Health Is All In the Family
The data
pours in: Families that eat regular meals together have
better physical and mental health. Happily married adults
live longer, healthier lives. Children who see their parents
seeking physical fitness are more likely to be physically
fit themselves.
Amongst modern families, even here in
Santa Cruz where wellness is an industry in its own right,
focusing on family health can be difficult. But many of our
local families embrace healthy living as a family pursuit,
from cultivating healthy eating habits to bicycling for
transportation.
Healthy eating
Research
shows that regular family meals lead to children eating more
fresh vegetables and fruit. Regular family meals also have
an effect on children’s mental health and well-being.
Mom of two Michele Goodwin-Hooks points
out that good eating starts with the parents.
“Let kids see you eating a lot of fresh
fruits and veggies,” she suggests. “Even if they don't
partake in that moment, you are still modeling that
behavior.”
But even when we’re modeling great
eating habits, how do we keep the kids away from the chips?
First of all, Michele says, don’t shy away from being a
little sneaky.
“Feed your kids vegetables when they
are hungriest,” she advises. “I often put raw carrots,
sliced red peppers, sliced cucumbers or salads out on the
table while I am making dinner. Then, when the kids start
whining about how hungry they are, I say, ‘Appetizers are on
the table!’ and they eat far more vegetables than they would
if I served them alongside the meal.”
Local organization Life Lab uses its
education programs nationwide to promote the connection
between raising food and eating well.
“A study on a youth gardening program
in Detroit reports that after gardening, kids have an
increased interest in eating fruit and vegetables, possess
an appreciation for working with neighborhood adults, and
have an increased interest for improvement of neighborhood
appearance,” writes mom Kirsten Berhan on Life Lab’s
website.
Michele Goodwin-Hooks agrees that in
her family, she sees the healthy results of growing and
harvesting food.
“Kids love eating what they have picked
themselves,” Michele says. “My daughter devours the
fresh-picked apples I put in her lunch box because they are
so fresh and crunchy and good, and she picked them herself.”
Illness and Wellness
Flu season is
upon us, and every time your kids come home from school,
they are probably bringing a mix of viruses and bacteria
along with them. Families fight illness with methods from
all sides of the spectrum.
“We have stayed flu free, without flu
shots, for the past three years,” explains mom Tami Huntley,
whose daughter is in high school. “Two weeks ago we were all
hit with the flu due to me not following my own rules.”
Tami’s rules include:
-
Clean toothbrushes weekly with Listerine
-
When someone in the house is getting sick, wipe down
doorknobs and surfaces with disinfectant
-
When anyone feels run down, go to bed!
“The best way to prevent any infection
is sleep—sleep heals the body,” Tami explains. “[Taking]
Tylenol PM relaxes the muscles and drops you into a deeper
sleep.”
Mom Elana Sifry has two daughters. When
the younger one was born prematurely, she included
alternative treatments with the therapies prescribed for her
daughter. Along with acupuncture and chiropractic, Elana
swears by Monthly Lunar Treatments provided by
Healthy Dragon
Holistic Pediatrics.
“Monthly Lunar treatments for children
is a tradition that comes to us from Japan,” explains
Healthy Dragon’s Sally Sherriff. “Traditional Asian
pediatric treatments, consist of Shoni shin, which is
the Japanese name for small brushes and tappers that
stimulate specific areas on the skin, moxabustion, pediatric
tuina (therapeutic massage), nutrition and herbal medicine.”
Elana says that not only does she feel
that her children stay well because of these treatments, but
the children truly enjoy them.
“My four-year-old (who was born
prematurely) really likes it when Sally sings as she does
the massage,” she explains. “She says it tickles, especially
on her belly.”
“Both of my daughters have had
acupuncture from when they were babies,” Elana adds. “Our
acupuncturist at that time let the older one take the
needles out and she really enjoyed it and was much more
willing with the needles because she got to participate. I
think it has supported my children’s immune systems to have
regular acupuncture.”
Exercise for fun and transportation
Mom of two
Kelly Allari says that togetherness goes hand-in-hand with
exercise in her family.
“We walk together as a family on the
beach and go for hikes,” she explains. “We also bought bikes
and helmets and ride together. When my children were just
starting out we rode around the top of Blue Ball Park (Anna
Jean Cummings) and often at Vasona in Los Gatos. We love to
hike Fall Creek, Henry Cowell and Big Basin.”
Kelly says that not only does the
exercise promote physical health, but it also allows them to
build healthier relationships with each other.
“We laugh and create memories together
which helps create opportunities for our children to talk
with us about anything,” she says. “I think it helps keep us
close with open communication.”
Even the family that avoids sports can
find ways to get exercise.
UCSC professor and dad of a teenager Kevin Karplus
says that his family took a more radical route to family
fitness.
“Our secret to getting enough exercise
is not to have a car, and to rely on walking and bicycling
for almost all our transportation,” he explains. “Because we
have to work and buy groceries, we get all the aerobic
exercise we need just in day-to-day living.”
The family relies on a bike trailer for
heavier purchases and public transportation for longer
distances. Kevin says that this solution fits better with
his family than trying to enforce exercising for health.
“We're a family who dislikes exercise
and sports, but recognizes that exercise has been
consistently shown to be one of the most important things
for staying healthy.”
Outdoor
time for everyone
According to
the Landscape and Human Health Laboratory, humans benefit
from interacting with nature in more ways than we could
imagine: natural features affect rates of crime, violence,
and aggression; time in nature has a measurable effect on
kids’ ADHD symptoms; and just being able to view trees from
their windows affects children’s self-control.
Local mom Linnaea Avenell and her
family recently made a move that affects not only her own
family’s connection with the land but also extends that
connection to local children.
“For many years my husband and I have
been very much committed to the idea that connecting kids
with nature would help them become more caring stewards of
our Earth and of the other creatures that share it,” Linnaea
explains. “Our most recent project in this vein is
transforming our home/property here in Soquel into ‘Little
Garden Patch Farm.’ Our goal has been to provide a
space where children who might otherwise be stuck indoors
all afternoon can enjoy child-led time playing outdoors the
way so many kids no longer do.”
Rather than sell the property in Soquel
where she grew up and where her children and their friends
got to roam, Linnaea’s family decided to move in and make it
their business. Little Garden Patch Farm now welcomes
children five and up for gardening and nature time.
“I love watching a child arrive here
after school—tired, batteries running on empty—get
thoroughly recharged from running about outside playing
games of make believe, playing ‘farm’ with the toys in the
sensory tables, shucking corn husks from the garden to feed
the goats, laughing at the chickens, exuberantly chasing a
ball, and giggling along at story time,” Linnaea says. “It
makes all the farm chores and maintenance I do around here
feel totally worthwhile!”
Resources
Life Lab
provides garden and nutrition education both in schools and
onsite at their UCSC-located Garden Classroom.
www.lifelab.org
Landscape and Human Health
Laboratory
is a multidisciplinary research laboratory dedicated
to studying the connection between greenery and human
health. lhhl.illinois.edu
Little Garden Patch Farm
offers afterschool
programs in Soquel.
www.LittleGardenPatchFarm.com
Suki Wessling is a local writer and the mother
of two children. To become one of Suki’s local
correspondents, visit her contact page at
www.SukiWessling.com.
_____________________________________________
This article originally appeared in Growing Up in Santa Cruz.
Our thanks to Suki Wessling for providing us with a copy for our archive.
(In April of 2018 the paper was sold to
a new owner and soon after the original url for this article and
other back issues became defunct.)