Research shows that children develop eating habits similar to those of their parents. While it is a parent’s job to provide balanced selections from the five food groups, children can be allowed a certain amount of freedom to choose what and how much they eat. Poor eating habits and craving for sugar snacks and fatty foods may develop if parents fail to direct the decision making process. Remember that the issue isn’t "good foods" versus "bad foods".

If children balk at food put before them, don’t worry. Studies show children will, over time, eat the amount of food that is right for them if they are offered healthful choices. You can’t expect a child to want to eat broccoli if chips are offered, or drink milk or orange juice when parents are drinking sodas. Of course, an occasional high fat food, gooey dessert, sugary snack, or soda is permissible, provided they are not substitutes for nutritious foods. Parents can make eating a pleasure for the entire family by helping create positive attitudes about food that will lead to a lifetime of good health.

What are the five food groups, and how can we help the entire family eat a balanced diet? The food guide pyramid on this page shows how to select a balanced diet and how to teach your child to make wise choices. How many servings do you need each day?

Calorie level 1,600(Many women and older adults)
2,200(Children, teen girls, active women and most men)
2,800(Teen boys and active men)

Bread Group Servings 6(Many women and older adults)
9(Children, teen girls, active women and most men)
11(Teen boys and active men)

Vegetable Group Serving 3(Many women and older adults)
4(Children, teen girls, active women and most men)
5(Teen boys and active men)
Fruit Group Servings 2(Many women and older adults)
3(Children, teen girls, active women and most men)
4(Teen boys and active men)

Milk Group serving 2-3(Many women and older adults)
2-3(Children, teen girls, active women and most men)
2-3(Teen boys and active men)

Meat Group Servings 2, for a total of 5 ounces (Many women and older adults)
2, for a total of 6 ounces (Children, teen girls, active women and most men)
3 for a total of 7 ounces(Teen boys and active men)

Total Fat (grams) 53(Many women and older adults)
73(Children, teen girls, active women and most men)
93((Teen boys and active men)

These are the calorie levels if you choose low fat.lean foods from the 5 major food groups and use foods from the fats, oils, and sweets group sparingly. Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding, teenagers, and young adults to age 24 need 3 servings. A balanced diet includes food from each of the following food groups:
1. Grains (bread, cereal, rice, and pasta);
2. Fruit (fresh, dried, or unsweetened canned);
3. Vegetables (raw or lightly cooked);
4. Meat (meat, poultry, fish, dried beans, eggs, and nuts); and
5. Dairy (milk, yogurt, and cheese).
Offer your children nutritious choices for meals and snacks. This way you can help them control their own diet. For example, you might offer a choice of an apple, an orange, or a banana. With older children (aged 7 and up) you can start by planning a menu together, letting the children check to make sure it includes all five food groups.

Remember that each of the food groups provides some, but not all, of the nutrients a child needs. Foods in one group can’t replace those in another. No one of these major food groups is more important than another. For good health, all are necessary. What’s for breakfast? Many of us do not eat in the morning. Estimates suggest that up to 25 percent of all school-aged children leave the house without breakfast.

You may think that breakfast is just another meal. For a child, breakfast provides much needed energy (calories) to start the day off right. Adults may be able to make up for skipped breakfast by grabbing something on the way to work or while doing morning errands. Your child, however, does not have that opportunity. A nursery school child usually has a mid-morning snack 3 to 5 hours after waking up. After nursery school, few children are offered a morning snack. Getting your child to eat breakfast isn’t always easy. Try to tune into your child’s morning personality. A sleepyhead may need a quick breakfast. An early riser may like to eat breakfast before getting dressed. If this conflicts with your morning schedule, let your children get their own breakfast. Even a 6 year-old can open a container of yogurt.

A good breakfast consists of complex carbohydrates and simple sugars (breads, whole grains, fibre, fruits, and vegetables); proteins (dairy, chicken, beef, fish, eggs, nuts, and dried beans), and some fat. Carbohydrates and simple sugars offer quick energy but leave the stomach quickly. A breakfast of only carbohydrates can give a child mid-morning discomfort. When milk, cheese, yogurt, lean meat, or an egg is added, the food stays in the stomach longer and provides sustained energy.

Play Time:
Physical fitness is a vital part of being healthy. For children, being and staying physically fit can happen with activities they refer to as PLAY! Play that makes them breathe deeply is aerobic exercise. Aerobic activities such as bicycling, jumping rope, roller skating, running, dancing, and swimming can be beneficial if they are done for 12 to 15 minutes without stopping. The young child develops an active lifestyle as he or she begins to creep, crawl, and then walk.

