Test your knowledge at U.S. News and World Report by taking a 20 question quiz. The situations/questions stumped even the experts.

I got a 14/20. What will you get?

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Test Your Baby Knowledge

So, what do I provide him?

1. One fresh fruit, either a peeled pear or apple (he has a salicylate intolerance and can not tolerate the peels although they provide the most fiber).

2. One Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich. Because AJ has a very special diet the peanut butter is all natural, the jelly is organic, and the bread is Namaste No Sugar Waffle Mix (no wheat, corn, yeast, milk, lactose, sugar).

3. A small bag of peanuts.

4. Small bag of chips (Veggie Booty, Tings, Mary’s Gone Crackers, or Rice Crackers).

5. Silk Soy Yogurt (Vanilla) or Life Way’s ProBugs Kefir.

6. Nature’s Path Crispy Bar or Fruitabu Fruit Snack

7. Water

8. Organic applesauce or ZenSoy Pudding

Note that his lunch has protein, fruit, milk, water, grains, probiotics, etc. And, most of his lunch is healthy and organic. I do provide him with something sweet, salty, chewy, crunchy, and soft because of his sensory difficulties. So, if he is having a hard sensory day he does have an option.

I also offer him variety with carrots, cucumbers, a gluten/casein free chocolate chip cookie, leftovers, etc. He has many food allergies and intolerances so packing lunches can be difficult for him. We do the very best we can.

What do you pack?

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What School Lunches SHOULD Have

In fact, our son, now takes sleep medication every night to help him get to sleep and stay asleep. Not every child has such extreme sleep issues as him but many children have sleep problems that can be avoided if taught from early on.

DO:

• Make bedtime special time for cozy interaction. However, be firm about the time and place for bed.
• Take notice of when your child gets sleepy and make this bedtime.
• Our pediatrician says to keep regular bed, wake, and nap times in order to maintain the same amount of sleep each day. Children welcome routine.
• Use a simple bedtime routine that can be used anywhere (in case you travel).
• Use white noise if needed.
• Give children physical activity and fresh air during the day.

DON’T

• Never give a bottle with anything other than water.
• Don’t start giving solids before about 6 months of age.  Starting solid food sooner will not help your baby sleep though the night.
• Don’t fill up your child’s bed with toys.  Not safe.
• Never use sending your child to bed as a threat.They can go to time out or to their room but don’t send them to early bed.
• Don’t give your child foods and drinks with caffeine in them, like hot chocolate, tea, cola, chocolate, etc.
• Don’t let your child watch more than one to two hours of TV during the day. Yes, this hard to do!
• Don’t put a TV or computer in their room. In fact, a bedroom should be for sleeping, not playing. In our house there are only books in bedrooms.

Information from University of Michigan.

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Children’s Sleep: Best Practices

“Parents are eating a lot of lowfat and nonfat products, and we’re finding they also give their children such things as skim milk,” Driskell said. “The lowfat diet is probably associated with their being low in vitamin E.”

Their findings were that children’s blood values were low but not low enough to have deficiency symptoms. They were only at the point at which children needed to be treated with vitamins or food.

Parents stated that they tended to give their children lower fat foods. Instead they should be feeding whole milk, nuts and seeds, regular salad dressings, whole grain cereals in order to get all the vitamins children need. Additionally, children should get regular amounts of fruits and vegetables.

However, many parents (and doctors) are more concerned with childhood obesity, not vitamin deficiency.

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Lowfat Diets No Good for Kids

At Hidden Valley, Jodie Shield, a registered dietitian, helps kids all around the country eat their veggies. Jodie has been a a consultant and a spokesperson for more than two decades. She is a former national media spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association and has worked with the Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center in Chicago.

She is currently a complemental faculty member of the College of Health Sciences in the Department of Clinical Nutritian at Rush Univesity in Chicago.

As parents, you know how tough that can be, right? Here are twelve tips from Jodie to help you out you with a finicky eater and a veggie avoider.

