Kids Nutrition & Fitness
What to feed your kids
DR JOANNA MCMILLAN Plating up a nutrient rich menu daily for your kids isn't as hard as you think. Dr Joanna McMillan takes us through a typical child's daily food intake and shows you how a few simple changes can make all the difference.
Look past the packaging when it comes to lunchbox snacks
Paula Goodyer Labels can be deceiving when it comes to healthy snacks for children.
Energy foods for active kids
Cherie Lyden Carbohydrates are the body’s preferred source of fuel for the brain and body, which is especially important for children as they are still developing, and need both brain and body to help them learn and play.
Michelle Obama won't discuss weight with her daughters
SIMONE MITCHELL "I don't want our children to be weight-obsessed. I want them to be focused on: what do I have to do to be the healthiest that I can be?"
Early lunch gives kids an energy hit in class
Amy McNeilage At St Therese Primary in Sydney's south-west, students eat lunch at the early time of 10.50am. And, even then, it is the second meal break of the day after a 9.50am snack break.
Importance of wholegrains in children's diets
Livia Gamble Find out the facts on why wholegrains are so essential for growing kids and how to up their daily intake.
Canteens taking last orders
EMMA MACDONALD The humble school canteen, staffed by volunteers and run by local parents and citizens groups, may soon become a thing of the past in the ACT.
The facts on carbs for kids
Staff writers Carbohydrates tend to cop a lot of flack these days but do we really understand the role they play in keeping our kids' bodies healthy and functioning?
Reluctant breakfast eaters
DR JOANNA MCMILLAN Most agree that breakfast for kids is essential but sometimes getting them to tuck in to their morning meal isn't as easy as it sounds, writes Dr Joanna McMillan.
Benefits of Breakfast
Staff writers Teach your kids healthy eating habits for life - starting with a nutritious morning meal.
A mother's 'battle' against her seven-year-old daughter's obesity
When Dara-Lynn Weiss's seven-year-old daughter tipped the scales at 42 kilograms, she put her on a stringent diet. Here, Weiss recounts how she saved Bea from the threat of obesity.
Improved protection
ELIZA ASHE What the new SPF 50+ really means for your slip, slop, slap routine this summer.
Sun smart tips for families
Staff writers Are you doing all you can to ensure your kids are protected from the sun's rays this holiday season?
Push to put weight on school reports
DAN HARRISON A child's weight could be included on their school report in a radical plan to tackle the obesity crisis.
Providing a healthy balance at kids' parties
DR JOANNA MCMILLAN Kids parties – am I a killjoy or do we seriously need to clean up our act?
Pushing kids too hard
Peter Milburn Public health experts, educators and the media constantly remind us that children should put down the video games and get active. But how much activity is really necessary to maintain health? And how much is too much for the younger person?
Simple swaps make the difference
Livia Gamble Announcing to your family that it’s time to start eating healthier is now simpler than ever with these easy swaps from the Heart Foundation's Mums United.
Australian allergy rates baffle experts
MELISSA DAVEY Australians are now reporting food allergies at a rate higher than any other country, a congress of world allergy experts has been told but scientists are at a loss to explain why children are taking longer to outgrow them and they are rising in prevalence and severity.
Good parenting or figure fascism?
Andrea Black There's a right way and a wrong way to help children lose weight.
Dr Joanna McMillan
Top 10 immunity boosters for kids
DR JOANNA MCMILLAN Ward off those winter bugs with Dr Joanna McMillan’s top ten immunity booster super foods for kids.
Monitoring salt intake in children
LAKSHMI SINGH When your child's daily salt intake can be unwittingly consumed in one meal it is time to get savvy about how much salt is going into their young bodies.
The four dreaded dinner words
DR JOANNA MCMILLAN Dr Joanna McMillan tackles the problem that parents for generations have struggled to solve - how to deal with fussy eaters.
Coles ban added MSG & artificial colours
JUSTINE DAVIES While the scientific jury is still out on conclusive proof, many parents will tell you that they are certain that particular colours and additives to food send their children crazy!
Fat proof your kids' screentime
Kylie Orr Muting TV ads was my husband’s idea. He hates them. The blatant lies leading us to believe we’ll be a lesser person, an inferior being if we don’t buy their product.
The mum who put her 8-year-old on a diet
KATIE CARLIN Would you ever put your four-year-old on a diet to fit into her pageant dress? How about restrict your eight-year-olds daily calorie intake before a competition, bake her cake as a reward and then pile on the guilt as she eats it?
Time to weigh up the problem
Rachel Browne Schoolchildren should be put on the scales and measured every time they have a health check, because parents and doctors can no longer identify weight problems purely on sight.
How do you tell a child to lose weight?
Heidi Davoren There are at least two issues common to every parent/child relationship. And over tea and scones us primary carers share our torment at the frustration these matters bring to our daily lives.
Investing in good health
Rachel Browne Ella Gould's afternoons and weekends are action-packed. The eight-year-old is involved in physical culture, dancing, nippers, Oztag, a type of touch football, and Acrogym, a combination of acrobatics and gymnastics.
Secret is get them while they're young
Rachel Browne Good eating habits from an early age can help prevent eating disorders, writes Rachel Browne.
Let's get physical
Sarah Whyte MENTION the words hairspray, ''bendy rollers'' and leotards in a sentence and you're probably talking about physical culture, widely known as ''physie''.
What chefs put in their kids' lunch boxes
Paula Goodyer Healthy school lunches from some of Australia's best loved cooks.
