A selection of links.

• Family Education: Healthy Snacks for Kids
• Kids Nutrition Simplified: The Food Guide Pyramid: A Recipe For Good Health & Nutrition
• Moms Team: Ten Nutrition Tips For Active Kids
• AgInfo.net: Greg Martin Child Nutrition A Big Deal
• Kids: Learn about nutrition
• United States Department of Agriculture: My Pyramid
• ivillage: Junk Food that Kids and Moms Will Love!
• The Times of India: Be a physically active parent
• Child Development Institute: Good Nutrition For Kids & Teens
• BAM: Cool Treats

I rarely shop- as a pediatrician and mother of three I tend to shop on-line, late at night. So I am always searching and researching for the very best products and then I stick with them- especially when it comes to my children. As Spring approaches ( I am optimistic), I have the yearly desire to start fresh with bedding for the whole family, and found some wonderful sites for baby’s bedding that will cheer up the room and enhance your mood with colorful, cheery and healthy new options. And remember, during their first year, babies spend up to 70% of their time sleeping, so it is important to make their sleep environment both healthy and happy,

• 1. Go-La Rolla (www.golarolla.com) has a wonderful line of organic bedding for babies. Their fabric is eco-friendly, soft and free of harsh toxins. The foam inside their playmate is made from natural seed-based oils. They make this wonderful playmate that is cozy, portable and a perfect place for baby to sit and play or to take a nap. It also could work well as a nap-time bedding for school if your child is in preschool. It rolls up, is light-weight despite the thickness of the foam, and is easily carried with the shoulder strap. Its also machine washable. Best of all, this Canadian company donates a percentage of sales from all products sold online to SickKids Foundation.
  

   

• 2. The Alma mini crib (www.thetrendytote.com) is the perfect solution if space is tight- it is smaller than a standard-sized crib, and also folds for storage when not in use. Its an innovative and chic option for space-saving that doesn’t make you feel like your child’s comfort is compromised. It also makes a great extra crib to use at a relatives house or a vacation house. Best of all: its got a modern, clean look, and does NOT require tools to assemble.That is always a plus in my opinion. Safe for babies up to 50 lbs.

   

• 3. Coyuchi Jingo Organic Crib Set Collections (www.satara-inc.com) are jungle-themed, hand -embroidered animals such as a giraffe, flamingo, hippo, and monkeys. Made from 100% organic cotton, the Jingo Crib Set features a blanket, sham, bumper cover, and crib skirt plus a solid fitted sheet. The Jingo Crib Blanket is backed with soft natural color organic cotton flannel.

   

• 4. Giggle’s “better basics” fitted crib sheets come in adorable colors ( www.giggle.com ) and are made of 100% organic cotton that is extremely soft as well. The sets are packaged in cute drawstring bags that can be used to hold lots of other things. It also makes for an affordable but adorable shower gift.

 

 

 

 

So I am still struggling in the wake of Haiti and now Chile so somehow shopping has been less of a priority- that said I am committed to nutritional healing for my patients and with my book coming out, The FOOD CURE, I have been vigilantly checking our nutritional products for kids. Here are some suggestions that made me want to cheer!!!

• 1.chickinfeed is an amazing concept created by dedicated mom Leslie who goes by “ mother hen” who has created among many things a nutrition tracking board that she says ‘ use in good humor with an open mind each day to make good choices”. The board is a visual guide to helping your child do just that- and a great reminder to parents about keeping track. It comes with wonderful visual cues, directions and, if you ask, a ‘ nutrition tracking on the go” with little widgets that fit into your child’s arm bracelet 9 like the ones that fit into crocs). I am hopeful that childhood obesity and poor nutrition is going to be a thing of the past. This will help.

   

• 2. the American academy of pediatrics ( www.aap.org) has yet again revitalized their campaign against childhood obesity. Log on to the parents side for nutrition tips and advice.

   

• 3. www.peasofmind.com sprouted from the idea that as kids begin eating solid foods, the tastes and textures they experience will shape their eating habits for a lifetime. Peas of Mind has made a new product, veggie wedgies, that essentially look like the French fires that are so toxic in your child’s diet, and made them healthy and fun and tasty too. Their Puffets provide a needed option for health-concious parents who want to feed their growing kids delicious meals with organic ingredients.

   

• 4. And finally EAT RIGHT Boxes: Eat Right boxes are designed to help children get a healthy and nutritious snack even when they are on the go, travelling or at the playground.

   

thank you

Normally I write to you, as a pediatrician and a mom about products that make me feel compelled to recommend. And yes, more are coming. But since January 12th I have been focused almost entirely on Haiti and hope you will not forget the disaster there. So I would like to humbly recommend some places to spend your money that are not consumer oriented- at least for this month- while knowing how hard it is to feel connected to a disaster so far away.