Young children learn how to move in their environment by playing alone in their own personal space. As children grow, they hop, march, run, roll, toss, bounce, and kick. Their bodies are changing in terms of height and weight, and they are beginning to form a self-concept through comparison with others as they move. When play is organized into specific movements, it becomes exercise. For exercise to become part of each day, these movements or activities should meet the interests and needs of your child. Play is the beginning. Children can follow their own paths to lifetime fitness by exercising for fun and at their own pace. Watching too much TV can deprive your child of opportunities to play and exercise. Set a good example. Limit TV watching. Walk to your destination as often as possible. Play active games with your child. Help form neighbourhood sports teams and participate in the recreation.

Everyone can exercise. Certain exercises keep your heart and lungs healthy. Strong, flexible muscles can be developed with exercise. As your child achieves fitness through exercise, a growing self-confidence will be another benefit of a fitness routine.

Staying Well:
Reducing the risk of disease is a major goal in helping your child grow up healthy. Bacteria and viruses cause disease and sickness, and cleanliness can help prevent the spread of these germs. Sharing such items as a comb, toothbrush, hairbrush, or cup, even among family members, can also spread disease. Having clean clothes and daily baths shows children that being clean not only feels good, but also helps them stay well.

You can teach your children to wash their hands at an early age. Tell your children that skin can stop germs from entering the body, and washing can reduce the risk of infection if your child has a cut or scrape. Explain, too, that harmful germs and viruses can be spread by a sneeze or a cough. Teach your child to stay away from people who are sneezing and coughing. Children can help prevent the spread of disease if they cover their sneezes or coughs with a tissue. Everybody has an internal disease fighting system (immune system) made of antibodies and white blood cells. Your child can help that immune system function well by getting enough sleep, by eating nutritious meals, and by exercising.

Vaccinations also prevent disease and play an important part in helping your child grow up healthy. The idea of having a shot may be frightening to a child. Help your child understand that this vaccination is a medicine that prevents disease. It’s a lot more fun to be playing with friends than to be sick. A vaccination chart for keeping track of immunizations can be found on the inside front cover. The importance of vaccinating children at the appropriate ages cannot be overemphasized.

Children learn to love the sound of language before they even notice the existence of printed words on a page. Reading books aloud to children stimulates their imagination and expands their understanding of the world. It helps them develop language and listening skills and prepares them to understand the written word. When the rhythm and melody of language become a part of a child’s life, learning to read will be as natural as learning to walk and talk.

Even after children lean to read by themselves, it’s still important for you to read aloud together. By reading stories that are on their interest level, but beyond their reading level, you can stretch young readers’ understanding and motivate them to
improve their skills.

Advertise the joy of reading!
Our goal is to motivate children to want to read so they will practice reading independently and, thus, become fluent readers. That happens when children enjoy reading. We parents can do for reading what fast food chains do for hamburgers… ADVERTISE! And we advertise by reading great stories and poems to children. We can help our children find the tools they need to succeed in life. Having access to information through the printed word is an absolute necessity. Knowledge is power, and books are full of it. But reading is more than just a practical tool. Through books we can enrich our minds; we can also relax and enjoy some precious
leisure moments.

With your help, your children can begin a lifelong relationship with the printed word, so they grow into adults who read easily and frequently whether for business, knowledge, or pleasure.

REMEMBER WHEN YOU WERE VERY YOUNG
Between the ages of 4 and 7, many children begin to recognize words on a page. In our society this may begin with recognition of a logo for a fast food chain or the brand name of a favorite cereal. But, before long, that special moment when a child holds a book and starts to decode the mystery of written words is likely to occur.

You can help remove part of the mystery without worrying about a lot of theory. Just read the stories and poems and let them work their wonders. There is no better way to prepare your child for that moment when reading starts to "click," even if it’s years down the road. It will help, however, if we open our eyes to some things adult readers tend to take for granted. It’s easier to be patient when we remember how much children do not know. Here are a few concepts we adults know so well we forget sometimes we ever learned them.

* There’s a difference between words and pictures. Point to the print as you read aloud.
* Words on a page have meaning, and that is what we learn to read.
* Words go across the page from left to right. Follow with your finger as you read.
* Words on a page are made up of letters and are separated by a space.
* Each letter has at least two forms: one for capital letters and one for small letters.

Imagine how you would feel if you were trying to interpret a book full of hieroglyphic symbols. That’s how young readers feel. But, a little patience (maybe by turning it into a puzzle you can solve together) is certain to build confidence.

