Health

Keeping a Balance in Youth Sports Participation

By Kate Carr
Kate CarrWe all want our kids to be the best athletes they can be and to play the sports they love for a lifetime. But there is a growing debate about the best way to make that happen. Is it better to focus on one sport, or is playing a variety of sports the best way to help kids reach their full potential?

Some parents, coaches and athletes believe specializing in just one sport year-round offers the best opportunity for a young athlete to reach his or her full potential. After all, they figure, the more you practice and play one sport, the better you get. (more…)

Lifestyle

New Food Labels Highlight Sugar

Moderpop co-founder Julie Podolec is optimistic about better labeling of our food.

By Julie Podolec
Julie PodolecI think we’re fortunate to be raising little ones in this age of awareness as it relates to foods. We have so many more reliable resources at our fingertips to help us become more educated about labels, the nutritional benefits of certain foods, and what to watch out for.

It seems as though the widespread accessibility of these resources has put the power back in the hands of the food consumers. Our collective demands for more transparency, easy to understand labels and real food are leading to big changes in grocery aisles and across food categories.

Changes are even happening at the FDA level, where revisions to nutritional labels were announced last week. The new labels will put more emphasis on calories (bolder type), and will help us delineate between natural and added sugars, as brands will be required to add an added sugars line. (more…)

Education

5 Tips To Keep Your Child Engaged This Summer

By Sophia Parsa
Sophia Parsa1. Plan educational field trips
You live in Los Angeles – a hotspot of amazing and often free museums, parks, and monuments that have so much educational value. What are you doing to take advantage of it? For example, did you know that in addition to their exhibitions, LACMA provides art classes for children and teens throughout the summer including watercolor, printmaking, and street photography? If your child isn’t a huge art critic but the star of the science fair, be sure to check out the La Brea Tar Pits or the Natural History Museum where they learn fascinating things about science and nature. Although these are great resources, it’s up to you to decide where the educational value will come from. There’s a difference between a fun trip to the museum and an opportunity to engage your child and challenge them to think critically about the world around them in a fun way! (more…)

Health

Preventing Homesickness

By Erica Feinman
Erica FeinmanCamp Directors all over are preparing to make this summer the best summer ever for your kids and kids like yours all over the country. Some of the things we do in the months and weeks leading up to camp are training staff to deal with all kinds of situations that may arise. In addition to training we like to help parents feel prepared for summer as well. Below are a few tips on how to deal with your campers heading off to summer without you and making this a successful summer for your campers and you!

Preventing Homesickness

Whether this is your child’s first summer at Camp, or they are a returning camper, many children struggle to be away from home. Allowing your child to navigate this challenge will help them develop independence, confidence in their abilities, and a deeper sense of self. Here are three tips to set your child up for success. (more…)

Education

5 Essential Steps Every Parent Should Take Before Assessing Their Child for a Mental Health Disorder:

By Yasmin Mossanen, Psy.D.
Yasmin MossanenLet’s face it; we all are guilty of using psychological language to label our children’s’ behaviors. It is not meant to be harmful or malicious, however, the sudden increase in mental health diagnosis in children is forcing us to take a hard look at what options we take as parents. Research has shown that ADHD is diagnosed in 1/10 children, Autism Spectrum Disorder is diagnosed in 1 out of 54 school-aged-boys, and mood disorders have increased by 40% in the last decade. Why the sudden surge?

Educators, administrators, and parents have become casual about incorporating mental health language in everyday life. Over-diagnosis in our school systems has paved the way to medicate and abnormalize children’s normal behavior. It is common for parents to categorize their child’s behavior in order to control it. Consequently, it is easy to forget that a mental diagnosis will follow children into adulthood. The label and the experience that comes with the disorder are irreversible. Mental health diagnoses are important and can be very helpful, and you want your child to be diagnosed with a mental health disorder if he/she really has one. (more…)

Health

Get the Mother’s Day Glow

By Lauren Rashap
LaurenCouchHere are 7 steps to help restore the skin and get the glow:

Probiotic Push – IT Begins in the GUT. Our second brain. Probiotics are bacteria that line your digestive tract and support your body’s ability to absorb nutrients and fight infection. There are actually 10 times more probiotics in your gut then cells in your body! Your skin and digestive system by themselves host about 2,000 different types of bacteria. Probiotic benefits have been proven effective in supporting immune function and healthy digestion, as well as beautiful skin. (more…)

Education

Educational Spring Break Activities

By Nathalie Kunin
Nathalie KuninSpring break is a time to unwind and enjoy a relaxing week or two off school. It can also be an opportunity to sharpen academic skills and learn new skills to bring back to the classroom with you. The 5 activities listed below will make Spring Break fly by whether you are away on vacation or having a “stay-cation”. (more…)

Health

What Do You Worry About?

The number one cause of death to children in the U.S. is preventable injuries.

By Martha Wilcox
MarthaWilcoxI was an LA Mom, too. My son was born in Santa Monica hospital, raised in Culver City and went to preschool in Beverly Hills at a progressive program that tried to teach him to play nicely (which he did from time to time), and tried to teach me insights to help me overcome the worries that go with the job of raising a child.

And I was a worrier, though I would have defined myself as a “dedicated questioner and researcher.” Let’s just say I took the job of parenting to heart; I was probably only slightly nutty about it. (more…)