Thanks to generous donors to Mobile Pediatric.org (www.mobilepediatric.org), we have raised significant funds for Haitian children that will be passed on to existing charities there based on the quality of care, the commitment to care and the dedication to charitable work that these charities provide. As the director of Mobile Pediatric, my commitment is not only to children’s health and wellbeing but also to insuring that your generous support gets delivered to the best possible charitable organizations that you, as donors, have expressed an interest in supporting. I hope that you will be very pleased with how your generosity is being utilized. AS of now, our donations are going to two locations that Dr Geary has worked in:

1. Mary’s Meals is helping victims of the Haiti earthquake in: Cite Soleil, a notorious slum outside Port au Prince and in schools and an orphanage in the country’s central region. ? Mary’s Meals has been working in Haiti since 2006 and, at the time of the earthquake, was providing over 12,000 children with a daily meal in school. Over 6,000 of the children lived in the Cite Soleil slum.
Mary’s meals is now making regular deliveries of clean water to the people of Cite Soleil, assessing the damage to the 8 school campuses in Cite Soleil where we provide Mary’s Meals, employing local people to salvage re-usable material and repair the schools’ perimeter walls, providing food, clothing and hygiene kits for 2,000 families who have taken in people who fled to Hinche from Port au Prince, helping 500 displaced people in Hinche relocate to their home town, delivered $30,000 of urgently needed medical supplies to Hinche hospital?
Ongoing plans include
-Resume feeding the children in Cite Soleil as soon as we have a secure base?- Restart lessons as soon as possible in temporary classrooms?- Repair, rebuild schools once we have properly assessed extent of the damage

2. National Organization for the Advancement of Haitians (NOAH NY) NOAH NY is providing emergency support at Bojeux in Tabarre (located near downtown Port au Prince across from the U.S. Ambassy), where they have already established a field hospital. A contingent of volunteer doctors from around the states has been instrumental in administering urgent medical care to hundreds of severely injured children and adults. The continued relief missions will be made possible by the funds received from donations. The funds will be used to purchase desperately needed medical equipment, medical supplies, medicine and transportation for the injured.

As the holidays swing into full gear, sleep becomes a valuable but very truncated activity for both parents and children. I just wrote about the critical importance of sleep for the developing child, but wanted to share some fun ways I found to enhance the likelihood of sleep for you and your family- and they make great gifts! I rarely shop- as a pediatrician and mother of three I tend to shop on-line, late at night. So I am always searching and researching for the very best products and then I stick with them- especially when it comes to my children

• 1. Make those nighttime fears disappear:
  If your child is Having Trouble Getting to Sleep at night because they are hearing strange noises or imagining things lurking in their closet or under their bed? Sunny, the Fearless Guard Dog will help make their fear disappear. He is an adorable dog that comes in two sizes and he sleeps with one eye open and one eye closed, so that he can watch over your child while she sleeps. This site also sells many other “fearless” products for your kids to combat fears of thunder, ghosts and goblins and other sources of childhood anxiety. And they sell an amazing inflatable toddler bed as well.
  www.theshrunks.com/product/product_sunny.asp
• 2. The Miracle pillow www.honeydumplings.com
  They took a mat and stitched it together at one end – converting it into a shell then slipped a luxury, eco-friendly fibrefill insert inside and the mat now becomes a soft and puffy, hypoallergenic pillow for your toddler.
  .Buckwheat toddler pillow comes wrapped in recyclable packaging. Parents swear these pillows help their child not only fall asleep but keep them asleep.
  Why Buckwheat? Because it doesn’t require fertilizer or pesticides and is naturally fungus and mildew-resistant, so these pillows are especially good for children with allergies.
  What they say: Buckwheat hulls are the husks that protect the buckwheat kernels from various elements in nature?
  •Buckwheat crops do not require fertilizers, pesticides or tilling?
  •Buckwheat hulls are odourless, pest, fungus and mildew resistant and naturally hypoallergenic?
  •Buckwheat hulls come from a renewable source and are compostable?
  •Buckwheat hulls are flexible and easily adapt to the shape of the body – minimizing tensions while maximizing comfort?
  •Buckwheat hulls provide firm, even support for proper body and spine alignment?
  •Buckwheat hulls are light and are able to interlock to one another while still allowing air to circulate freely. They do not accumulate humidity or heat from the body so they remain cool and dry ? a cozy surface never being too hard or soft, too warm or cold?
• 3. NAP Time at school: The kid’s eco nap mats from SewnNatural www.etsy.com are handmade from organic cotton and a cool eco-friendly fabric that combines hemp and recycled plastic bottles and look super comfy. They fold up for easy transport, and can be personalized with your child’s name.
  There are some other wonderful nap mats at Chocolate Cake Club, www.choclatecakeclub.com including the Stephen Joseph new Cat Toddler Nap Mat by Stephen Joseph which is perfect for taking to daycare or overnight trips. Each nap mat is extremely soft and comfortable and are easy to take trips or to school. …toddler tiger mat
• 4. Donate Stuffed Animals, Baby Blankets, and Children’s Books
  Project Night Night donates over 25,000 Night Night Packages each year, free of charge, to homeless children who need childhood essentials to feel secure, cozy, rand eady to learn. Each Night Night Package contains a new security blanket, an age-appropriate children’s book, and a stuffed animal — all nestled inside of a new canvas tote bag. By providing objects of reliable comfort, Project Night Night reduces trauma and advances the emotional and cognitive well-being of the children they serve.

