Beware the Humble Sausage Sizzle!

In a recent article on children and food, Dr Peter Dingle, Associate Professor of Toxicology at Murdoch University Western Australia, was quoted as saying that sausages contain very little of nutritional value but worse still, contain nitrates and nitrites. High levels of these chemicals have been linked to health disorders including leukaemia in children. That is not to say you should rush out and ban all forthcoming sausage sizzles, but just to be aware that if children in your care are having a diet consistently high in foods of dubious nutritional value, that you run the risk of causing them health problems of varying degrees of seriousness. This is not rocket science: you eat junk – don’t expect to have excellent health. The link is often not made though between diet and exercise and good health. Continue reading →

Fit Kids

I had the privilege recently of working for four days in a primary school (K-7) in the south-west of Western Australia. The purpose was to teach musical appreciation and interpretation along with basic musical elements of pitch, dynamics, tempo, beat and rhythm. I decided to have fun with this to show the children, and their teachers, that music can be a full-bodied adventure. The experience reinforced the benefits of physical fitness. Continue reading →

Crunch and Sip

In Western Australia The Cancer Council and Diabetes WA have introduced a program of healthy eating in schools. The theme for 2006 was ‘Crunch and Sip’, meaning children snack on only raw fruit and vegetables during morning and afternoon breaks, and drink water only. Continue reading →

The Death Clock – Your Choice

I read something interesting in a newsletter recently about the Death Clock. The writer had calculated statistically that he had 39 years left to live. He was making the point that he had better get on with making a difference in the world. That was a good reason to focus on the Death Clock, to think of ways of doing good, but to me he missed the point. Continue reading →

Iodine Deficiency & Development

Did you know that 20% of children in NSW and Victoria are mildly iodine deficient? This condition can affect their learning, hearing and growth. Continue reading →

Fat kids

Education Departments Australia wide are having a crack-down on fat kids. Or so it seems. This is not before time. Studies conducted by Queensland University indicate a co-relation between overweight children and ineffective parenting. Continue reading →

ADD/ADHD and Chemical Overload

By now you will all be well entrenched into the new term. And some of you will have the delight of having ADD children in your midst. What a challenge! Others will have the daydreamers, the sleepers or the downright stubborn. There is no doubt that behavioural problems with their attendant learning disorders need to be addressed with appropriate management techniques, maybe even psychological testing, and certainly parent support and education. The sad fact is that most of these problems are actually biochemical in origin, not social. When a child’s behaviour is seriously hyperactive, for example, there is a chemical imbalance in the brain. The child is not suffering from a Ritalin deficiency. The child is undoubtedly suffering from nutritional deficiencies, particularly minerals and essential fatty acids (omega 3, 6 & 9). The average diet does not contain nearly enough for the growing brain, and research indicates soils are deficient in minerals and trace elements (Trace Elements in Human and Animal Nutrition by Professor Eric Underwood, UWA). Continue reading →