As you know, we developed KidKupz to not only help children “take the ick out of sick”® and chase away the harsh taste of liquid medications,  but also to help parents ensure their child is always getting the proper dosage.  That is why KidKupz are made using standardized dosage cups with clearly marked measurements – no room for error and the cups can be used with ANY liquid medications.

Clearly, The Journal of the American Medical Association supports our concerns.  Here is the JAMA study, released yesterday.  Important reading for all parents and caregivers.

“ Evaluation of Consistency in Dosing Directions and Measuring Devices for Pediatric Nonprescription Liquid Medications ”

Also, here is the video from WABC and the esteemed Dr. Jay Adlersberg.

We’ve all heard the buzz about what are considered to be the top “super foods.” These are the foods that offer the greatest health benefits and needless to say, none of them are found at McDonalds. It certainly isn’t news that our kids need to eat more fruits and vegetables, but what may be news to you is that there are certain foods that can actually benefit our childrens’ developing brains.

On my trying-to-be-a-good-parent days I try to offer my kids some sort of healthy snack after school or I try and avoid resorting to chicken nuggets for dinner. So, while I’m at it, I figure I might as well go with the foods that doctors and scientists  may will actually aid my children as they tackle their schoolwork.  For instance, did you know that egg yolks are packed with something called choline which aids in memory development?  I often try and substitute egg whites for yolks in an effort to reduce fat and cholesterol but here is a case where the benefits may well be worth the few extra grams of cholesterol.

Take a look at this round-up from WebMD and get some great meal and snack ideas that may actually help your child get the most of out of his school day.

If you are planning a road trip this summer with the family you are bound to find the back seat of your mini van covered with greasy potato chip bags and empty soda bottles by the time you reach your destination. Let’s face it, chips, soda and snack bars are among the tried and true go-to snacks on the road. They’re easy to grab off the shelf and there’s no thinking involved. The problem is that both you and your kids will arrive at your vacation destination feeling sluggish and bloated. Of course, your best bet is to pack snacks from home including the obvious choices like carrots, pretzels, sugarless gum and bottled water. But think back, way back, to your own childhood road trips and remember that the last thing you wanted to snack on was something that mom had packed in her old cooler. Half the fun of the trip is begging for some money to spend at the 7-Eleven on a Slurpee and a Twinkie.

With that in mind, Health.com has put together some great suggestions that will help make this Summer’s road trip healthful while still allowing your family the fun of snacking along the way.  Whether it’s a gas station, a rest stop or a fast food chain, these tips for what to grab on the go will even keep your kids snack-happy!

My 11 year old son is obsessed with baseball. In addition to knowing all the stats and all the players, he plays on a little league travel team which, especially this past year, consumed a big part of his life…and ours. The boys practice into the night at least 2 times during the week, year round and play double header games every Sunday. The games are often a 2 hour drive each way and the playing lasts for at least 4 1/2 hours straight with, at most, a 10 minute break in between games. My son is actually a very good player and while I don’t for one second believe that he will ever play professionally, his coaches have told me and my husband that he could go far in the sport with the proper coaching and commitment. This coming season, my son is being encouraged to join a more elite travel team which would involve more weekly practices, more games and more tournament play, including trips outside the U.S.  My son will be in the 6th grade come September and the workload will be intense as it is a big transition year academically. How much can an 11 year old handle and how many balls can he keep in the air without incident and without emotional and physical stress? There is a part of me that wants to insist that he stay in his existing league and not try and advance to the more advanced league. But what kind of a message does that send? Afterall, if your child has a talent and a passion for something, shouldn’t you support and encourage that passion?

The truth is, I am thrilled that my son is passionate about something other than video games and that he would choose playing ball in the park over watching TV any day. The question  is, when is enough, enough? Increasingly, young boys, and sometimes girls, are becoming more and more competitive when it comes to athletics. It’s no longer just a breezy fall Sunday afternoon ballgame in the park…it’s do or die and our kids are more and more sustaining significant physical injuries in an effort just to keep up.

Mark Hyman’s new book, “Until It Hurts: America’s Obsession with Youth Sports and How It Harms Our Kids” chronicles the toll that youth team sports may be taking on our kids and on the family unit in general. Take a peek and see if you see anybody you know.