  Project Night Night is a tax exempt charitable organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal
  Revenue Service code.

  Get involved by hosting an event, sponsoring a package or starting a corporate program.

I am reflecting this month on all the courageous women battling with breast cancer, and the women whose mothers have breast cancer that wonder a lot about their own health. It is so encouraging to read each day the advances that are being made, but the research takes a lot of support. Please do what you can in any small way that you can.

• Live, Love, Laugh Stainless Steel Water Bottle $16.95
  Amazingly, The Breast Cancer Site will fund 1.0 % of a mammogram for each Live, Love, Laugh Stainless Steel Water Bottle purchased. This pretty custom designed stainless steel water bottle will help keep you hydrated during your daily rush and is covered with countless pink ribbons dancing amidst the words “Live, Love, Laugh.”
  Reusable steel water bottles provide a friendly environmental alternative to plastics that clog up landfills, in addition to not leaching odors or BPA chemicals into the water that they hold.
  http://shop.thebreastcancersite.com/store

I never shop but every once a while I find a few fabulous treats for my kids and my patients:

• Moon in My Room
  My daughter loves the moon and every night we look to see the shape. If you’ve found yourself glimpsing at the moon in the sky, you will appreciate the Moon in My Room. Craters and all, the true-to-life authentic details are impressive. Moon in My Room is a wonderful way to learn more about space, planets, and our universe, while lulling your child to sleep.
  Twelve beautiful true-to-life moon phases shine softly. You can match your moon image to the phase in the current night sky or use the remote control to select for automatic cycling through them all. Increase your knowledge of the universe by listening to the enclosed educational audio CD. A big help for Children who cannot sleep or who are afraid of the dark, monsters, etc.?
  www.fatbraintoys.com
• The Perfect Bottle
  “safe.simple.smart.” Lifefactory offer parents a choice in safe and developmentally-appropriate baby essentials fusing modern design and the latest scientific research to make products that are healthy and innovative. Lifefactory products are free of toxins like bisphenol-A (BPA), phthalates, and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). These bottles are not only safe but beautiful and perky and a great way to contribute to our greener world.
  http://www.lifefactory.com

Keds Champion Pink Ribbon canvas sneaker features the Breast Cancer Awareness ribbon on the side and tongue of the shoe and comes with white and pink laces. 100% of the sales of the Champion Pink Ribbon Sneaker will benefit The Breast Cancer Research Foundation®. BCRF is dedicated to preventing breast cancer and finding a cure in our lifetime by funding clinical and translational research worldwide. For more information about BCRF, visit www.bcrfcure.org.

I rarely shop- as a pediatrician and mother of three I tend to shop on-line, late at night. So I am always searching and researching for the very best products and then I stick with them- especially when it comes to my children.

• 1. Every child needs an alphabet : Chris Gregori is an illustrator in Denver, Colorado who designed an adorable Animal Alphabet originally for his niece and recently started selling. The print is 11″ x 14″ paper. That comes shipped in a clear sleeve with a cardboard backing. Put it up on the wall above the changing table or your child’s bed so you can look at the wonderful illustrated letters as you get your baby dressed in the morning
  http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=29417545

   

• 2. Backpacks: Ecozoo backpacks are an adorable way for Preschoolers totake a friend with them wherever they go. Part toy and part functional backpack, the Ecozoo Organic Backpack holds all those preschool necessities in a fun, earth-friendly animal design. The soft and durable, organic cotton canvas is washable and lightweight making it easy for your little one to carry. They are made of Organically-grown cotton canvas & rope materials using Non-toxic dyes, Recycled plastic components, and sustainable wood accents. The shoulder straps are padded and the whole thing is machine washable.
  www.babyearth.com/ecogear-ecozoo-organic-backpack.html

   

• 3. Lunchboxes: The Laptop Lunch System is made from safe, non leaching materials and has everything you need to create healthy, waste-free meals for kids.