Home is where the heart is:
It’s no secret that activities at home are an important
supplement to the classroom, but there’s more to it than that. There are things that parents can give children at home that the classrooms cannot give.
Children who are read to grow to love books. Over the years, these children will have good memories to treasure. They remember stories that made them laugh and stories that made them cry. They remember sharing these times with someone they love, and they anticipate with joy the time when they will be able to read for
themselves.

By reading aloud together, by being examples, and by doing other activities, parents are in a unique position to help children enjoy reading and see the value of it.

IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW
It is important to keep fun in your parent-child reading and to let joy set the tone and pace. Here is a story to keep in mind. Shamu is a performing whale, to the delight of many. However, she sometimes gets distracted and refuses to do her tricks. When that happens, her trainers stand around in dripping wetsuits and wait for her stubbornness to pass. They know that when a 5,000- pound whale decides she doesn’t want to flip her tail on cue, there is very little anyone can do about it.

But whales like to play, and sooner or later Shamu returns to the game of performing for her audience. Shamu’s trainers know this so they’re always patient, they’re always confident, and they always make performing fun. While helping your child become a reader is certainly different from training a whale, the same qualities of patience, confidence, and playfulness in your approach will get results. If, from time to time, your child gets distracted and loses interest, take a break. Children love to learn. Give them a little breathing room, and their interest will always be renewed.

It’s part of life:
Although the life of a parent is often hectic, you should try to read with your child at least once a day at a regularly scheduled time. But don’t be discouraged if you skip a day or don’t always keep to your schedule. Just read to your child as often as you possibly can. If you have more than one child, try to spend some time reading alone with each child, especially if they’re more than 2 years apart. However, it’s also fine to read to children at different stages and ages at the same time.

Most children enjoy listening to many types of stories. When stories are complex, children can still get the idea and can be encouraged to ask questions. When stories are easy or familiar, youngsters enjoy these "old friends" and may even help in the reading. Taking the time to read with your children on a regular basis sends an important message: Reading is worthwhile!

Vitamin A
Vitamin A is very important for the growth of skin, and helping you in maintaining healthy bones, nails, and hair. It also helps to repair injured skin, and improve dry, scaly skin. Vitamin A is absorbed directly through the skin, and helps the skin remain soft and full as it should be. When Vitamin A is applied to the skin directly, it stimulates the skin metabolically, which helps to maintain the skin in a youthful condition. Experiments have showed that Vitamin A applied topically keeps the skin saturated with the vitamin.

Vitamin A also stimulates the renewal process of the skin cells which causes thickening of the skin. At the same time, collagen content in the skin was increased and improvement in skin elasticity could be seen to improve. This is very important in dealing with things like stretch marks, acne and aging.

Vitamin C
One of the most important roles that vitamin C does in battling stretch marks is to help heal wounds and scar tissue. This vitamin is necessary for encouraging the synthesis of collagen, and acts as a cementing substance between the bodys skin cells. The most important role that collagen plays is to provide barriers for infections and diseases and to promote the fast healing of wounds.

You should know that Vitamin C looses its potency very quickly which can make it worthless unless it is used immediately. It also oxidizes very quickly when ever it gets exposed to air and light. If you are looking to buy vitamin C in supplement form, you can look for vitamin C in an airtight brown glass bottle or metal tube which can block out sunlight.

Vitamin E
Another very important vitamin that you should get when you are trying to prevent stretch marks is Vitamin E. Vitamin E is needed in order to maintain the use of normal body metabolism and in the protection and healing of body tissues and skin. When it comes to skin care, vitamin E is at its most beneficial as an antioxidant in keeping the health of your skin tissue and membranes.

It is also used by many doctors as a means to help the recovery process of post surgical scars. Basically, there are two different ways that you can take Vitamin E. These are orally and through lotions and salves etc. Based on personal experience, I have never gotten any good results applying the Vitamin E topically onto the stretch marks. I would rather take the pills.

Zinc
Zinc is most likely the most essential supplement that you should want to take in the prevention of stretch marks. The most important property of zinc is the production of collagen which we all know is great for firming the skin.
Collagen holds the bodies skin tissues together. It is the most abundant structural protein and makes up somewhere around 80% of all connective tissue. In fact, 75% of the skin if filled with collagen and it makes up 90% of its overall volume. When a person has enough collagen in their body, you can bet that it is almost impossible to get stretch marks.

