Education Information | Family Classes | Kids Shows

Click here to return to Ahwatukee Kids.

There are several different sections with more coming - click on something that interests you and please send in your suggestions for more!
*NEW* To help your family identify challenges and strategies for fit kids, take a look at: Fit Family Fit Kids
You can find information to use at home and even enter sweepstakes to win great prizes. You can also ask Dr. Levin Assistant Professor in the Department of Health, Physical Education and Sports Sciences, questions on the site.

Kids and Eating!

Kids and Entertaining

Kids and Free Time

Kids and Safety

Kids and School Health

Links

Kids and Eating!
It's harder than ever to raise healthy eaters today. It's important to introduce them to fresh vegetables early, carrots and broccoli can be mashed without adding sugar and salt. Make sure that you offer them a good variety and that they see you eating many different foods also. Don't let kids fill up on fruit juices, they have a lot of sugar in them. Keep your home stocked with healthy foods like fruits, vegetables and healthy sources of protein rather than chips, cookies or sodas.
Kids will normally eat when they're hungry and stop when they are full, but when kids are young we fix their food for them - so what's the right portions to fix for a 5 year old? The American Academy of Pediatrics has appropriate servings using the inside rims of standard dining dishes:
Ages 1 - 3: 6 1/4" bread plate
1 oz. chicken, 1/4 cup rice, 1/4 cup broccoli

Ages 4 - 6: 8" salad plate
1 oz. chicken, 1/3 cup rice, 1/4 cup broccoli

Ages 7 - 9: 10 1/1" dinner plate
2-3 oz. chicken, 1/2 cup rice, 1/2 cup broccoli

Kids and Entertaining
We're looking for some great ideas to share with other parents for fun things to do with your kids and their friends!
How about a film festival - we have them about once a month, and the movie selections depend on whether it's for our teenage daughter and her friends or our 4 year old and his friends. We have all the invited attendees (or their parents) make up a list of movies they'd love to see and if it's something we don't already have, we try to rent them early that day. We serve popcorn, and delicious snacks and everyone spends the night and has a great time.
Another great idea is to make art and craft activities the focus of your next childrens party. You can have a theme and make masks and hats, or even do some face painting. Kids love and beading necklaces and bracelets, or decorating cookies for special occasions (bake them ahead of time and let them decorate), carving pumpkins and using glitter, glue and feathers to decorate. You can do some spectacular decorating without spending a lot of money using ribbons - tie bows on the back of chairs and hang them from the ceilings, fabrics - drape them over walls to create a special room (choose the color and style based on the theme), or even hanging bows or garlands on railings, lamps or other common places about the house.
For more great party ideas click here: Party Ideas

Kids and Free Time
Eveyone needs to have a hobby or something that they love to spend time doing. Studies have shown that kids that are invovled with sports or hobbies (music, collecting of any kind) are less likely to get into trouble, and have better grades. These types of activities help children develop a sense of identity and bring like minded children together. They also provide good adult role models that children can spend time with besides their parents.

Kids and Safety
*NEW* According to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, All material on sites ending in .kids.us will be appropriate for kids under 13.

With all the news reports of children being abducted, safety experts say that parents need to talk openly and calmly to their children, helping to build self-confidence in them to say "no" to an adult or to scream - "this person is not my parent - help" if they are uncomfortable, or if someone they don't know has approached them or trys to take them somewhere. Remind children that adults, especially strangers, may seem nice or ask for help finding a lost puppy or something simple like directions, but adults should not be asking children for help. Always make sure your children know they're full phone number and address. Practice using the phone with them, they should know 911, they're home number, and they're parents work number. When you are out, teach your children to always stay near a parent, but if you should become separated, everyone should have an agreed upon place to meet (in the grocery store, malls, carnivals, and especially amusement parks). Remind children to never leave anywhere without you and not to leave with a stanger for any reason. We all know to teach our children to tell a parent if another adult tries to touch them in a private place, but we also need to let them know that adults don't need children to help them keep secrets and that no matter what our children tell us we will never be mad at them. Most important, remind your children that you will never, ever ask someone else to pick them up from anywhere, without letting them know ahead of time.
For more information regarding child safety click here: Missing Kids Tips

Kids and School Health
If your child is sick, there are a few things you need to remember when sending them to school with medication.
1. Do not send medicine to school unlabeled and loose. All drugs should be administered in a specific fashion, with a Doctor's order and your written permission. This is the best way to avoid mistakes and medication errors. Make sure that your childs school has all his or her's health records and any special requirements. Also, if your child suffers from asthma, make sure you have a copy of the school's medication guideline and the specific policy on resuce inhalers.
To see if your state is one of the 17 with a policy permitting your child to carry an inhaler, go to Asthma and Allergy Network Mothers of Asthmatics

2. Make sure you don't send your child to school sick or too soon after being sick. When children are not feeling their best they tend to score lower on tests and having a more difficult time learning and remembering. As a general rule, if your child is acting well and they're temperature is below 100 degrees for a day, no vomiting or diarrhea in a day and does not have a streaming nose, constant productive cough or any rash, they can return to school.

3. Children need good nutrition and plenty of rest to do their best in school. Good nutrition includes plenty of fluids like water, fruits which are water-rich, vegetables and milk. A good breakfast and a good nights rest can help your child start the day off refreshed and alert.

Links:
Creative Playthings

Travel With Your Kids