We try to make good choices for our kids whenever we can. In the grocery store, there are all kinds of cartoon characters peeking out from the shelves, proudly announcing this low-fat snack or that iron-enriched one. If my daughter sees Dora the Explorer anywhere on the shelves, she screams for whatever it is (I try to hold her off until we get to the canned veggies, where I know I can find Dora corn).

But are the so-called healthy kid-friendly foods really good for our children?

A Canadian study says not always.

Researchers did not include junk food in their analysis, but they found that nearly 90% of kid products still did not meet established nutritional standards. What’s more, 62% of the foods that researchers deemed to be of “poor nutritional quality” made positive nutritional claims on the package - such as being low-fat, containing essential nutrients or being a source of calcium.

I’m guilty of falling for that ploy myself. If I see “50% more calcium!” but the product doesn’t seem to have a ton more sugar or anything else compared to similar items, I’ll put the one with more calcium in my cart. It’s easy to be fooled into thinking you have a wholesome product in your hand when really, you have the same overprocessed crap — just with added calcium. The bottom line is, it’s still crap.

But it has Dora on it…

I give my kids nutritious food when I can; that doesn’t mean they never have chips or ice cream. But a few foods, like gummy bears, are strictly prohibited (for now at least, and for as long as I can get away with it) in this household. I’ve heard that gummy foods like that can do a real number on little teeth because they stick so well.

I may have to rethink my anti-gummy stance in the future. Investigators are checking into whether sugarless gummy bears containing xylitol can actually help prevent cavities in children.

Xylitol is a natural sweetener found in various berries, corn, birch and other plant sources. Research has shown that the sugar substitute reduces levels of mutans streptococci (MS) bacteria, which are known to cause cavities.

Is there hope, then, that candy might actually become a cavity-fighting ally? All I know is that if they make a good-for-your-teeth Milk Dud, I’m there.

Posted by Sunshine.

You already know that your parenting style is either more permissive or more authoritarian than some of your friends’ styles. But did you know that your general approach to parenting could greatly influence your child’s diet and eating habits?

I’m not sure I ever really thought of it that way, but it makes sense. Extremely authoritarian parents probably don’t let their kids slide with eating half a chicken nugget and then moving along to dessert. Very permissive parents are less likely to stress a ton about what their kids eat, as long as they’re eating something. (Yes, I’m sure there are exceptions.)

Experts are now suggesting that neither extreme is particularly productive when it comes to instilling healthy eating habits in our children. Better is the authoritative parent — the one in the middle. She is more likely, they say, to have children who eat more balanced meals because she uses positive reinforcement and sets a good example with her own diet, which therefore lowers her children’s risk of childhood obesity.

Well, I have to admit that my diet isn’t the greatest in the world, and I probably err on the side of permissive parenting at times. Maybe if I crack down on my own eating habits, my children will eventually adopt those new, healthier standards as they get older?

In sum, the researchers conclude that that efforts to control childhood obesity need to consider family dynamics.

Posted by Sunshine.

When I think about high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and other heart health issues, I envision a middle-aged or older guy with a beer gut and thinning hair, chomping on a huge greasy burger for lunch every day. Not my three-year-old daughter. The idea of her having problems like those seems ridiculous.

I just read an article that made me think twice about the absurdity of the possibility there.

Some children as young as two should be screened for high cholesterol, high blood pressure and other heart disease risks, according to new guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Say what? That’s right — the AAP is recommending that kids who are obese, whose medical history is unknown, or who have a familial background including high blood pressure and the like should be screened for early signs of problems that can lead to heart disease. If necessary, children of at least eight years of age would even receive medication to help lower their cholesterol.

The AAP recommends that the screenings, which include the fasting lipid profile, take place between the ages of 2 and 10 years.

Posted by Sunshine.

Not being able to get to sleep, or having trouble staying asleep, is the pits. But did you know that if you suffer from insomnia, your children could be at risk for certain serious problems?

In a study presented at the annual meeting of the Association of Professional Sleep Societies, Dr. Xianchen Liu revealed that children of insomniac parents were almost three times more likely to report symptoms of insomnia themselves, more than twice as likely to report fatigue, and more than five times as likely to report using hypnotic drugs compared to adolescents whose parents did not have insomnia.

