Thanks to all who participated in our Children’s Nutrition Survey and Curious Chef Kids’ Cooking Set Giveaway, over 500 responded to share their feedback on our nutrition education website, children’s nutrition, current food issues and challenges for getting kids to eat healthier.

We heard from many parents, grandparents, educators and health care and food service professionals, neighbors, and more. Thank you for sharing the survey with friends and on Twitter and for taking the time to share your experiences and great opinions. We  value all of your thoughts and ideas and will be releasing a report on this exciting nutrition study very soon!

The wonderful prize of child sized cooking tools by Curious Chef drew great interest for the survey. ‘Cooking with kids‘ is a hot topic, as more families are finding getting children involved in the kitchen increases children’s interest in eating healthy foods and more communities are offering cooking classes for kids of all ages.  We used random.org to choose the winner and send congratulations to Brett M from Tampa Florida the winner of the Curious Chef 27 piece Foundation Set!

Visit Curious Chef for fun child sized cooking tools for kids in the kitchen! Start your collection of kid sized cooking tools with one special piece, a foundation set to get started or a gift set. For added value look for money saving online coupons and free shipping offers on their site.

You can also follow them on Twitter at http://twitter.com/curiouschef

There was mixed responses from a bold move created by the Active Life Movement: Barbie .  This is a wonderful organization that is committed promoting healthy living.

In their fight against childhood obesity, they attempted to send a strong message to children and parents with several ads that portrayed Barbie and Superman as overweight.

• One ad shows a very overweight Barbie relaxing in her bed, with a laptop and empty cartons of food and soda cans laying around her.
• Another ad displays a pudgy Superman sitting on a chair, eating ice cream and watching TV.
• The tagline for the campaign is “Keep obesity away from your child”

I understand that given the current percentage of overweight and obese children in our nation, organizations may feel drastic action is needed.

But my concern is that we are drawing too much attention to how a child looks.

This kind of approach is too focused on body image and taking a very negative approach in trying to shame kids and/or parents into compliance. I also am concerned that we are missing the fact that over 80% of our children don’t eat a balanced diet, are low in calcium and iron, and are not eating enough vegetables and fruits regardless of their weight.

Eating healthy and being active is something that all children need to learn. By keeping it positive and fun, we help children enjoy learning about nutrition.  Blaming, shaming and negative coaching is the very thing that gives nutrition a bad rap.

We all shy away from things that make us feel bad.  So I encourage us to face this problem head on with patience, support and fun association to healthy eating.  Help kids hear the word “healthy”, “nutrition”, “exercise” and think “fun, something I enjoy learning about, something I have fun doing!”

What do you think about this type of approach in addressing childhood obesity?

Bringing toddlers in the kitchen during cooking time could be a great time for a little nutrition lesson.

This article discusses the importance of teaching children, as young as 12 months old, the importance of healthy eating. Yup, toddlers.

Well, it is certainly what I believe. We need to instill in their little minds how important it is, how much fun it to be healthy … before they form their eating habits.

I think one of the fun things about toddlers and preschoolers is their vivid imagination. They are so easy to market to. We just have to make it fun. Put a big smile on, an enthusiastic voice and some excitement and the child is right there wanting to see what happens next. We can really use cooking time as a great opportunity to show kids healthy foods and how fun it is to be healthy, cook healthy, think healthy…be healthy!

I have my four year old niece here today and she loves to help me in the kitchen. We play “find the colors” with the fruits and vegetables. I find myself being a kid again, enjoying the littlest things.

The article also goes on to discuss a little stool, called the FunPod that allows kids to help in the kitchen at this young age. The FunPod is a stand-alone unit that brings the toddler to the worktop or kitchen counter top height. I am not endorsing this FunPod because I have not seen it or “played with it”. If you want more information, the FunPod is made by Little Helper.

A new video is launched that is designed to get children exercising.

A new fun way to get your kids moving. A new dvd, titled “Fitness Kids” has recently been released. It features 12 kids ranging from the ages 5-14 on the dvd. They are touring nationwide this summer promoting their new exercise dvd for kids and educating families about the childhood obesity problem. The exercise routine is lead by clebrity fitness trainer Dawn Strozier.

But will little ones enjoy exercise from a dvd. I haven’t seen it so I really can’t comment. I remember watching Romper Room on TV and trying to follow along with the various activities they were doing. I had fun. But I certainly wasn’t exercising in front of the TV.

This is great if it works, just wondering about good old fashion playing in the backyard or schoolyard or park…

I am always looking for new products that will help reinforce the fun of healthy living. I have not checked out the video but it seems like a good concept.

This seems to be the new craze. I found this exercise dvd site that sells a variety of work-out dvds for kids. The range is huge…Elmocize to Jane Fonda. Prices range from $10 to 20 US dollars in general. Anytime, I find some new site or product that can help get kids more active or eating healthy, you can be sure I will pass it on.

If you have any good new toys, products or sites that you want to share, please post them.

Florida parents are now receiving a health report on their child using a BMI score to measure if the child is at a healthy weight.

In Florida, parents received health report cards that were based on their child’s BMI age-to-percentile score. To learn more about a BMI score and see what your child’s score is, you can go to our parent’s tools page. But back to the article, in one county, over 1600 children received report cards that said they had “excess” weight.

• Some parents felt that it was too negative and were concerned that it may hurt their child’s feelings.
• Other parents were concerned that the score was not accurate and did not reflect their child accurately.
• Finally, some parents blamed the schools for the kind of foods offered to the children and its lack of exercise programs in the schools.

All in all, I think it is pretty natural for a parents first response to be defensive. I think that is why the healthcare community does not use terms like “obese”. They use these terms instead “eat risk for overweight” or overweight. Obese sounds so bad.

But we need to look at the reality here. Kids are overweight and we are seeing the trend of childhood obesity rising not declining. Perhaps the state needs to be more sensitive and explain it further rather than send a report card.

But shouldn’t this be a discussion you have with your pediatrician. Shouldn’t the peds be doing BMI scores and talking with parents. I am a nurse and concerned that this important screening tool and discussions are not taking place in the doctor’s office. Maybe, parents will have to become more proactive and ask their child’s pediatrician. “Is my child at a healthy weight?”

New toys launched that are designed to get kids moving.

I found this article that lists some new toys that are designed to promote activity. Getting kids to be active is an important part of being healthy. Kids need at least 60 minutes a day. This helps with growth, bone development and overall health. Here are some new toys that have come out that promote activity in a creative way.

I am not endorsing any of these toys since I have not personally played with them (one of the perks of being a parent). But I just wanted to pass them along. It lists the toy and associated prices.