1. Make Veggies Convenient. Grab and go snacks are the rage with kids. So if you want your child to eat veggies, make them so easy they won’t be able to resist them. Keep your refrigerator stocked with baby carrots, prewashed salad kits, celery slices, and colorful red, green, and yellow bell pepper strips. My family loves when I buy a ready-to-eat veggie tray and serve it with some low-fat ranch dressing/dip. When I’m preparing supper, I leave it out on the counter for everyone to munch on. The little extra cost is worth the convenience and it cuts down on waste from uneaten produce.
2. Making Recipes Kid-Friendly. When developing recipes for kids, include specific textures, flavor profiles and food shapes kids will gravitate towards. When doing this, always consider the child’s age. Based on research (scientific and anecdotal) younger kids tend to like ingredients that are not all mixed together and that are somewhat familiar to them, as opposed to older kids that like “concoctions” and tend to be more willing to try new foods. For example, a five year old might enjoy making a turkey taco recipe, which includes ingredients of their choice, while a 12-year-old would be more willing to make a taco casserole or taco salad.Try Rock N’ Rollups, and see how excited your kids get about vegetables and cooking.
3. Kids as the Cooks. I like to develop age-appropriate recipes that kids can make themselves. This helps vest them in the eating process and they learn so many things about food, nutrition, and cooking. Today’s kids, more than ever, enjoy cooking. Cooking shows are widely watched by tweens and teens and many view cooking as fun (even if their parents don’t!). I always look for ways to make my recipes fun and colorful. Vegetables and dips are great because it is a colorful combination and kids get to play with their food. In fact, a 2006 study showed this to be true as children involved in that study consumed 23 percent more vegetables when paired with a moderate amount of ranch dressing.
4. Bowl ‘em over. Soups are a hit with kids and a great way to get one of their five or more daily veggie servings. Homemade soups are great because you can always toss in extra veggies, but if you’re short on time, canned soups are also healthy and convenient options. Offer kids soups such as minestrone or vegetable beef. Feeling daring? Have them try split pea, lentil, black bean, or cream of broccoli soups. Keep in mind; you can always enhance canned soups by tossing in extra veggies or beans.
5. Beyond the Recipe. If your kids are not fans of vegetables, sometimes they need encouragement that goes beyond a kid-friendly recipe. One great source is the Hidden Valley® Salad Dressing Love Your Veggies™ campaign that offers parents tools to help kids develop a life-long love of vegetables through activities at home, at school and in the community. The campaign includes an interactive Web site,LoveYourVeggies.com, filled with activities, such as starting a garden and cooking with kids, lesson plans and a variety of kid-friendly vegetable recipes.
6. Overcoming a Picky Eater: I Easy Tips. Picky eaters can be difficult. I wish I had a magic wand (or recipe) to solve this dilemma, but here is the first of few tips parents can try: Let them “help” themselves. Kids learn a lot about portions when they get to take their own portions.  Parents often serve too much, which can be overwhelming for tiny tummies.  Pass food around family-style or set up a buffet on the counter.
7. Overcoming a Picky Eater: II Provide added interest. This will help peak even a picky eaters interest in trying foods they normally would take a pass on. For a fun way to get your kids interested in cooking see if they like the “Around the World” activity that teaches them about countries and vegetable dishes, have them dip their veggies in ranch as a creative way to try new foods, or try the Bagel Smile recipe for some added entertainment. The activity and the recipe can be found at LoveYourVeggies.com.
8. Overcoming a Picky Eater: III Keep trying; they will like it – eventually! Kids are instinctively fearful of trying new foods – it’s called food phobia.  Studies have found that it takes anywhere from eight to 10 offerings before some kids will even take a bite. And don’t force them to eat it. Ask them to taste it, and if they don’t like it, they can remove it politely from their mouth with their napkin.
9. Go Incognito. A great way to open kid’s minds to veggies is to prepare a vegetable they have not eaten before in a tasty and familiar way. For example, instead of a baked potato, try baking a sweet potato. My favorite veggie in disguise is mock-mashed potatoes. Simply steam a head of cauliflower for about 15 – 20 minutes (or microwave) until soft. Drain and transfer the cauliflower to a food processor or blender, along with a tablespoon of butter or margarine, and a tablespoon or two of low-fat milk. Puree until smooth. Add a sprinkle of salt and pepper and I swear, your kids will think they’re eating mashed potatoes!
10. Kid’s Cooking Lesson: I Stir-Fry Veggies. Kids often say they don’t like vegetables because they’re “boring.” So stir things up and try stir-frying veggies. Simply heat a teaspoon or two of oil in a large skillet or wok until sizzling. Then toss in bite-size pieces of snow peas, carrots, broccoli, water chestnuts, and add a dash of soy sauce. Serve them with chop sticks for even more fun. Really, most veggies can be stir-fried — even frozen veggies. The trick is to first partially thaw them in the microwave before stir-frying them.
11. Kid’s Cooking Lesson: II Baked Veggies. What’s the most commonly eaten and popular kids’ vegetable? If you said French fries, you’re correct. However, fries are very high in fat and calories. A much healthier alternative is to bake the fries and use different types of potatoes – white, new, and my son’s favorite, sweet potato. Baked fries are so easy and your kids will love them. Just preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Toss potato wedges (or cut them into strips) with 2 teaspoons of oil and a dash of salt and pepper. Spread the fries out on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until browned and tender (about 20 minutes), turning once. Leave the potato skins on for extra fiber.
12. Kid’s Cooking Lesson: III Grilled Veggies. Burgers and chicken aren’t the only foods that taste fabulous cooked on the grill. Veggies are also awesome. Here’s one of my family’s favorites: Grilled Mixed Veggie Bundles. I love this recipe because the foil makes clean up a snap and my kids love it because it tastes terrific! Here’s what to do: break two cobs of corn in half and add them to a large bowl along with a handful of green beans, and a handful of baby carrots. Toss them with some olive oil, garlic powder and fresh oregano or basil. Divide the veggie mixture up into four servings. Place each pile of veggies on a sheet of aluminum foil and wrap securely. Cook the bundles on a heated grill for about 20-30 minutes, turning them occasionally. Feel free to substitute other veggies such as broccoli, cauliflower, onion, or cherry tomatoes. For another grilled veggie recipe, such as Pepper Plus Panini, visit www.LoveYourVeggies.com.