Now, this is just plain silly! From the New York Times:

No Brownies at Bake Sales, but Doritos May Be O.K.

Well, here I am again with some further thoughts on something with which I am very familiar…childhood obesity. Having been extremely overweight up until the age of 21, I have always been conscious of how I would deal with weight issues with my own children, especially if I had a daughter, which I did, and she is now about to turn 10. When I was growing up, I was literally the only overweight child in my elementary school.  Childhood obesity was far from being considered an epidemic back then and my weight continued to be an issue throughout high school and then college until I was able to take control of my weight and of my eating issues. I have been able to maintain a healthy weight since then, but it is a struggle that will continue throughout my life. Since weight issues have affected both my family and my husband’s family, I had to assume that it would be something I had to be aware of with my own children. I am certainly armed with all of the proper information about exercise and nutrition but as we all know, there is so much more to it than that. It is crucial that we help our children develop self-esteem and confidence and that we teach them to express what they are feeling so that they don’t develop the need to soothe themselves with food or worse yet, drugs or alcohol. When our children, and particularly our daughters, do struggle with weight issues, we need to address the issues before the problem gets out of hand. It can be a painful subject, but we have to approach it in an honest and direct yet supportive way. I have done my fair share of reading on the subject but take a look at this article by Evelyn Resh on Oparah.com and I think you’ll find she has provided some real tools that we can all benefit from…. really good stuff

I’m not sure yet how I feel about this new proposed tax on sugared soda. We don’t drink any sugared soda at all at our house but we have been known to dabble in Diet Coke on occasion. That said, I am very much behind any efforts that will stem the tide of childhood obesity and the dramatic increase in diabetes in this country. Perhaps this could be a major step in the right direction.  According to the experts quoted in this article, tobacco consumption was most definitely affected by increased taxes and in theory, a tax on soda should work the same way. At the same time, it would be nice if instead of punishing us for our bad habits, our government  could find a way to make healthy foods more accessible and thus reward us for our good habits.

Read on and let me know what you think….

As I may have mentioned in the past, my nine year old daughter does not and will not eat a single vegetable.  Ever since she was a toddler, I followed the suggestions of experts and continued to put vegetables on her plate at each meal with no discussion and no pressure or threats. The thinking is that eventually, as they mature and their palates develop, they will give it a try without the feeling that it is expected. That approach still has not worked…9 years later. Of course, I must confess to having used the screaming, yelling, threatening approach as well when I saw I wasn’t getting anywhere with the laid back thing. Needless to say, my daughter is possibly the most stubborn child on earth and I firmly believe that she would choose to literally starve to death rather than eat a single, solitary pea. She claims that she eats vegetables and cites corn as an example which I have explained doesn’t really count. There is one strange exception and that is edamame. They are soybeans, steamed in their pods, and are typically served in Japanese restaurants with salt sprinkled on the outside. You can pop them directly into your mouth and it is almost as if you are snacking on peanuts. I’m not really sure how these soybeans slipped through her radar but I shan’t look a gift vegetable in the mouth.

I struggle to feed my daughter a balanced diet since without vegetables and with a very limited number of fruits that she will eat, the pickings are slim. I feel guilty and we all know that when mother guilt strikes, it’s easy to lash out at the source. I know that harassing a child to eat something only makes matters worse and sometimes even leads to eating disorders, but I’m at my wit’s end. At this point, the whole thing is really psychology and habit because if she were blindfolded and there were vegetables mixed into meatloaf or pasta, she wouldn’t even be aware of the taste. Once her acute radar spots a foreign substance, it’s all over. On the rare occasions that I have bribed her (yes, bribed her) to taste a tiny piece of something, even if it’s dipped in ranch or hidden in mashed potatoes, she gags and practically brings up her whole dinner. It is really quite a show – I should probably sell tickets.

Fortunately, when all is said and done, my daughter is healthy and that’s the goal. She is not weak or undernourished and she is thriving at school. Yet still, I feel I have failed. I mean, the 2 lovely Obama girls LOVE their vegetables, they can’t get enough kale or spinach…where did I go wrong?! I know I am not alone in my chicken nugget world so for those of you in the same boat, take a look at this article and let it either inspire or further frustrate you…