One or two family meals a week may help kids eat more fruits and vegetables, a new study suggests.
In the U.K. study, children whose families always ate meals together consumed 4.4 ounces (1.5 portions) more fruits and vegetables a day compared with children whose families never ate together.
And kids who had family meals just once or twice a week consumed 3.4 ounces (1.2 portions) more produce a day.
«Modern life often prevents the whole family from sitting round the dinner table, but this research shows that even just Sunday lunch round the table can help improve the diets of our families,» ...

Five homemade bath salt recipes that are easy to make for yourself or to give as gifts. Includes list of natural ingredients you can customize yourself.

There are a variety of bath salts available on the market. But customizing your own can be fun, rewarding, and be used as gifts for various occasions. A homemade gift is much more personal and special than a card or an ill-fitting sweater. Below are five bath salt recipes that are easy to make but look like you spent hours working on them.
Ocean Essence Bath Salts

1 cup Epsom salts
1 cup baking soda

4-5 drops blue food coloring

4 drops jasmine...

Two Christmases ago, Rebekah Crane’s family friend, David, came over with a present for her toddler daughter, Drew. Unfortunately, the little girl, who is now 4, is “cautiously suspicious” of people she doesn’t interact with on a daily basis, Crane said — and for some reason, as a younger child, hated every “strange man” who walked into their house.

“David walked in the front door with a large puzzle of the United States so she could see and learn where all of her family members live — and Drew loves puzzles — it was the perfect gift,” says Crane, author of the young adult novel “P...

Many children live a fast paced lifestyle between school, busy parents, sports and activities. It may not seem like it, but they are inundated with stresses such as peer pressure, competition, finding balance and over stimulation. Teaching yoga to children at a young age has tremendous health benefits and can give them the means they need to handle many life situations.

Help grow the body, mind and soul

Physical benefits include increased strength, flexibility, body awareness and coordination. Yoga helps to improve concentration and relaxation...

New research has answered one of the most common questions parents ask their doctors: How much milk should I be giving my children? The answer is two cups per day.

«We started to research the question because professional recommendations around milk intake were unclear and doctors and parents were seeking answers,» said Dr. Jonathon Maguire, a pediatrician at St. Michael’s Hospital and the lead author of the study.
Dr...

Are you facing up to your very first Christmas with a baby? Need some advice on how to deal with flying, the long car trip, critical relatives or even Santa? Kate Gillan is a parenting expert who has some older and wiser advice for brand new parents who are going to be highly strung this holiday season. We first posted this story a year ago but since our first timers last year are now hardened graduates of Christmas with Baby, we think there might be some worried newcomers who could use this advice!

Christmas can be a minefield of family grudges and temper tantrums...

Babies may learn better when they’re sitting up, a new study suggests.
«An important part of human cognitive development is the ability to understand whether an object in view is the same or different from an object seen earlier,» Rebecca Woods, an assistant professor of human development and family science and doctoral psychology lecturer at North Dakota State University, said in a university news release.
«Cognitive development» refers to abilities like thinking, perception and memory.
She and colleague Teresa Wilcox, a psychology professor at Texas A&M University, found that infants at age...

I remember when my son was finally old enough to go on «drop-off» play dates. I just walked him over to his friend’s house, handed him over to another family for the afternoon … and then tried not to worry! When you think about it, there’s a lot of trust involved in a play date.

You want your kids to have fun on their play dates. And no one wants to be «that mom» — the one who gets all neurotic and asks if all the snacks will be organic. But now that your kids are making new friends at school away from you, a few questions are totally reasonable to ask...

If parents find advice from health professionals too dictatorial, it can put them off asking for help in the future

For Starters, a new report published by thinktank Demos on child nutrition, shows many parents are confused and anxious about healthy eating for their babies and toddlers.

A survey of more than 1,800 mothers of children aged 0-2, conducted for the report, found that one in five felt they had not received enough advice on breastfeeding; over a quarter of mothers wanted more advice about introducing solid food and a third wanted more information about toddler nutrition...

There is something to be said for allowing your children copious amounts of free time outdoors to ride their bicycles, engage in sports activities, and play with their friends, especially if you want them to grow up to be healthy, strong, and vibrant members of society. And a recent study published in the journal Pediatrics clearly illustrates this point, having found that many of the most critically ill children are also the ones with the most severe vitamin D deficiencies, which means these young ones are not getting enough natural sunlight exposure to maintain proper health.

For their study...