Brain Hero - Raising a Healthy Child as a Community

Schools That Separate the Child From the Trauma

“When kids have undergone a lot of adversity, it changes how they respond to people and challenges in their environment, including very simple things that we might not think about — like how many transitions you ask them to do before lunch,” explains Chris Blodgett, a clinical psychologist who directs the CLEAR Trauma Center at Washington State University. “For traumatized people, changes are encoded largely as danger.”

When a child violates rules or expectations, the standard response is to try to reason with the child or use punishment, he added. “What the science tells us about how stressed brains react to change, loss or threat is that children will often violate rules because they feel profoundly out of control. It’s a survival reaction and it may actually be intended to control the situation.”

This is a NY Times article by David Bornstein, read the full article here.

I had a black dog, his name was #depression

What Sitting at Work All Day Does To Your Body #PhysicalHealth

Read the full article here.

12 Ways #Pornography Leaks Into Your Home #Parenting

This list is from an LDS Living article.

1. Mobile Devices
2. YouTube Ads
3. Shopping Catalogs
4. Previews & Deleted Scenes in your movie collection
5. Netflix, Hulu and so on
6. TV Commercials
7. Your Children's Friends and Peers
8. Mobile Game Ads
9. Music & Album Art
10. Video Games
11. Books
12. Apps like SnapChat

Does #Anxiety Interfere With Your Child's Life? Presentation at @COTR_Updates Oct 22 #Parenting #CranbrookBC

#OHEA Media Release: Pack a Healthful Budget-friendly Lunch

by Maria Depenweiller, B.Sc., P.H.Ec.

 

Back-to-class or back-to-work spells back to lunch box planning amid news of rising food prices.

 

Tips for a home-made lunch to save money, reduce waste and boost nutrition:

• Choose local, seasonal produce. Carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumber, grape tomatoes, apples, pears and plums are nutritious, economical and pack well. Check Foodland Ontario for availability: http://www.ontario.ca/foodland/availability-guide;
• Pack ‘extra’ fruits and veggies for the larger appetite or to satisfy hunger on the bus ride home;
• Pick the less-than-perfectly shaped fruits or veggies. They can be fun and less expensive;
• Homemade savoury scones, muffins or oatmeal cookies are inexpensive and a more healthful choice than pre-packaged crackers, chips and cookies. Sneak some veggies or beans into your baking for extra nutrition;
• Cook large batches of soups, stews or ragouts for dinner and plan for leftovers to go directly into reusable containers for a portable meal the next day or freeze for another occasion to avoid waste;
• Use an insulted container to keep food safe. (Hot food must stay hot / cold food must stay cold);
• Wrap newspaper around an insulated container to help maintain temperature. The coloured comics are fun;
• Hard-cooked eggs, cheese, meat, fish, poultry, yogurt, mayo and milk require a cold pack;
• A frozen reusable bottle of water or 100% juice doubles as a cold pack that’s drinkable by lunch time;
• Reuse glass jars to carry food. They are wide-mouthed to accommodate a spoon, easy to clean in the dishwasher and can be microwaved safely with metal lid removed; but are not safe for kids;
• Use a new pencil case to carry reusable cutlery and a fabric napkin to reduce waste;
• Make your own lunch box. Repurpose a medium-sized cookie tin or gift bag or sew your own lunch bag;
• More lunch tips at: http://www.ohea.on.ca/uploads/1/2/6/0/12605917/fuel_up_on_nutritious_snacks.pdf.