The First of May is Labour/Labor day in Europe. It’s a chance for unions to parade, families to relax and outdoor swimming pools to open. Not that I am going near the cold, cold water in our local park. No, I have other ideas for how our family is going to splash around in warm water this afternoon. Have I become a temperature wimp? Probably, but it’s a great way to introduce the Eleventh Healthy & Fit Family.

It seems to me that the old adage “no pain, no gain” is especially destructive when you want to be active as a family. Nothing is going to turn independent thinking kids off exercise more than parents who behave like the phys. ed. teachers of old. Families need to support each other’s efforts with love and warmth. When I read through the 22 submissions to the carnival this month, I was looking for that support. These are the ten best posts representing health & fitness information combined with the love and compassion that drive family interaction (or that should drive family interaction) from the first days of infancy to the last years of our lives.

We all know that “breast is best” when it comes to feeding babies, but Angela at Breastfeeding 1-2-3 has also found convincing evidence that its also best for protecting mothers’ mental health.

I know that my mental health is threatened more by the little illnesses my pre-schooler brings home. Project Paradox has some ideas about how I, and parents like me, can cope. It’s not all about pre-school. The Mad Kane’s husband brings home colds too. I wonder if Be A Good Dad’s post about how to give kids medicine can be used on spouses too?

Did you know that April was Autism Awareness Month? I had no idea until My Name is Mommy brought it up.

The Expatriate’s Kitchen (her symbolic spelling) has a series of very informative articles about children’s nutrition.

Zen Habits is all about avoiding extremes and being gentle as you try new things in this post about gradual vegetarianism.

Dr. Hal reminds of the phrases we need to use in order to have successful relationships and accomplish any goal together.

Hueina reinforces the priorities behind those phrases through life balance lessons.

And finally, when any life comes to an end, there is grief to deal with in healthy ways. Anna has one idea of how both children and adults can do that work.

The Twelfth Healthy & Fit Family will be hosted by Wisdom of Healing on June 5. Submissions are now open.

Post from: Babylune