have kids play outside!

A recent study in Pediatrics highlights the effects a life lived outdoors has on teenagers.  Researchers at Australia's University of Sydney found that adolescents who spent more time outside were not only healthier but also happier than their sedentary peers, who were more likely to report "feelings of loneliness or shyness".

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connect 5

Sometimes the simplest moments with your children at home, are the best!  Here are 5 easy ways to connect with your child today:

1. Bake!  Bond while measuring ingredients, sifting and stirring your way to a tasty outcome.  It’s a great way to catch up on their day and share a yummy bite.
2. Read!  You can read to your child or they can read their own material while you read yours.  Grab a blanket, sit next to one another on the couch and enjoy quiet together time.
3. Go for a walk!  If you have a dog, suggest a family walk… or to look at the leaves changing colors, or to enjoy the cooler temperatures.  The exercise and fresh air is great for everyone and wonderful together time.
4. Clean!  Were you thinking about organizing a closet or going through the toy box?  This may not sound like a fun way to connect with your child, but working together to achieve a family accomplishment is a great way to bond & build family team work. 
5. Get silly!  Helping with homework?  Make up funny acronyms or games to help them learn.  Or, have an indoor picnic for lunch.  If it’s in between mealtime, put on a selection of everyone’s favorites music and dance.  Turn up the fun factor… both you and your kids will love it!

print courtesy of PeaPress1

let the good times roll

October is National Roller Skating Month… so grab those roller skates and get rollin’!  Let kids enjoy the crisp autumn air while getting a great aerobic workout!  Roller skating is equivalent to jogging in terms of health benefits, caloric consumption, reduction of body fat and leg strength development, but causes less than fifty percent of impact shock to the body than jogging does.  It's a fun way for children to improve gross motor movement, develop balancing skills and coordination. 

Falls and bumps hurt a little more with roller skating than with other sports, so be sure to put your child in a helmet and elbow & knee pads. 

To find the closest rink to you, type in your zip code at rollerskating.org

have you seen our organic onesies & baby/kids tees?  they are the cutest!  shop here!

photo courtesy of buyrollerskates.info

all work + no play = bad for kids!

The word “play” seems like such a trite common sense description of children and childhood, but unfortunately it’s a word that is lacking from a lot of children’s lives, which in turn has a detrimental effect on them physically, emotionally and intellectually!  “According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, play is important to healthy brain development and allows children to use their creativity while developing their imagination, dexterity, and physical, cognitive and emotional strength.  Today’s children spend less time playing outside than any previous generations in part because only 20% live within walking distance of a park or playground.”*   Organizations and schools are taking note!  Grass root efforts have started across the country and they are working hard to put “play” back in the day.  The national non-profit, KaBOOM!, has listed 151 cities and towns as a Playful City.  Here's how 5 cities (from their list of 151 Playful Cities in the USA) made ‘play’ a priority:

San Francisco, California

Population: 805,235

Public Play Spaces: 144

Every two years, the city grades playgrounds and rates the safety and quality of each location.  The report identifies playgrounds in need of maintenance and renovation.

Columbus, Ohio

Population: 787,933

Public Play Spaces: 140

In the past ten years, more than two million dollars in grants, capital investments, sponsorships and private donations have come in through the city’s Safe Playgrounds Initiative.

Hartford, Connecticut

Population:  124,512

Public Play Spaces: 30

Last spring, Hartwood held a six week celebration of parks that included improvements to the city’s recreational facilities.

Orlando, Florida

Population: 238,300

Public Play Spaces: 83

The city has 14 joint use agreements with Orange County Public Schools to open up the playgrounds for public use during after-school hours.

Auburn, Washington

Population: 70, 180

Public Play Spaces: 90

The community rallied and raised $310,000 to help build a 32,000-square-foot Discovery Playground.  It is designed especially to accommodate disabled as well as able-bodied children.

WE LOVE IT!  To see how your city fared and to find out more information on how to take action for PLAY, check out  http://kaboom.org/!

What do you do to implement play?  Either at home or for your community… we want to know! 

Have you seen what's in our "outdoor play" section of our store lately?  Stop over (shop here)!  Tell us what you would like to see!  Now, go play!

* Quote and picture provided by KaBOOM!

music to our ears

Has your child been asking to play the guitar or drums?  Good news for those budding little musicians!  Kids who played musical instruments achieved higher results on both intelligence and memory tests.

