Jodie Shield

Here are the methods that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend to measure a child's weight:

1. Use a digital scale. Avoid using bathroom scales that are springloaded. Place the scale on firm flooring (such as tile or wood) rather than carpet.
2. Have the child or teen

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Before talking with your child or teen about weight, carefully review the following recommendations -- each is backed up with scientific research:

• Talk about “healthy weight.” Always emphasize the importance of being a healthy weight when talking with your child or teen. Categories such as ov

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For years, pediatricians have used height and weight measurements to compare your child’s growth to other boys and girls the same age. Now they have another tool: BMI, a number calculated from your child’s height and weight that can be used to estimate body fat. BMI does not measure body...  Full Post

Here are the methods that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend to measure a child's height:

1. Remove the child’s shoes, bulky clothing, and hair ornaments, and unbraid hair that interferes with the measurement.
2. Take the height measurement on flooring that is not carpeted

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As a rule of thumb, people need about three weeks to establish a new behavior pattern and about three months to make it a habit. The exact time frame will vary, depending upon a person’s motivation and the habit. For example, drinking a cup of water every morning is an easier habit to establish...  Full Post

Here are some tips for making healthy eating and physical activity a habit for your child or teen:

• Repetition is key. Just as you learned multiplication tables by going over them repeatedly, we learn healthy habits through daily repetition.
• Practice! Encourage your child to regularly practice

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While there are a variety of ways to help kids reach and maintain a healthy weight, all the advice can be boiled down into eight healthy eating, healthy weight strategies. We’ve listed them in no particular order of importance -- because each and every one is important! When you’re done building...  Full Post

Here are some goal-setting tips:

• Start as a family. Sit down and come up with goals together. That way, everyone can take ownership and cooperate.
• Set no more than three goals at a time. If you try to make too many changes at once, your family will be overwhelmed.
• Make each goal specific. “Exercise more”

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Essentially, healthy eating for a healthy weight can be boiled down to the following:

• Eating the right kinds of foods -- foods with maximum amounts of healthy nutrients and minimal amounts of added sugar and solid fat.

• Eating the right amounts of these foods, with choices from each of the

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According to the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, children and teens should be physically active for at least 60 minutes a day. Now, if your child or teen has been spending more time texting than being active, 60 minutes may sound like eternity. However, keep in mind that kids...  Full Post

While meeting their daily goal of 60 minutes or more of physical activity, kids should include each of the following three types of physical activity on at least three days a week:

• Vigorous aerobic activities: These kinds of activities involve rhythmic movements of large muscles (arms and legs) and

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Ask yourself the following questions. If you can usually answer “yes” to these questions, your preschooler is probably getting enough physical activity.

• Does your preschooler play outdoors or in a room where they are free to run around several times a day?
• Does your preschooler watch less

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Avoid serving these foods or be sure to cut them into tiny pieces (no larger than one-half inch).

• Carrot sticks or baby carrots
• Popcorn
• Cherry or grape tomatoes
• Raisins
• Chewing gum
• Seeds
• Hard candy
• Snack chips
• Hot dogs or sausages
• Whole grapes
• Nuts

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When choosing grain foods, read food labels to make sure they are enriched. Also, for healthy eating and a healthy weight, at least half of everyone’s daily grain choices should be whole grains:

• Whole grains are the whole grain kernel with the bran, germ, and endosperm intact.
• Refined

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Grains provide carbohydrate -- the body’s main energy source -- which helps kids get up and go. Grains are also important sources of many other nutrients, including several B vitamins (thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, and folate) and minerals (iron, magnesium, and selenium). Whole grains are good sources...  Full Post