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Hidden Valley Helps Kids Eat Veggies

One third of kids in the U.S. take vitamins and most take a vitamin that contains vitamin C, calcium or iron but most take a multivitamin. However, the American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend a daily multivitamin for children.

There is currently no research that shows that vitamins make you healthier or live longer.

CNN

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Do Kids Need Vitamins?

Now, back when AJ was 2 we had an Early Intervention coordinator do an evaluation on him as well. Most of these assessments were (at the time) developmental. However, they did pick up on some key things: he had some major sensory issues, he had serious speech delays, he had some medical issues like food intolerances and allergies that needed to be addressed, his developmental delays were across the board, scattered and both fine and gross motor. But they did not do their job.

As Early Intervention goes the one in the county we lived in was horrible. What they did was stall us until he turned 3 and could be evaluated for Early Childhood, and thus pushed out of their system. What they should have done is provide us with things that my friends are getting here in Illinois but I think they believed we were a family that could financially provide services, had decent insurance to cover it, and that our son would eventually develop, as he was from an institution. After all, he did not actually HAVE autism, did he?

They failed us and that is paying its price right now. We don’t have things like Boardmaker, swings and sensory tools, after school OT and speech, sensory diets or individualized lessons for him to be performed at home, etc. At one point we even asked them to provide respite for us and they stated that they did not do that. How could an Early Intervention Program NOT provide respite?

According to the State of New York, “Early intervention services are provided to help your child grow and develop, and to help you care for your child.
These services include evaluation services (including hearing and vision screening); home visits; speech, physical and other therapies; child development groups; family counseling; and, sometimes, even help with transportation. These services are provided at no cost to you.”

But, according to Michigan, where we lived ” Monies are allocated based on the number of infants and toddlers eligible for Early On services within each ISD and a base grant (based on size and numbers) for administration and coordination functions.
Early On is a family-focused process, with emphasis on family strengths and abilities, which requires the development of an individualized family service plan specific to each enrolled family, based on the findings of a multidisciplinary evaluation of the child and family.”

Because we were based in a low income county but were a higher income family we were told that we were doing more for our son than they could do for him. They told us to use our insurance to seek out OT and speech services and pay out of pocket. They told us that there was no respite for us. Why, because we could hire a babysitter?

I just can’t wait for the day that he can read…because apparently Michigan Early Intervention didn’t want him to.

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How Early Intervention Failed us

If you are searching for that perfect gift…watch this:

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Holiday Special Needs Toy Tips

There was an article in the December edition of Reader’s Digest that focused on this topic…raising children who care. In the article, five families show how they got started, how they stay committed, and how they make a real difference in their lives and in others’ lives.

Read the entire Reader’s Digest article here.

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Raising Kids who Care

Dr. Frank Greer states that this could have life-long benefits.

Vitamin D helps build strong bones and prevents rickets (a common disease in developing countries and in institutionalized children like my son who was very borderline). Although rickets is uncommon in the US a recent study estimated that 40% of US infants and toddlers are deficient in Vitamin D.

The recommendation is for infants to take a vitamin drops the first few days and then for the first year.

It takes four-eight ounce glasses of fortified milk to get the 400 IU so your children would be swimming in milk if you tried to use just diet to get the recommended dose.

Try a multivitamin (one without sugar and corn).

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Kids Need More Vitamin D