  The Laptop Lunch System Includes:

  1. Laptop Lunch insulated carrying case made of canvas and neoprene 7.5H x 11.5W x 2.5D
  2. Bento Box with 5 inner containers and lids
  3. Reusable water bottle
  4. One set of utensils (styles vary)
  5. The Laptop Lunch User’s Guide with kid-friendly recipes and tips for picky eaters

  The inside bento box- style conatiners are lids are microwave safe

  And Phthalate free, Bisphenol-A (BPA) free, and Lead free. They come in an array of fun colors too!

  http://www.babyearth.com/obentec-the-laptop-lunch-system.html

Now is a great time for pool toy shopping; sales are huge as the end of the season approaches! A child’s age is key in deciding which pool toys are appropriate and will offer the most entertainment, and always remember adult supervision and a safety vest for inexperienced swimmers.

• For baby:
  A simple pool float is all a baby needs; being in the pool is entertainment enough for your curious little one. A ring-type float with a seat that allows for leg extension into the water provides a comfortable, supportive position for the baby as he/she explores the new surroundings. Also, some baby floats feature a canopy attachment that will keep your child safely out of the sun! http://www.poolrafts.com
• 
  For 3-4:
  At this age, a child will respond well to the “freedom” of a tube-like float that allows your little adventurer to kick around and explore the pool. Remember a safety vest! http://www.poolrafts.com

  For added entertainment, introduce your child to these fun musical floaters.
  http://www.youngexplorers.com

• 
  For 5-6:
  As your child learns to swim, certain toys can facilitate the process. Battery operated toys like swimming fish are fun distractions from training- have your beginner chase them around the pool! http://pooltoy.com

  Kickboards are always useful for children learning to swim, and can be a fun toy for older kids too! http://www.scheelssports.com

• For 7 and up:
  Inflatable floats range from simple loungers and sea-saws to elaborate fortresses that provide endless hours of pool-time fun, and are easily stored away at the end of the summer season. http://www.toysplash.com, http://pooltoy.com

  For more experienced swimmers, weighted hoops and sticks and underwater obstacle courses can provide fun and healthy competition in the pool, but don’t forget goggles! Remember to establish rules whenever children are diving or jumping into the pool, and always have an adult present for supervision. http://www.swimoutlet.com, http://www.toysrus.com

• As your child gets older, organized sports including water basketball or volleyball are great for fun and exercise. Remember to establish rules for safety and to ensure healthy competition and a friendly atmosphere. For a younger crowd, have an adult present. I would suggest inflatable designs for added safety. http://pooltoy.com, http://www.toysrus.com

Even with all the elaborate and expensive pool toys available today, a simple beach ball or noodle provides plenty of safe entertainment for children, and is not too costly. Always remember to remove pool toys at the end of the day so your child is not tempted to try and play unsupervised!

Summer is finally within reach as schools finish up and the beaches beckon! I rarely shop- as a pediatrician and mother of three I tend to shop on-line, late at night. So I am always searching and researching for the very best products and then I stick with them- especially when it comes to my children.

• 1. www.coolibar.com
  This company’s mission is to develop superior sun protective products that allow people to enjoy life in the sun. they make sun protective clothes, SPF clothing, sun hats, sun protection swimwear, sunglasses, umbrellas, sunscreens and sunblock. The clothes are cute enough for your kids to enjoy wearing but SPF50 for their safety.

 

• 2. www.tumblegum.com
  Another wonderful site for UV protective swim wear- All Tumblegum Sun Wear tm products are constructed with fabric rated UPF 50+, the highest rating possible.

 

 

• 3. www.pristineplanet.com has some wonderful beach toys and buckets including the The SandSac™ ian eco-friendly, foldable travel beach pail. Made from 100% cotton canvas with a 100% renewable resource bamboo shovel, it is the alternative to the traditional plastic pail and shovel. The SandSac™ is customizable using fabric markers, paints, or applied accessories.

 

• 4. www.organicallyhatched.com a selection of quality organic baby products from local suppliers.
  Dunebug’s Sand Truck is a double feature of a vehicle.

  A built in bucket, shovel, and rake transform this truck to instant sand tools to keep your farm looking the best on the block.

 

• 5. www.seaglassorganic.com green living Choose from 100% certified organic cotton towels or 70% bamboo 30% organic cotton beach towels in great colors and generous sizes. Check out our New Organic Cotton Beach Bag & Towel Gift Sets now available. Go green at the beach!