The Blog of P.U.R.E. and Sue Scheff

Experts all over agree that starting a day with a healthy meal, whether it is cereal, oatmeal, eggs, toast or other foods - with a splash of juice , can give you a jumpstart to a good day! Mornings are one of the busiest times for families, but a happy, healthy start can set the tone for the day ahead.  Parenting expert and author of The Big Book of Parenting Solutions , Dr. Michele Borba offers simple solutions to help families step back from the morning chaos and make their mornings more meaningful. Rise and Shine:   Wake your kids with a mantra that is unique to them and their activities. If your child has a big baseball game, wake them up with their mitt on your hand or by singing “take me out to the ballgame.”  Even including a fun routine for younger children, such as sock puppets, can make waking up more enjoyable and special.   Race to Get Ready: Challenge your kids to a “race to get ready.” Set a time goal for each child, if they get dressed a...

September is National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month and kids all over the country, including right here in Florida, are sending a very strong message to their parents. Coalition of Angry Kids ( COAK ) are fighting right back at their parents.  Monkey see, monkey do - and that is exactly what is happening.  Parents do not realize that what they do, including what they eat has an affect on their child.  Are you going outside and walking or even jogging?  Maybe biking ?  What are you doing for exercise?  Are you unplugged ? What's for dinner? Are you health conscience?  Everyone knows that we can't eat healthy all the time, but when eating unhealthy is the norm in your household, you are setting a negative example and message to your children. Do you know what your kids are eating at school ?  Do you know the facts about school cafeterias ? Open letter from COAK to parents:  Who are you calling obese? We heard that Septem...

A casual smoking habit can easily turn into a lifelong battle with addiction. Find out how to keep your teen from starting to smoke - or help him/her quit now. With school opening, peer pressure can start.  Maybe a friend picked up this bad habit of smoking and your teen is curious about it.  Curiosity is normal - however be sure you have taken the time to talk to you your teen over and over again about the dangers of smoking.  It is a topic you don't just talk about once, you have to remind your teen over and over about taking care of their bodies. The Florida Quitline has valuable information, resources and tips to help you or your teen to quit smoking. It is easier said than done, as with many addictions, you have to have the desire to quit before you can start to give it up. Not On Tobacco (N-O-T)  is a state of the art anti-tobacco program specifically designed for high school students who want to quit smoking. N-O-T helps teens to stop...

Help Your Teen Find Healthy and Energetic Snacks Life is perhaps the most difficult when you’re a teenager; of course, being an adult brings its share of worry and responsibilities, but you also have the maturity and hindsight that a teenager lacks. They’re caught between their parents and their friends, they’re torn between doing what is right and what comes instinctively, and most of all, they battle the bulge as they struggle to remain slim (because it matters more than anything in their world) even as they’re tempted by lure of fast food and sugary sodas. It’s up to you as a parent to ensure that they look and feel great by helping them find and eat the right snacks. It’s not too hard to prepare and provide them with healthy snacks that boost their energy and keep hunger pangs away; the most difficult part is getting them to avoid junk food and eat healthier options. While adults are forced to exercise and stick to healthy diets because they’re worried about their health, to a t...

As parents scramble to keep up with the challenges of raising teens today, they are now thrown another curve ball. Most know that smoking pot, although not legal and seems to becoming more addictive among youths, is a trend that some parents brush under the rug with the justification that " it is only pot ." Now parents have a new concern and it is is being called, K2 - or " Spice ," Genie " and " Zohai " - that is commonly sold in head shops as incense and referred to as the " fake-pot ". Users roll it up in joints or inhale it from pipes, just like the real thing. Synthetic marijuana is the trendy new way to get high, which is legal, but consequences could be dangerous.  It is marketed as incense, however many are trying to get it banned.  The package warns not to consume the product, however this is exactly what teens and others are doing. Nationwide, the American Association of Poison Control Centers logged 567 cases...

