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Helping kids to eat well
Healthy eating is especially important for children to make sure they
get all the nutrients they need to grow. And helping
your kids to eat well now will make them more likely to eat well as they get older.
Eating well and being active every day can also help kids maintain a healthy
weight. In Canada, obesity among children and teens is increasing even faster than in adults. Health problems
related to being overweight are now happening at a much earlier age. And obesity has been linked to the possibility
of some cancers developing later in life.
Tips
- Set regular times for meals and snacks. Kids tend to snack more when there’s no real schedule and are more likely to reach for sugary treats.
- Plan to eat at least one meal together as a family every day. If this seems impossible with a busy activity schedule, be creative. You can have
a picnic after a game or practice. Or set aside one night a week as family dinner night.
- Make healthy eating choices yourself. Children learn by watching you.
- Encourage your child to eat slowly. When we eat too quickly, our body thinks it needs more food to feel satisfied. Encourage your child to
eat slowly. When we eat too quickly, our body thinks it needs more food to feel satisfied.
- Discover new foods with younger children. Get your kids to name the vegetables and fruits in the produce section at the grocery store.
- Grow some vegetables of your own together. Container gardening is easy and the kids will get to eat what they grow.
- Visit a farmers’ market in your community. It’s a good way to learn about where your food comes from and get
some fresh produce at the same time. Buy local vegetables and fruit in season, such as strawberries, peaches,
apples, squash and pumpkin.
- Get the kids involved when you’re cooking. They can help with simple tasks like washing the vegetables, stirring chili or putting toppings on pizza.
- Sign the kids up for cooking classes if they really show an interest in the kitchen. Major grocery stores and local community centres in many cities offer special classes.
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Helping kids to be active
Kids need to be even more active than adults. In order for them to
get the best possible health benefit, children need 90 minutes of activity each day.
Being active and eating well every day can help kids maintain a healthy weight.
In Canada, obesity among children and teens is increasing even faster than adults. Health problems related to
being overweight are now happening at a much earlier age. And obesity has been linked to the possibility of some
cancers developing later in life.
Tips
- Give kids a healthy start by being active yourself.
- Look for children’s CDs that feature active games and dance for toddlers.
- Keep activity fun. Try games like tag and hide-and-seek for younger kids.
- Set limits on how much time kids can spend watching TV, playing video games or surfing the Internet.
- Find activities that your child likes to do. Not every child will enjoy playing a sport or take dance lessons.
If your child has tried an activity and didn’t enjoy it let it go.
Instead, try to find another active pastime they’ll get excited about and hopefully stick with.
- Work exercise into other things your child likes to do. If they love to read and have no interest in sports,
get to the library by walking or cycling.
- Make time for the entire family to be active. Try walking, roller-blading, bicycling or skating together.
- Take kids on active family trips like short hikes, a day at the beach, camping, skiing or tobogganing.
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Sun safety and children
Since children spend a lot more time outside than adults, they need to be protected from the sun’s rays, no matter how old they are.
By teaching your child SunSense while they’re young, you'll be protecting them now and reducing their risk of developing skin cancer in the future.
How to protect your child
- Keep babies out of direct sunlight. Use clothing that covers their arms and legs, add a hat and slap on a little sunscreen. Keep them protected in a covered stroller, under an umbrella or in the shade. This can also help prevent dehydration and sunstroke.
- Try to keep toddlers and children out of the sun, between 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. when the sun's rays are at their strongest, or any time of the day when the UV Index is 3 or more.
- Send your kids to school or play in protective clothing, such as a large t-shirt and a wide-brimmed hat (this provides more protection than a baseball cap). Don’t forget to cover their shoulders and necks as these can get easily burned.
- Provide shade in your kids play area. Trees or a large umbrella work well.
- Always apply sunscreen with an SPF 15 or higher to your kids at least 20 minutes before they go outside. Reapply often and don’t forget their nose, ears, cheeks and tops of their feet.
- If they’re playing in or near water, make sure the sunscreen is waterproof and reapply often. Also make sure they have dry clothing after playing in water as wet clothing can lose up to half of its UV protection.
- Don’t put sunscreen around your child’s eyes – it will probably sting. Try to get them to wear a hat. Or as soon as they can wear sunglasses, think about getting them a good quality pair of wraparound sunglasses to protect their eyes. Toy sunglasses may be fun but they can do more harm than good.
- Don’t use baby oil as a moisturizer before your child goes outside. The oil will make the effect of the sun stronger and could cause your child to burn faster.
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Children, the environment and cancer
Much of the research on the links between the environment and cancer has focused on exposure in adults. There has been less research looking at the impact of these links early in life – either while the fetus is in the uterus or after a baby has been born.
This information is important because researchers believe that children may be more vulnerable to substances that may increase the risk of cancer, cause birth defects, or interfere with the normal hormonal system in the body. There are several reasons for this:
- Children may absorb more environmental contaminants because they breathe, eat and drink more than adults relative to their body weight.
- Children, especially infants and toddlers, sit more often on the ground and crawl to explore areas where adults typically don't go. As they do, they often put their hands and fingers into their mouths.
- There are periods during normal human development when exposure may pose more harm than during other parts of life. For example, the risk of developing cancer is greater among children exposed to radiation than it is for adults exposed to the same amount of radiation.
- There is a possibility that studies looking at exposure to cancer-causing substances in adults or animals may underestimate the risks of cancer in children. Specific studies in children will help us to better understand what children are being exposed to and can help identify risk factors for specific cancers over time.
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