Kids and Alcohol don't mix: Ask, Listen, Learn distills some advice.

As parents, we see the changes that take place when our kids become adolescents. This is the time when their brains are in development and hardwiring for challenges of adulthood. While we may have mixed feelings about their increasing independence,  we should  feel assured that 9-12 year-olds still look to us for guidance. This is huge because studies show that parents still have most influence over our teens' decisions.  Drinking - or not drinking -  is one of them.

Now is the time to engage in conversation about alcohol with our tweens.  The Century Council , a national nonprofit organization funded by distillers, is dedicated to fighting drunk driving and underage drinking. They have developed a wide range of initiatives and public awareness campaigns.  Ask, Listen, Learn provides practical tips on how to talk to adolescents about alcohol.

The website offers plenty of materials for parents, teachers and kids and encourages tweens to become part of the Ask, Listen Learn Team to live a healthy, active lifestyle.  Adults can do their part by learning when and how to discuss alcohol with their kids:

Ask:  After sharing your reaction to an example about alcohol, be sure to ask what your tween thinks about it.

Listen:  Do this very carefully, and make sure they know they can speak freely by not criticizing their thoughts.  “Kids need to know that if they speak openly, they won’t regret it,” says Dr. Paul Coleman, a psychologist and author of How to Say It to Your Kids.

Learn:  Keep it a conversation, not an argument.

Kids and alcohol make a toxic cocktail.  Here are ways to say "no!"

1. Alcohol is a toxin and disrupts this crucial window of development during puberty.  

"Sorry, I need all my brain cells."

2. Insufficient brain development can lead to many problems such as learning difficulties, cognitive deficits, memory impairment and emotional problems, such as depression and anxiety.
"I'm a thinker, not a drinker!"

3. Teenage drinking is also dangerous, as alcohol can inhibit their ability to consider the consequences of their actions, leading them to take negligent risks, like getting in fights, drinking while driving, promiscuous behavior, or life-threatening accidents. 
"I'd like to live the rest of my 90 years, thank you!"

4. The more a teenager drinks, the less likely they are to get involved in other activities which are important for building confidence and maturity. 
"I'm smarter thank I look."

5. Drinking alcohol can become a negative distraction not only from study, but sport, creative pursuits, family life and socializing with friends. 
"You may be a follower, but I'm a leader, so follow me."

Ask, Listen, Learn provides tools for kids, parents and teachers.  They feature top-notch "SuperStars" like Apolo Ohno, Louie Vito and Dara Torres to inspire kids to say YES to a healthy lifestyle and NO to underage drinking.  

Start the conversation.  Remember to give lots of love and praise.  Comment if you have any thoughts or personal experience you'd like to share.

Cooking with Your Kids is a Start to Healthy Living

We're heard it all too many times.  Childhood obesity is a reality in America.  Fortunate are we to have resources like Nutrition Interactive, Sajai Foundation, and Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, to name just a few, that inspire us to eat healthier and get active.  I say we take all that good information that's out there and bring it home into the kitchen.  Cooking with your kids, though it may sound a little cumbersome at times, is great fun for them, but more than that, it is beginning of a lifelong appreciation for good eating.

Now, they may think good eating is getting that toy at McDonald's or the school lunches that offers pizzas, mini hot dogs and burgers.  That's normal.  It's also the problem.  Good nutrition starts at home with education, experimentation and exploration to eating new foods and making the right choices.

You're in control of what your child eats.  Cooking with them offers the "activity" that they crave, so make it fun, interesting, and most of all, eat up and be well.

The benefits of cooking with kids:

• Encourages eating together
• Introduces the entire family to try a new dish
• Instills the importance of eating healthy
• Gives kids the satisfaction and pride of being part of a "project"

Tips on cooking with kids:

• Shop together 
• Give them a kitchen task they can complete
• Allow them to experience the whole process - from beginning to end
• Encourage them to suggest a new ingredient
• Clean up together
• Eat together and enjoy the fruits of your labor

Get outside and play, kids!

Did you know that 25% of 8-year-old kids can identify Pokemon™ characters more readily than wildlife species?  (Balmfold, Clegg, Coulson and Taylor 2002).  No offense to Pokemon, but what about giving some attention to the living characters that breath our air, share our soil and drink the water that our beautiful earth has to offer?  No time to take the kids out?  Well, what about the next time you head out to the grocery store (which can be as often as everyday, for some), stop at the local park to get some fresh air?  Better yet, when you get that frozen yogurt treat, bring it to the park and eat it there.  Bottom line - you have to make time.  I'm not saying you have to teach your kids all about the ants that are crawling along the sidewalk cracks and the night-time bats that swoop down for a drink from the pond, but since I mentioned it already, why not?  Getting kids engaged with nature is the perfect way to get them to go outside and get some exercise.  So here's what another study reports:  "Children are smarter, more cooperative (this is big!), happier and healthier when they have frequent and varied opportunities for free and unstructured play in the outdoors." (Children and Nature 2008).  Get 'em!