Collagen is not available in food, so it’s very essential to supplement with zinc. If you’re going to supplement your zinc I would suggest that you take ZMA. Along with prevention of stretch marks, ZMA also has several muscle building qualities and can even help you to sleep at night. One problem that many people have with ZMA is that they notice that they get more acne. You should simply ask yourself what is more important to you- stretch marks or acne. This should take the sting out of the acne clause.

There isn’t much that I can say about genetics. The fact is that some people will never get stretch marks no matter how bad their diet is or how many vitamins their bodies lack because of their genetics is simply not prone to them. I hate people like that!

Skin Type
Whatever skin type you have is mostly hereditary. However there are things that you can do to improve your natural skin type. Stretch marks are most likely to occur where skin is dry and chapped and just overworked etc. When it’s in this condition, the skin looses its elasticity which is how stretch marks come about in the first place. To improve this, make sure to take enough vitamins and apply a moisturizer or vitamin E to the skin once or twice a day. I recall when I came across a method on how to get rid of stretch marks and how to make the fade factor happen much faster. It uses the same principles as laser/chemical peel; except the process happens in a natural way with different household products that you likely already have.

There is nothing as bad as the pain you feel when you get the laser and chemical methods used on you as a means to get rid of stretch marks. I have been using this special method for a few weeks now and have seen some very good results though it usually takes 6 months to fully fade them. For a do-it-yourself at-home remedy like those that I have tried that actually work, here are the latest stretch mark creams on the market that will help you take care of them. Once the stretch marks develop they will stay with you forever, but with time they will be less noticeable.

The only way to avoid stretch marks is preventing them. Here are some things that can help you to avoid getting them. It is very important to exercise in order to get rid of stretch marks. When you are toning your muscles this helps your skin to firm thus preventing stretch marks. Make sure in your diet you are getting plenty of protein and foods rich in Vitamin C and Vitamin E because they help to promote good tissue growth.

Massaging your body with olive oil or Vitamin E may help.
You can also try this homemade recipe which is very good. My grandmother told me about it. Basically you mix one ounce of carrier oil (try avocado, sweet almond, jojoba for best results) with seven drops of lavender and five drops of chamomile. You can also apply the famed cocoa butter and/ or elastin cream. These are very good for stretch marks.

Here is another good recipe that I actually found while researching the topic:
- 1/2 cup virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup aloe vera gel
- Liquid from 6 capsules of Vitamin E
- Liquid from 4 capsules of Vitamin A
Mix all the ingredients together in a blender. Pour the mixture into a jar and store it in the fridge. Apply the oil to the skin where the stretch marks commonly appear which is usually the stomach, thighs, legs and breasts. If you do this every day, you may prevent stretch marks.

ELANCYL STRETCH MARK CREAM
After you start using this cream once or twice a day from the third month of pregnancy until one month after delivering, 82.5 per cent of new moms said they had no stretch marks at all. This special cream contains marine tissue extracts, which are used to stimulate cellular activity and promote protein synthesis, which aids in preventing connective tissues that cause stretch marks from getting damaged in the first place. The cream actually has safflower oil in it, which is rich in fatty acids and really helps in increasing your skins suppleness. Let me tell you thought that the cream works best when it is used to help prevent them from forming in the first place, the formula contains a nice complex mixture that contains hydroxyproline, an amino acid, and organic silicon, which are used to repair already damaged collagen fibres. You can get it for around $25 at local drug stores.

DERMAGLOW STRETCH MARK BALM
This product is great for those of you who prefer natural products because this one is 100% natural. This is a Canadian product that contains two key ingredients: rosehip oil, which is a form of fatty acid that repairs damaged skin, prevents scar tissue and helps to thins scars; and tocopherol, which is a form of vitamin E that helps to get rid of the redness, which can make stretch marks more noticeable.

It also contains coconut and olive oils, beeswax, cocoa butter and lavender flower condition the skin and locks in the moisture. For the best results, you should use the balm twice daily, particularly if you are gaining weight or loosing it so that it can help to rejuvenate the skin cells as they stretch. If you want to see results after 10 to 12 days use that method above. If you are planning to use it as a prevention tool, the balm helps the skin maintain its moisture level, which gives you the elasticity that prevents stretch marks.

STRIVECTIN-SD INTENSIVE CONCENTRATE FOR EXISTING STRETCH MARKS
J.Lo and Charlize Theron both love this product to help them diminish their wrinkles. But did you know the cream was originally developed to combat stretch marks? Thats what it does best. The main ingredient for this great item is striadril complex, which stimulates collagen synthesis and restores skins elasticity and reduces the length, depth, surface area and texture of existing marks.