Today Susan White is a guest Blogger with a great post about, How Healthy is Your Teen .   How Healthy is Your Teen? By Susan White My close friend and mother of two young boys (let’s call her G) was taken to task by both her mother and mother-in-law for the sole reason of getting her teen son to wake up an hour earlier each morning and taking a jog or going for a brisk walk on the treadmill. He had been a chubby baby, but what was cute as a kid was turning out to be both embarrassing and unhealthy as an adolescent. G took matters into her hands when she realized her son showed no inclination to join a sport or indulge in any form of exercise; she brought home a treadmill, and after a few persuasive talks (and bargaining sessions) with her son, she convinced him to get some exercise on it every day. Mother and son would begin the day in the basement – G would go a few miles on the stationary bike while her son jogged along on the treadmill. They not only got...

We are hearing more about childhood obesity and teen obesity . More and more teens and kids are technically connected however not getting outside and exercise! Summer is almost here and it is time to get involved in physical education. During Physical Fitness Month, take the time to learn more about staying healthy and eating right. The Guard Fit Challenge and the Physical Fitness Month Did you know that May is National Physical Fitness and Sports month? What better time than the present to begin to help your teens understand the value and benefits of being physically fit. And thanks to the Army National Guard's Guard Fit Challenge, helping your teen set and achieve fitness goals has never been easier. Fitness Resources for Students, Young Adults, Teachers, and Parents Whether you are a student who is starting to think about fitness, a young adult passionate about reaching your fitness goals, a teacher who is looking to inspire students, or a parent looking for additional resource...

Parents, have you had your cup of coffee this morning? Many of us remember our parents telling us that coffee will stunt our growth. As we know today it was one of those myths. However there are pros and cons to caffeine, especially when used in excess. Read a very timely article by Connect with Kids and how teens are using and/or abusing the use of caffeine through the energy drinks, coffee and more. Source: Connect with Kids Teen Caffeine Abuse “When I drink too much caffeine my heart flutters and it goes really fast, and I get really dizzy and light-headed - and I feel like I'm going to pass out or throw up.” – Alicia, 17 years old 17-year-old Byron has a stack of 430 empty cups. He slams down around two large, caffeine-loaded energy drinks every day. "It hits my brain in about 11 seconds," he says. "I've timed it." 19-year-old Pam has ten caffeinated drinks a day. "I probably have three cups of coffee," she explains, "and the rest, soda....

Although we hear it a lot, smoking is bad for you, there are still many adults and kids that continue to smoke cigarettes. Parents will say that we need to pick and choose our issues with our teens, which is correct, however we cannot stop talking about the dangers of smoking tobacco. In Florida, Tobacco Free Florida and Florida's Quitline are two organization directed at helping you and your loved ones quit smoking. Unveiled in 2008 under the direction of the Florida Department of Health, the Tobacco Free Florida campaign seeks to decrease the number of tobacco users in the state of Florida through efforts aimed at both preventing nonusers from starting to use tobacco and encouraging current users to quit. These efforts are funded by money derived from court settlements against major tobacco companies, and include executions in the realm of Advertising, Public Relations, Interactive, Guerilla Media, Event Media, Sponsored Promotions and more. It is their hope that one da...

As parents scramble to keep up with the challenges of raising teens today, they are now thrown another curve ball. Most know that smoking pot, although not legal and seems to becoming more addictive among youths, is a trend that some parents brush under the rug with the justification that " it is only pot ." Recently after speaking with a parent of an at risk teen, she said her therapist actually told her teen it was " okay " to smoke marijuana. Excuse me? This parent was horrified and this only empowered the teen. Obviously they are not returning to that therapist, but how many others feel this way? Parenting is hard enough, and it is the parent that is the strongest tool in helping our teens to understand the dangers of drug abuse. Now we have what is being called, K2 - or "Spice," Genie" and "Zohai" - that is commonly sold in head shops as incense and referred to as the "fake-pot". Produced in China and Korea, the mixt...