Banish summer munchies
Rachel Browne SUMMER holidays are supposed to be a time for children to play outside from dawn to dusk.
Bill to ban junk food ads
Stephanie Peatling FAST food advertisements would be completely banned on children's television channels, websites and smartphones under new proposals to curb childhood obesity.
Research
Fat dads mean fat kids: study
Overweight fathers urged to lose weight for the sake of their children.
Fruit a rubbish food? That’s garbage
DR JOANNA MCMILLAN First up it’s nonsense to talk about sugar as being the root of all our health problems. We cannot talk about sugar as a singular compound in the same way that we can’t lump fat together, or carbs for that matter.
Big kids burger
These burgers are a great healthy recipe to fill up you kids' tummies. To make this meal even better, let them help you with these beauties in the kitchen and you will be a hit as well as the burgers.
The dangers of food colouring
DR JOANNA MCMILLAN These dyes are not necessary in our food chain, they are only there to make food look more enticing, particularly to children.
A Guide to bedwetting ... why it happens and how to deal with it
Brooke Tasovac Bedwetting is known medically as nocturnal enuresis, the term for when children wet the bed without waking up immediately.
Healthy snack choices
Thinking of healthy snack choices for your child can be a draining process, especially when you are trying to keep them interested.
Sausages still fill gap for ravenous small-fry
Steve Meacham Each Friday, Dilys Graham picks up her regular order: 46 loaves of white bread, 30 kilos of sausages, 10 kilos of bacon, 200 eggs - and that's just for the weekend barbecue at Avalon Soccer Club, where about 70 teams of varying ages need feeding.
Keeping kids safe on the farm
Farms are a very healthy and happy environment in which to raise children but they may pose dangers for those who are new to the environment, including the very young.
Preventing child injuries from falls
Preventing child injuries from falls - particularly from windows and balconies.
Helping children to cope with natural disasters
Rachel West With all of the media coverage of recent natural disasters, it’s important to note the affect it can have on children. Even more so if they or someone they love have been directly involved. To a child, the world is a very big place, and they depend on the predictability of what happens around them.
New Vegemite raises ire of health experts
Daniella Miletic A new 'kid-friendly' Vegemite was launched last week - but it it healthy enough? Experts weigh in.
101 lunch box ideas
Stuck for lunch box inspiration? EB members have compiled the most awesome lunch box suggestion list ever!
Do children need their own rooms?
Carolyn Boyd It's a question many parents are facing – do kids really need their own rooms? It seems to have become a community norm that even very young children will sleep in separate bedrooms unless parents are "forced" to put them together because their home isn't big enough and they can't afford something with more bedrooms.
Masterchef: How my son and I bonded over the hit TV show
Amity Dry Like most Australians at the moment I am addicted to Masterchef. But not only is it one of my favourite shows, it is also one of my four year olds favourite shows. And this is proving to be a great platform for us to develop a love of cooking, and eating great food together.
After-school snacks a weighty issue
New research confirms that Australian children are over-indulging on after school snacks, eating both too much food and making unhealthy choices.
Open wide and check the fillings
Rachel Browne Health and welfare groups want a publicly funded campaign to educate young people about looking after their teeth.
How to get your kids to eat well
Jane Willson The struggle to make children eat healthily may seem endless but an author has some tips.
Why I choose to immunise
Kylie Orr With the seasonal flu vaccinations currently suspended for under-fives in Australia, the debate over whether to vaccinate children rears its familiar ugly head. Frightening cases of children admitted to hospital after being immunised, always sends parents into a spin about whether vaccinations are actually the safest option for their children.
Promoting children's nutrition
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) finds that only 50-63 per cent of children consume the recommended serves of fruit each day, and merely 1-4 per cent of the recommended serves of vegetables on a daily basis. This indicates that children may not be receiving the essential nutrients found in fruit and vegetables that they need to grow and develop normally.
Try walking and talking
Ben Rossiter As another school year begins, the roads will become a lot busier. Not because the streets will be full of children walking to school, but because the roads around schools will be packed with cars ferrying primary school children to class. From an environmental, social and physical health perspective, this is bad news.
School lunches - finding the right balance
Paula Goodyer As domestic items go, a school lunch box seems simple - until you try filling it up, says Kate Di Prima of the Dietitians Association of Australia.
Parents more calorie conscious for kids
Although menu labelling is still the exception rather than the rule, a few states--including California and Oregon--and cities--including New York--have already passed policies requiring chain restaurant to provide calorie information. When restaurant menus list calories, parents will limit how much fast food their kids eat, a new report suggests.
National Kidsafe Day: Oct 26
Kidsafe National Kidsafe Day on October 26 aims to increase community awareness of how to prevent unintentional injury to children from 0 – 15 years. Unintentional injuries account for about 96% of injury hospital admissions and about 90% of injury deaths.
The fats of life: when chubby's no longer cute
Jill Stark Parents are confused. So are the experts. How is the nation supposed to treat the childhood obesity crisis — and does it even exist? Jill Stark reports.
Parents' rage can make children give up sport
Adele Horin Children are appalled and frightened when their parents behave aggressively on the sidelines of junior sports events, and bad adult behaviour is a major reason they drop out of sport, in-depth interviews with 90 children show.
Hormone shots: kids at risk
CAMERON HOUSTON and JILL STARK Short parents are injecting their healthy children with human growth hormone in a bid to make them taller, despite medical experts warning of serious risks.
