Poppyseed Magazine - July/August 2015 issue

poppyseed the cool guide for all families

July • August 2015

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Get Outside this Summer • Healthy Eats • A Lesson for Teens & MORE!!!

poppyseed

Issue Eight July • August 2015

publisher & owner Joey Coakley Beck jbeck@beckmediagroup.com editorial director Hayleigh Worgan hworgan@beckmediagroup.com contributors Krista Knauer Decca Knight Hayleigh Worgan sales director Cheryl Matthews cmatthews@beckmediagroup.com

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the cool guide for all families

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Remember to visit www.beckmediagroup.com for additional articles between issues. Like us on Facebook for updates and giveaways that you will not want to miss! Thank you for being a part of the Poppyseed family, and have a great summer!

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Poppyseed Magazine is the property of Beck Media Group LLC. It is a free publication printed bimonthly and is distributed throughout Southwest and Central Virginia and beyond. The concept and design of Poppyseed Magazine, as well as the design, advertisements, art, photos and editorial content is property of Beck Media Group LLC and may not be copied or reprinted without written permission from the publisher. ©2015 Beck Media Group LLC All Rights Reserved. PRINTED IN THE USA

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We hope you are enjoying your summer! Whether you have teenagers, tweens and other youngsters, it can be challenging to keep everyone in your family healthy, entertained, and happy during these schoolfree months. That’s why we have dedicated this issue of Poppyseed to helping families stay active, keep an open line of communication, and eat better during the warmest months of the year.

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Page 5 July • August 2015

Get Moving

5 Healthy Summer Family Activities Summer has arrived and for many kids, sports and activity practices are on hiatus leaving them with plenty of time to lounge on the couch. But summer isn’t the time to get lazy.

Warmer weather provides the perfect opportunity to get more involved in your kids’ lives and spend time together as a family. As a parent, your children will pick up on your habits, good or bad, so it’s important to be a role model for living a healthy way of life by teaching healthy habits starting at a young age.

Show your family the value of an active lifestyle with these healthy family activity ideas: Introduce your kids to a sport you love. No child is too young to engage in your favorite sport or activity. Whether you’re a basketball player or a yogi, show the kids your enthusiasm for the activity you love. When they see you having fun, they’ll want to try it, too. Also, enroll your kids in classes that align with their interests. Your area rec centers, colleges and other family centers offer a plethora of classes for all likes and interests.

Try rock climbing. You’ve seen the big rock wall in sports stores and health clubs, but have you taken the challenge of climbing with your kids? Trying out new activities and stepping outside your comfort zone is a big part of enjoying a healthy way of life.

Even if you or your kids are nervous in the beginning, try a few training sessions or

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Page 7 July • August 2015

take some time with certified professionals. Doing so will assure you of your safety and calm your nerves. Rock climbing is not only a physical workout, but it also gets your brain moving as you navigate your way to the top.

Get to the pool. It wouldn’t be summer without some time in the water. Your local pool is a great place to head for some fun in the sun. Experts recommend that you find a pool with high quality water standards. Pool water should be clean and clear; if you walk into a pool area and smell chemicals, often times that means there are not enough chemicals in the pool rather than too many. You’ll also want to ensure that the pool has adequate safety standards, such as the 25:10 rule (if a child cannot swim more than 25 meters, their parent or guardian must be within 10 feet) and a 3:1 non-swimmer to swimmer ratio. Don’t forget to slather on the sunscreen and reapply every few hours.

Let your kids experience a day camp. For many working parents, it’s a yearly battle to figure out who will take care of their children during the summer days. One solution to this is a summer day camp. Camps focus on helping kids develop a passion for living healthy and active lifestyles with a full spectrum of engaging activities and sometimes a new theme to look forward to each week.

Go for a family walk. Get into a routine of taking an after-dinner walk a few nights each week. If your little ones start to get bored or complain, use some tricks to keep them engaged. For example, keep their attention with a counting game, or make up an elaborate story together. Soon these walks will become a fun family treat.

Page 8 July • August 2015

Use these ideas to keep your family active and safe all summer long. Your kids will go back to school next year with healthy habits and a happy spirit. Visit our website all summer long for additional family-fun activities to keep you busy. www.beckmediagroup.com

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Page 12 July • August 2015

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The most important lesson your teen must learn this summer With summer underway, kids of all ages are enjoying a break from school by spending more free time with their friends. As kids enter their teenage years, summer camp and swim lessons are traded for hanging out with friends, often without adult supervision.

While many parents want to foster independence, the lack of organized activities and adult supervision during these months present teens with more opportunities to experiment with substances. In fact, the highest rates of teen substance use are seen in the summer, and, if a teen is already using, their use significantly spikes during this time of year.

According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, first-time use of most substances peaks during June and July. On an average day during these months:

• More than 4,800 youths use marijuana for the first time

• More than 5,000 youths smoke cigarettes for the first time

• More than 11,000 youths use alcohol for the first time “We often hear from teens and young adults that they started experimenting with drugs and alcohol out of curiosity or boredom,” says Dr. Thomas Wright, chief medical officer at Rosecrance, a leading teen substance abuse treatment center. “For some, occasional use of these substances evolves into full-blown addiction, even though they believed they could stop whenever they wanted.”