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a topic we are hearing more about. As a parent, we need to be aware of the signs to determine if your child may have tendencies and if so, to address them early. Recently, Connect with Kids posted an informational article with great parenting tips and resources about OCD. Source: Connect with Kids Research is beginning to indicate that Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a function of abnormal brain activity, not a result of a bad home life or learned childhood attitudes or behaviors. It has also shown that for every 100 people, two or three suffer from this disorder. Consider the following statistics developed by experts at the Child Development Institute: About 2.3 percent of the U.S. population ages 18 to 54 – approximately 3.3 million Americans – have OCD in a given year. OCD affects men and women equally. OCD typically begins during adolescence or early childhood; at least one-third of the cases of adult OCD began in childhood. OCD costs t...

Is your teen suffering with headaches or even migraines? Adults are not the only ones that have to deal with stress, although teens have different reasons for their stress, it can cause health factors. Read more about teen headaches and some informational parenting tips. Source: Connect with Kids Teen Headaches “It would fade and then it would intensify and the only thing that really made me feel better was I just went and sat in my room in the dark.” – Monica, 16 years old According to a new hospital study, when kids return to school, they’re more likely to suffer chronic headaches. In fact, the study reports that over a third of our kids get chronic headaches, which in a few cases may be a sign of a more serious medical problem or simply nothing to worry about. It was one of the worst headaches 16-year-old Monica has suffered. “It would fade, and then it would intensify, and the only thing that really made me feel better was I just went and sat in my room in the dark,” she says. What...

I found a cool website for teens and parents. BodiMojo – promoting teen health, nutrition, and body image. Read more! BodiMojo will be a premier nutrition, fitness and body image website built with teens, for teens, and focused on integrating online & off-line activities in fun and motivational way. Teens told us what they wanted and we listened. BodiMojo will include elements of music, interactive tools, games, vids, creativity, community building, contests, original content and customized user pages for teens. BodiMojo will also offer its users new technology for fitness tracking and mobile motivation. BodiMojo philosophy is simple: Health Can Be Cool Nutritional experts, health professionals, fitness gurus along with our participating teen users will develop stories, articles, information, graphics, videos, interactive features and more. This current site will provide information and updates on the development of the full BodiMojo website as well as receive content submissions ...

Kara Tamanini is an author and therapist and I can always find great information for parents on her www.KidsAwarenessSeries.com website. By Kara Tamanini Most children go through different phases in which they are scared of different things when they are young. However, a child can develop a specific phobia to different things in which their fears are excessive or unreasonable. Now, you may say that everyone is scared of something at one time or another. However, children that have specific phobias become extremely fearful or terrified when a parent or adult even exposes them to the specific thing they are scared of. Children most often develop specific phobias to the following things: being in the dark, water, animals, going to the doctor or the dentist, and lastly thunderstorms or bad weather. Children may display their fear or anxiety of a particular stimulus (ie… a dog) if the child is scared of dogs in a variety of ways. Children will typically display their anxiety or fear ...

This article definitely reminds me of when I was raising my teenagers and struggled with their sleeping patterns. I think many parents will gain some valuable information from Sue Blaney (Author and Parenting Expert) as summer is here and schedules become more flexible, read more about the importance of sleep and your teen. June 10th, 2009 by Sue Blaney If your teenager is one of the few who actually gets the required nine hours of sleep, you can stop reading this now. For the rest of you, new research has highlighted some facts you need to know about. Lack of enough sleep in teens has been linked to an increase in signs of depression and thoughts about suicide as reported in a research study on 15,000 teenagers conducted through Columbia University. The study looked specifically at the bedtime parents impose on their teens… those who allow teens to stay up until midnight on a school night, vs parents who impose a 9pm or 10pm bedtime. The later bedtime is linked to teens with 25% more ...