CLINIQUE CX STRETCH MARK CREAM
This product is made prevent and minimize stretch marks, and it is also the latest stretch cream to hit the market contains palmitoyl oligopeptide, hydrolysed collagen and acetyl hexampeptide-2, which we all use to stimulate collagen production. Its got Mimosa tenuiflora bark extract in it as well which helps maintain natural collagen levels, there is sucrose, caffeine and sandalwood extract in this product to help your skin repair itself as soon as stretch marks are formed, and it also has Shea butter, muru muru butter and linoleic acid which will increase suppleness and help bolster the lipid system within the skins surface, helping to smooth the skin, and stop new stretch marks from forming.

The end result is the same and it is a failure to reach financial independence. The third step in personal financial planning is learning how to build a financial safety net, which is like to having a retirement fund for when you are no longer generating any income.

Step 1: Identify and write down your financial goals, whether they are saving to send your kids to college or University, buying a new car, saving for a down payment on a house, going on vacation, paying off credit card debt, or planning for you and your spouse’s retirement.

Step 2: Break each financial goal down into several short-term (less than 1 year), medium-term (1 to 3 years) and long-term (5 years or more) goals; which will make this process easier.

Step 3: Educate yourself and do your research. Read Money magazine or a book about investing, or surf the Internet’s investment web sites. Do not be afraid of the stock market. Yes, there is a potential for loss, but if you do your research and get a trustworthy broker, you can ensure your financial future. Just remember not to put all of your eggs in one basket. Diversify your portfolio. With a little effort you can learn enough to make educated decisions that will increase your net worth many times over. Then identify small, measurable steps you can take to achieve these goals, and put this action plan to work.

Step 4: Evaluate your progress as often as needed. Review your progress monthly, quarterly, or at any other interval you feel comfortable with, but at least semi-annually, to determine if your program is working. If you’re not making a satisfactory amount of progress on a particular goal, re-evaluate your approach and make changes as necessary. There are no hard and fast rules for implementing a financial plan. The important thing is to at least do something as opposed to nothing, and to start NOW.

Sometimes when people write down their goals, they discover that some of the goals are too broad in meaning and nearly impossible to reach, while others may seem smaller in scope and easier to achieve.

It is okay to dare to dream about riches, but be realistic about what you can actually do. A good idea is to break your goals down into three separate categories of time. One more thing to remember: by placing a time frame on your goals you are motivating yourself to get started and helping to allow you the chance to succeed. Just remember that you can adjust the time frame whenever you want to.

Long-term goals (over 5 years) are those things that won’t happen overnight, no matter how hard you work to achieve them. They make take a long time to accomplish (hence the reason they are called long term goals), so give yourself a reasonable amount of time, that are based on your best estimates of what it will take to achieve them.

Examples of long-term goals might include college education for a child, retirement plan or purchasing a home. Whatever the case, these goals generally require longer commitments and often more money in the end. Intermediate-term goals (1-5 years) are the type of goals that can’t be executed overnight but might not take many years to accomplish. Examples might include purchasing/replacing a car, getting an education or certification, or paying off your debts like credit cards etc. (depending on the amount). Short-term goals (within one year) generally take one year or less to achieve, based on the date the task is needed, the total estimated cost, and the required savings.

What are your goals? To find out, you need to make up a list, decide which timeline your goal fits into, detail the steps necessary to achieve your goals, then take action toward reaching those goals. It’s that simple. You might be wondering where to start when deciding how to go about to start your financial goals. These are some basic tips to help you in making the best choices for you.

After looking at these tips, it is best for you to go out and do some research to find the method(s) that suit you best.

Begin by taking 5%-10% out of each pay check and put it in a savings account.

Look into different investment strategies such as stocks, RRSP, mutual funds, personal investments etc. There are many more and all can assist you in short and long term goals.

Start making a budget for yourself that leaves you with some extra money and follow it.

Use your coupons that are why they are there. It seems like small savings, but added together you could save 20-30 dollars at each trip to the market.

Shop around for bargains.

Do not live outside of your means.

Work with a credit counsellor to get help in lowering your monthly expenses and get rid of your debt.

These are just some of the things that you can do when beginning to realize your financial goals. Of course, you also have to follow the steps on how to successfully set goals. The steps to setting goals successfully don’t change, only the methods that you use to go about it. By that I mean; when it is career wise, work to get noticed; for relationships, work on maintaining your intimacy or getting it back; in financial matters, work to save and invest money etc. It really is that easy.