt by MediApLANet tO the MiAMi herALd JUNe 2011 • 7
play on! playing, learning, and growing together
maintaining taste, while lower-ing calories and fat, for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.”
Get enough grainsA second category of food that offers a hidden wealth of nutritional value is grains, which commonly appear in a range of wheat, barley, oats, millet, and rye. According to the Grains Food Foundation, sim-ply exploring “a variety of grains not only ensures that you get more nutrients, but also helps make your meals and snacks more interest-ing.” By incorporating grains into your family’s diet, you can enjoy a bounteous range of nutrients, including iron, folic acid, essential B vitamins, potassium, and fiber that help maintain weight, boost immunity, lower blood pressure, prevent some forms of cancer, and increase energy. And that’s great for everyone.
Introducing healthier versions of familiar foods to the dinner table, the lunch box, and the picnic basket can help you, as a parent, ease the transition to healthier eat-ing habits without having to face your child’s reluctance to trying a new food.
max frienD
■■ Question: how can we use playtime to enable a child to grow and learn?
■■ Answer: by celebrating family togetherness through imaginary role-playing and cooperative interaction.
The notion of “play” can often be misperceived as the absence of structure and a break from more scholarly pursuits. But according to Dr. Rosemary Truglio, the vice president of education and research for the Sesame Workshop, who is responsible for the development of the interdisciplinary curriculum on which Sesame Street is based, the time when parents are play-ing with their children represents critical opportunities for “teachable moments. Children learn so much through the parent-child interac-tion, during which time they are not only learning academic skills, but also social, emotional, and moral val-ues. The work of children is play.”
Heather Mizrahi, the senior man-ager of Disney’s Magic of Healthy Living, emphasizes that options for such play are more accessible than we might think. “There’s magic in discovering that being active as a family can be simple and fun,” stresses Mizrahi. “Classic items like
Frisbees, hula hoops, jump ropes, and bouncing balls can turn an afternoon in the park into a camp-like experience that everyone can enjoy! With just a spark of creativ-ity, these items can offer hours of active fun…and everyone can go home a winner!”
helpful strategiesFor more guidance regarding tech-niques for how parents can best engage in play with their children, Dr. Truglio recommends a few help-ful strategies:
■■ Role-play, where kids can pre-
tend, for example, to run a restau-rant and must manage the pro-cesses that occur in that imagi-nary environment.
■■ Plant imaginary seeds by creat-ing scenarios based on the question “What if...?” as well as other open-ended questions.
■■ Allow your child to occupy the driver’s seat of the imaginary situ-ation, while you occupy the pas-senger’s seat, so that they can discover answers and solutions for themselves.
■■ Engage in interactive and cooper-ative play, with your children, rather
than parallel play alongside them.By constructing a nurturing envi-
ronment of play for their children, parents are actually creating a sense of security, safety, and stability that stimulates the developmental pro-cess for a long time to come. The vital connection between play and children’s broader understanding of how to interact with the world. Trug-lio affirms “as we get older, we get close-minded, and children take the lead from their parents, so we need parent needs to get back to nature because we know that children who appreciate nature are the ones who will be great stewards for keeping our planet healthy.” What often goes unnoticed on Sesame Street is that the live human cast is actually meant to serve as a helpful model for parents, so that not only the children watching can learn from the show.
Whether families play inside or outside, studies that ask grown children to reflect on their memo-ries reveal that their most special memories do not concern what they received as presents, but rather how they spent time with their families. Through play, children learn to love and love to learn.
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insight
getting kids to love healthy foodskids attempt to control whatever they can, and food tends to be one of the easiest for them.
Couple that with processed food companies marketing to kids and supermarket stocking their shelves with kid-centric junk food, and it’s no wonder a simple carrot or fresh tomato holds little appeal.
Getting kids to try new, healthy foods can feel like an impossible goal, but no matter how old your kids are, you can get them excited about try-ing new things.