Source: Better Health Reaching Adults - Teens Text Questions About Sex by DrNancyBrown As if we needed any more indications that the sexuality education we teach in schools might not be working, the latest place for teens to find answers to their questions is via cell phone. In spite of web sites that allow teens to ask anonymous questions like We’re Talking Teen Health and Go Ask Alice! , teens are still looking for answers to immediate sexuality-related questions, and texting them is the newest way to get answers. In California, teens can text their sexuality questions to ISIS by texting the word ‘hookup’ to the phone number 365247 which will allow them to sign up for weekly health tips. Each tip contains a prompt to text the word ‘clinic’ plus a zip code to get contact information for two local clinics. In North Carolina, they can text questions to The Birds and Bees Text Line . Both services provide non-judgmental and medically accurate information within 24 hours to teens with ...

Source: Connect with Kids “My parents are pretty powerful in my life. I have their respect, and they have mine.” – Deepak, 16 years old Teenagers are bound to experiment with drugs, alcohol and sex – right? Not necessarily, says 15-year-old Nick. “It’s not inevitable,” he says. “It’s just a personal decision.” “There’s [sic] a lot of people who just don’t want to try any of that stuff, but there are some people who do,” says 15-year-old Chris Mullings. The Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs reports that when underage drinkers are disciplined by their parents they are less likely to become heavy drinkers compared to kids whose parents ignore their drinking. “My parents have a pretty big influence on everything that I believe in – what I will and won’t do,” says Elizabeth, 15. Nick echoes her sentiments. “For all my decisions, I’m always thinking about what they taught me, and even if I don’t do what they said, it’s still always in my head,” he says. What’s more, teens themselves sa...

I was asked by caring parents and individuals to give people encouraging news. StopMedicineAbuse is making a difference in creating awareness in parents and helping open up the lines of communication with their teens and tweens today. Although almost two-thirds parents have talked to their teens about cough medicine abuse, a large number still have not had this critical conversation. To help alert these parents, many OTC cough medicines will now feature the Stop Medicine Abuse educational icon (see above icon) on the packaging. Look for them on Facebook and join their Fan Club Group to stay updated. How can you help? More Parents Talking with Their Teens about Cough Medicine Abuse Posted by Five Mom, Christy Crandell , on Monday, May 11, 2009 Our efforts to educate parents about medicine abuse have reached thousands of families in the United States. With your help, more parents than ever are learning about this risky teen substance abuse behavior and are talking with their teens. Ac...

As a parent, you want to do everything in your power to protect your children. With the recent H1N1 flu outbreak (initially called “swine flu”), FFF is sharing some important steps that you can take right now to help protect you and your loved ones. 1. Covering your nose and mouth when you cough or sneeze. You can even teach your children to cough into their elbows. 2. Stressing the importance of washing hands often with soap and water. Any alcohol-based hand cleansers are effective as well. 3. Disinfecting frequently touched surfaces with an appropriate bleach-based solution. As you know, germs can spread by touching infected surfaces and then your eyes, nose or mouth. For more information, please visit http://www.familiesfightingflu.org/ and please listen to this Public Service Announcement: http://www.westglen.com/online/17695.mp3

IU2U.org - It’s Up to You…. What a great informational website on child obesity, eating healthy, and learning about how to make healthy changes in your family’s diet. Live a Healthy Lifestyle by Dr. Oz Mehmet offers great advice on this fantastic website as well as other experts and professionals. KNOW THE FACTS - Today teens are eating more and participating less in physical activity than the healthy amounts experts recommend. What are kids eating - Kids’ Food has Excessive Sugar, Fat and Salt - learn more details here: http://iu2u.org/kids_food_trends.php Effects of Obesity - It’s not just a “weight problem.” Learn the many ways becoming obese at a young age can affect a child now and in the future. Click on the figure below to see the effects of childhood obesity. It’s Up 2 U! 12.5 million American children are obese. By 2010, this number will increase by 20%. Isn’t it time we make a change? Get on board with the Fit Kids Act today at http://iu2u.org/sign.php Then, check out the f...