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Gov't adding fruits, veggies to WIC list

The grocery shopping list for the far-reaching Women, Infants and Children program is getting its first significant update since the 1970s. Fruits, vegetables and whole grains are being added to the program, which helps feed more than half the babies born in the U.S. To cover the cost, WIC will pay for less of the juice, eggs, cheese and milk that have been staples of the program.

Read on ... Tags: nutrition, food

Fruits: How to select, store and serve these healthy foods

Nature offers many sweet choices for eating well: juicy red cherries, plump purple plums, and orange, luscious tangerines, just to name a few.

In fact, all fruits fit into a colorful and healthy diet. Whether you eat them as snacks, main meals or trimmings, fruits offer a variety of nutrients, very little fat and relatively few calories. Find out why you need to eat fruits and the best way to select, store and serve them.

Read on ...

tags: fruit, food, nutrition

Communication Success Tip: Letter writing Writing a letter to someone who is personally important to you is a chance to give them a little more of your personality than is possible in an email and a little more to remember you by than is possible in a telephone call. More on Communication Tag: letter writing

Breast isn't best: readers tell US parenting magazine I was so sad to see this article. I know it is terribly important to uphold our standards of morality, but what is immoral about providing sustenance for your children?

Readers of a US parenting magazine are crying foul over the publication's latest cover depicting a woman breastfeeding, with some calling the photo offensive and disgusting. I was SHOCKED to see a giant breast on the cover of your magazine," one woman from Kansas wrote in reaction to the picture in Babytalk, a free magazine that caters to young mothers. "I was offended and it made my husband very uncomfortable when I left the magazine on the coffee table."

Read on ... Tags: breast-feeding

Communication Success Tip

Writing a letter to someone who is personally important to you is a chance to give them a little more of your personality than is possible in an email and a little more to remember you by than is possible in a telephone call.

More on Communication

Tag: Communication

Quote for the week. I used this quote in the ezine for families , and loved it so much, I thought I would share it here too.

We have done almost everything in pairs since Noah, except govern. And the world has suffered for it. -Bella Abzug

Tags: families

Baby fat: When to rejoice, when to worry By CHRISTINE ELLIOTT New parents learn quickly that everyone has something to say about a pudgy baby, with remarks ranging from harmless ("Look at those chubby cheeks") to hurtful ("Isn't he a little big for his age?"). "I got comments all the time from my so-called friends," says Lan Ma, recalling that her two children, as infants, had chipmunk cheeks and "rolls after rolls of flesh." Ma, of Edgewater, N.J., ignored any suggestion that Thomas, now 4, and Tyler, 2, were too big, even when both weighed in at 14 pounds — double their birth weights — at their 2-month checkups. "I was never worried about their weight when they were young, because they were both very, very healthy." Some other parents, however, can become anxious, given widespread reports that an increasing percentage of children and adolescents in the United States are overweight. Read on ... tag: childhood obesity, parenting

Herpes infections frequent in adolescent girls - Infections with the virus that causes genital herpes are common among teen girls, a new study shows. While none of the young women in the study had oral or genital herpes symptoms, some of those who tested positive for the virus were shedding it in their vaginal area, meaning it would be possible for them to transmit the infection to others, Dr. Kenneth H. Fife of the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis and colleagues report. Read on ... tag; Parenting

Nickelodeon to Kids: Go out and play

It's the heart of the summer, a time when a kid's thoughts may well turn to watching television — lots of television. But one television network is telling kids to turn off their sets, put aside their remotes and go outside and play. Read on ...

What's on in Brisbane in September http://www.brisbanecitylife.com.au/bcl/wotson-september.htmFriday 1 to Sunday 10 September - RiverfestivalSaturday 2 Sept - 2006 Kaleidoscope Festival Ipswich4 to 7 September: International RiversymposiumFriday September 8 - Fundraising Evening: Swing into SpringSaturday 9 September 2006 - Queensland State ElectionSaturday 9 September 2006 - Gluten Free Food Expo9th & 10th September - The 2006 Leisure Life Redland Spring Festival13th to 17th September - Brisbane Writers FestivalFriday 22 September - Last day of School Term 3 Qld schools

Bullying and Your Child Your child has always enjoyed learning, but lately seems eager to avoid school. Stomachaches and mysterious illnesses pop up in the evening and seem to get worse as the school bus creeps closer to your street the next morning. It's possible the problem has nothing to do with how last night's dinner was digested. Your child could be worried sick over a schoolyard bully. REad on ... Tags: parenting, Bullying

For Extra Health Benefit, Don't Chill Watermelon US Department of Agriculture scientists reported that watermelons stored at room temperature offer more nutrients than refrigerated or freshly picked melons. They found that watermelon stored at 70 F had up to 40% more lycopene and 50% to 139% more beta-carotene than freshly picked fruit. The researchers said their findings showed that watermelons continue to produce nutrients after they are picked and that chilling slows this process. More on the subject... Tgs: nutrition, health, fruit, food storage

Play by the Rules provides information and online learning about how to prevent and deal with discrimination, harassment and child abuse for the sport and recreation industry. Visit the site

VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES CAN INCREASE AGGRESSION May Be More Harmful Than Violent Television and Movies Because of the Interactive Nature of the Games Playing violent video games like Doom, Wolfenstein 3D or Mortal Kombat can increase a person's aggressive thoughts, feelings and behavior both in laboratory settings and in actual life, according to two studies appearing in the April issue of the American Psychological Association's (APA) Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Furthermore, violent video games may be more harmful than violent television and movies because they are interactive, very engrossing and require the player to identify with the aggressor, say the researchers. Read on ... Tags: Video games, gaming, parenting

Gene Simmons shows parenting skills on TV By night, Gene Simmons goes to work wearing makeup and spitting blood in the rock band Kiss. By day, he's got some downright normal ideas about parenting. Shannon Tweed and their kids — 17-year-old Nick Tweed-Simmons and 14-year-old Sophie Tweed-Simmons — let cameras into their home for the new A&E series "Gene Simmons Family Jewels." Read on ... Tags: parenting, Gene simmons

Violent Video Games - Psychologists Help Protect Children from Harmful Effects Psychological research confirms that violent video games can increase children's aggression, but that parents moderate the negative effects. Read on ... Tags: Video games, parenting

Depression tied to risky teen sex By Anne Harding Sexually experienced middle- and high-school teenagers with higher levels of depressive symptoms are more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior, a new study shows. Read on ... Tags: teenagers, depression, teenage depression

Adolescent sleep problems: Why is your teen so tired? Adolescents are notorious for staying up late at night and being hard to rouse in the morning. Your teens are probably no exception. But it's not necessarily because they're lazy or contrary. This behavior pattern actually has a real physical cause. And there are ways to help mesh your adolescent's sleep schedule with that of the rest of the world. Read on ... Tags: sleep, teenagers,parenting, family

Guide to a healthy heart

This is a visually exciting,interactive website which gives information about the heart, how it works and why it fails. Explore the Invision Guide to a healthy heart.

heart