When kids see their parents try-ing new foods, it creates a positive impression. Eat together as a family as much as possible. Countless stud-
ies have shown that families who eat together have better overall nutri-tion than families who do not. This can be difficult given parents’ busy schedules, but even dinner or break-fast a few times a week can make all the difference.
how does your garden grow?Try building an edible garden either in your back yard or in a window box. Inviting your child to experi-ence food from seed to plate allows
them to experience ownership over what they eat. My kids get so excited when it comes time to help me come up with ideas for what we’ll make with our bounty. They don’t think twice about trying something new if they grew it because it’s theirs—it requires no cajoling, bribing or sneaking.
freedom of choiceIf you want your child to try a new, healthy food, give them a choice between two things he’s never had before. Let your kids help you pick out what you can cook together. The element of choice is a powerful one, because the decision about what he wants, not what you want him to try. Those small steps can become big
leaps if you work choice regularly into your repertoire.
if at first you don’t succeedIf it takes a few tries, don’t worry. Per-sistence and patience are key. Kids need time to grow accustomed to new flavors, so don’t give up if your first few attempts are unsuccessful. Arm twisting can push them away from foods they might otherwise try. I try to live by one simple rule: No “Food Fights.” You’d be surprised how well not making a big deal out of food will work in your favor.
Eating healthier can be fun, and that’s good news for everyone.
Catherine mCCorD
The Ultimate Summer Fun GuideZoo Miami • Discover what makes Zoo Miami a unique experience for visitors of all ages. Rated one of the top ten zoos in the U.S. by Tripadvisor.com, Zoo Miami houses more than 2,000 animals in natural habitats and provides visitors the feel of a safari. Enjoy animals like okapis, giant river otters, elephants and rhinos in large open air exhibits. Zoo Miami is located at 12400 SW 152 street; Miami, FL 33177. General Zoo Admission is: $15.95 plus tax, per adult and $11.95 plus tax, per child (3-12). zoomiami.org • (305) 251-0400
Theater of the Sea • Family owned and operated for 65 years, Theater of the Sea opened in 1946 as the second marine mammal park in the world. All of our marine life lives in natural ocean water lagoons and, as you tour the park with your guide and view the dolphin, Sea lion, and parrot shows you will be dazzled by our tropical gardens. Bring this add in and get $3 off adults $2 off children general admission. theaterofthesea.com • (305) 664-2431
Miami Children’s Museum • When school lets out, we are the place to hang out! Miami Children’s Museum Summer Camps are open to children from Pre-K through 5th Grade. There’s a new adventure every week. Don’t miss out on our summer traveling exhibit Bob the Builder – Project: Build It. Register for summer camp today! miamichildrensmuseum.org • (305)373-5437
it’s a wonderful world full of flavor
■■ Be adventurous! Try new foods and new moves kids enjoy around the world! Ever try the South African version of ‘keep away,’ or a snack of pita and hummus?
■■ Try fun fruity snacks: Mix up your daily routine by trying new fruits and new ways to pre-pare them. Choosing fruits with different shapes, textures and colors turns an average snack into something snack-tastic!
■■ Try unique veggie treats: However you crunch and munch or slice and dice ‘em, make them fun and veggies can be a real treat. Get creative!
■■ Small changes, big rewards: A five minute stretch in the morning? A quick swap of veggies instead of chips with that dip? A healthy lifestyle can be magic for the whole family.
■■ A garden of possibilities: Growing a garden is easier than you think. All it takes is some seeds, water, soil, air and care. No matter how much (or little) space you have, you can grow a garden, even in your kitchen.
■■ make family fitness fun: Who can hula hoop or jump rope for the longest time? Who might catch that Frisbee or baseball? A little creativity can make com-petition fun—and everyone can be a winner!
■■ play your own way: Put on your thinking cap to create some games of your own. Ever hear of Bulls-eye Bounce or Human Pin-ball? Find lots of inspiration at Disney.com/healthyfun!
■■ Get moving in south florida: Explore your local zoo. Check out nearby hiking trails. How about a day at the beach or a fun bike ride? With all that fresh air and sunshine, the possibili-ties are endless!
Disney’s Magic of Healthy Living part-ners with parents in their quest to raise happy, healthy kids. For more informa-tion, please visit Disney.com/healthyfun.
Disney magiC of healthy living
Bond wiTh yoUr kidS. They’ll love any excuse to play in the dirt. Photo: Jonathan godron
catherine mccordmommy blogger and founder, Weelicious.comphoto: Jonathan Godron
don’t miss!