Childhood music lessons have long term effects on the brain.  “Musical activity throughout life may serve as a challenging cognitive exercise, making your brain fitter and more capable of accommodating the challenges of aging,” says the lead researcher, Brenda Hanna-Pladdy, PhD of the American Psychological Association.  In another study by Northwestern University in Illinois, music lessons were credited for boosting language & speech skills, memory & attention spans, and the ability to pick up a new language.

Playing music helps to keep the mind healthy!  Starting childhood music lessons is a great way to connect a child with instruments & music.  When starting lessons for your child, consider the following:

·         Is he/she old enough?

·         Showing avid interest & enthusiasm in an instrument?

·         Can they sit still and pay attention?

·         Does the instructor get along well with your child and work well with that age group?

If lessons are not an option, try exposing your children to different genres of music, music programs and concerts to gain the positive effects of music.

What instrument does your child play or want to play?  We have been fielding a lot of requests for a guitar from our 4-year-old!

go fly a kite

One of summer’s simplest pleasures and activities is flying kites! A good breeze and an open area is all you need. Kids get to enjoy the outdoors, run, play and figure out how to maneuver the kite & work with wind while parents get to spend fun quality family time their little ones. Grab a homemade or simple kite and up, up and away for some flying fun!


Some fun kite facts:


• Kites originated in China over 3,000 years ago


• Kite flying is a sport in Afghanistan


• More adults in the world fly kites than children


• Benjamin Franklin used a kite to prove that lightening was electricity


• Kites can be used to teach math concepts like ratios, angles & symmetry

little swimmers – safety first!

Swimming is one of summers most loved activities, but it can also be one of its most dangerous. Drowning is the second leading cause of death for children 14 and younger and it can take as little as 18 seconds for a child to drown.

When you have eager little water lovers who don’t know how to swim, it can be difficult to keep both eyes on them at all times with all of the distractions and activities at swimming pools. To keep your family safe and enjoy all of the fun of splishing, splashing and wading in the water, be sure to:

 • Watch children closely at all times! Forget the phone or interesting conversation within ear shot and focus on your child(ren).

• Enroll your child in swim lessons. There is differentiating reports about when to start lessons. Lessons don’t guarantee that children will instantly know how to swim and can be unsupervised, but it starts them on the road to strengthening and developing their swimming skills.

• Listen to your child and be aware of what the Red Cross calls, “The Dangerous Toos” - If your child says that he’s “too tired”, “too cold”, “too hungry”, “too much sun” it’s time to call it a day or let your child re-charge.

• Make sure that an adult is within arms reach of a child at all times in the water.

• Use the right swimming gear. If you want to use flotation devices, make sure to purchase ones that are “Coast Guard Approved”. Remember, flotation devices do not replace supervision.

• Take a CPR class. Chances are you will not need to use this, but it’s an essential method that parents should know.

• Have fun! Swimming is a wonderful activity & form of exercise and rightfully so… kids love it!

play outdoors everyday!

It is recommended that preschoolers get at least 60 minutes of both structured & un-structured play time every day. Getting kids outdoors and into nature helps promote healthy child development physically, emotionally, intellectually and socially! Outdoor play is linked with children having a higher self esteem, longer attention spans and better performance at school. With all of the amazing benefits of play it’s easy to see the importance of incorporating it into the daily schedule.

Here are 5 tips to make outdoor play simple:

1. Unplug! Turn off the television, handheld devices and phones. Declare the next hour “play time” and get the kids outside.

2. Have plenty of toys ready to engage them. Pull out the bikes, helmets, jump ropes, balls and let them play! They may ignore everything that you pulled out and move onto something better (like raking your newly planted flower bed), but it’s great to give them options. Nothing beats playing with mom and dad, so grab a hockey stick or wiffle ball bat and join in on the fun.


3. Don’t let the weather interfere with play! Dress for the conditions. On sunny days, rub on the sunscreen & cover their heads with a sun hat (and be mindful to hydrate those little bodies). Throw rain boots & a rain coat on little ones and let them jump in puddles. When the temperature drops, bundle them up with appropriate layers, hats, boots & gloves. Mother Nature enjoys kids playing in all of her elements.


4. Expect kids to get dirty, skin a knee or clash over who gets a certain toy. Play time has to be laid-back time; allow lots of room for the unexpected.


5. Prepare a healthy & fun snack after the playing is over. Try cheese cubes, fruit kabobs, vegetables & hummus, berry-yogurt-granola parfaits or sandwiches cut into squares or triangles.


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