Even more troubling, almost 17 percent of children with parents who had insomnia reported suicidal ideation (thoughts and behavior), 9.5 percent reported suicide plans, and 9.5 percent reported actual suicide attempts during the past year. This compared to 5.3 percent, 1.5 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively, of teens whose parents did not suffer from insomnia.

These statistics are startling, to say the least. Dr. Liu says that by understanding the possible correlations between insomniac parents and certain behaviors and problems with their children, teachers and health care workers can, in theory, proactively work to help children overcome these potential issues.

Posted by Sunshine.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest has asked the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to consider banning certain food colorings because, according to its studies, these colorings can cause children to display hyperactivity and other behavior problems.

Dyes are used in countless foods and are sometimes used to simulate the color of fruits or vegetables. The additives are particularly prevalent in the cereals, candies, sodas, and snack foods pitched to kids.[…]

The center’s petition asks the FDA to require a warning label on foods with artificial dyes while it mulls the group’s request to ban the dyes outright.

The FDA has repeatedly stated that these food additives are safe for the general public, and notes that its European counterpart holds a similar view.

Thoughts? Do you think the additives in our food could be harming our kids, or is this consumer advocacy group crying wolf?

Posted by Sunshine.

I’ve been watching my sodium intake (and thus, my family’s since three of the four of us eat the same foods) because my blood pressure was on the rise. One of the foods we’ve learned to be very careful on is soup. We use soups in various recipes; I’m a soup person in general anyway. But have you SEEN the sodium levels in your soup lately?

If you use 1/2 a cup of Campbell’s condensed beef broth, that’s 860mg of sodium. The Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for sodium is 2400mg! There goes more than a third of all the salt you should have in a day!

I don’t feel bad for singling Campbell’s out because I’m about to praise them. Campbell’s does offer low sodium soups and other smarter choices (look for the “Healthy Request” line). And they just announced that they are lowering the sodium levels of soups marketed to kids. It’s the second salt reduction for these soups in just three years, and will allow Campbell’s to legally label them healthy foods.

Cutting salt may also help to keep children slim, because a new study shows that kids who don’t snack on salty foods don’t drink as much soda, which is a huge source of empty calories (and caffeine kids really don’t need).

My daughter is on a raspberry and strawberry kick right now; you’d better believe I’m all over that! Hopefully she won’t notice that a lot of her old favorite snacks, like the chips we both love, are no longer present in our house. Even if she does, I can deal with the whining, knowing that I’m keeping her healthier whether she likes it or not.

Posted by Sunshine.

That’s not funky punctuation on my part. We Can! is a new national program designed to put the brakes on America’s rising obesity rates in children. We Can! (short for Ways to Enhance Children’s Activity and Nutrition) is a partnership between the National Institutes of Health and the Association of Children’s Museums.

This program focuses on several lifestyle changes (such as portion control and daily exercise routines) that, when accomplished together, can lead to much healthier weights for kids and an increased activity rate, both of which have enormous benefits across the board. Bad habits in childhood often stick with people right on into adulthood, and before you know it, you’re an overweight, sedentary adult with big health problems. The best time to curb unhealthy habits is during childhood, before they’re so deeply ingrained.

We Can! can be a model for overcoming the challenges of childhood obesity and overweight, [acting U.S. Surgeon General Rear Admiral Dr. Steven K.] Galson said. “Its partnerships are demonstrating how physical activity and sound lifestyle choices can make a difference and how communities can work together to make those lifestyle choices real,” he said.

We Can! is an education program to help children aged 8 to 13 years old to maintain a healthy weight. It’s being implemented in more than 450 communities in 44 states.

The newest cities in the program are Boston, Las Vegas, and Pittsburgh.

A full third of American adults are overweight. Let’s do something now so that our kids won’t follow in our too-heavy footsteps.

Posted by Sunshine.

Hot topic alert! A doctor at Children’s Hospital in Boston is being heavily criticized for running programs to help children who think they may be transgendered. And he takes patients starting from age 7! What does he offer? Counseling, and drug treatment that will delay puberty so that the child can have some extra years to grow up to determine if they in fact want to change sex. It is proven that untreated children have a much higher risk of suicide, while there are no cases of suicide for a child who had started hormonal treatments. But critics are coming down hard.

>>“Treating these children with hormones does considerable harm and it compounds their confusion,” said Dr. Paul McHugh, University Distinguished Service Professor of Psychiatry at John Hopkins University. “Trying to delay puberty or change someone’s gender is a rejection of the lawfulness of nature.”