Parents should remind teenagers of the danger that comes with even occasional substance use, as there is no safe level of substance use for teens, whose brains are still developing. Research shows teens become addicted faster than adults and that the earlier they begin using substances, the more likely they are to become dependent.

Facing their peers Another contributing factor to substance experimentation among teens is peer pressure. As children grow, parents have less influence on their kids. By their teen years, peers are the most influential group in a child’s life and pressure to fit in may cause some teens to experiment with substances. Parents also need to recognize that teens may become skilled at hiding such activities.

“Teens in our treatment centers have shared a variety of creative ways they’ve hidden their substance use from parents,” says Dr. Wright. “Replacing bottled water with clear alcohol, sneaking unused prescriptions out of bathroom cabinets and hiding drug paraphernalia outside the home are just a few examples. It is important that parents are vigilant and proactive during the summer months by checking in with their teens regularly, encouraging them to participate in productive, structured activities and, most importantly, talking openly with their teens about drugs and alcohol.”

The discussion begins with you

While these conversations aren’t easy, they make a difference. Kids who learn about the dangers of substances at home are up to 50 percent less likely to use them than those who don’t, according to research from the U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration. Understanding teens’ perspectives around substances can help make it easier to understand the pressures they face and help guide these conversations. Teen-specific resources are available at www.drugabuse.org, including real-life drug abuse stories geared towards teens.

www.drugabuse.gov

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Page 13 July • August 2015

Breeze Through Summer with this Quick & Easy Snack Idea The sun is out and kids are enjoying a much-deserved breather from their daily grind. Parents, on the other hand, must balance children’s summer activities, sports leagues, family summer trips and household errands. As mom faces her busiest time of year head-on, quick meal and snack time solutions are just what she needs as part of a summer rescue!

Sure, mom always makes sure her kids are getting a nutritious breakfast and are happily starting off their days, but it is equally important for mom to eat something that is both healthful and satisfying. An easy and better-for-you option to help power mom through the day is an open-faced sandwich packed with whole grains, protein and fiber.

“A nutritious, enjoyable and easy meal can be hard to find! As a busy mom, I find open-faced sandwiches to be a great solution,” says Registered Dietitian Katie Cavuto. “I recommend using 100 percent whole grain bread as a nutritious foundation, and then experimenting with seasonal fruits and veggies like arugula and avocado—the options are endless!”

Katie shares some of her favorite tips on how to make the most out of open-faced sandwiches:

Any meal is fair game: Breakfast is a great time to make an open-faced sandwich because you can jazz up your morning toast with a variety of nutrient-rich ingredients like eggs, lox and avocado. Open-faced sandwiches are also great as an afternoon snack, especially after the gym. I like to layer one slice of 100 percent whole grain toast with better-for-you ingredients filled with protein and fiber, like almond butter and banana.

Go 100 calories or less: When shopping in the bread aisle,

make sure to read the labels. I always make sure the bread I am purchasing is made with 100 percent whole grains and that each slice of bread contains 100 calories or less. The bread alone will satisfy your taste buds, meaning the less ingredients (and calories) you’ll want to pile on.

Avocado & Egg Open-Faced Delight 1 slice of bread, toasted 1/4 avocado, mashed 1 hard-boiled egg, sliced 3 cucumber slices 1/4 teaspoon chili oil Lime zest Salt and pepper to taste Spread mashed avocado onto toast.

Top with egg slices and cucumber sliced.

Drizzle with chili oil. Season with lime zest, salt and pepper. Enjoy!

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Page 15 July • August 2015

Parent-In-Training Corporal Confusion

So, I have put it off long enough. I have successfully avoided writing about the topic of spanking. Why have I hesitated to address it? For me, this is a highly sensitive subject. Parents become very impassioned in this debate. Beliefs about physical punishment often run deep within families and many parents become defensive when asked to give up spanking.

Those that are for spanking usually begin the conversation by saying, “My parents spanked me and I turned out okay.” This may be true. You may have turned out just fine, despite being whacked on the bottom frequently. But, this statement is merely a distraction. It is like saying that eating only pizza and cake for a week didn’t make you gain weight, so it must be okay. You may not have gained weight but there is no doubt that it is unhealthy.

There is a copious amount of research that I could list on the negative consequences of spanking such as increased aggression and, according to CNN, decreased gray matter in the brain. However, my main issue with spanking is the lesson you teach your child when you spank them. The primary message is, “When you are upset with someone’s behavior, you can get their attention by hitting them.” How does this translate during playtime at preschool? When your darling is mad that a friend will not share the puppet, they hit them. The irony then becomes that this child is punished for hitting with a spanking.

Proponents often say, “They need to learn and the only way they remember is if I spank them.” Really? Are you saying that the only way to solidify, in a child’s brain, that they should change a behavior is by physically reminding them? I view this as a cop-out. There are numerous other ways to alter behavior and many of them take more time and more work, on the part of the parent, than simply physically punishing a child. So, in my opinion, many parents are taking the “easy road.”

Another common argument sounds like, “Yes I hit them, and it stopped the behavior. Nothing else has.” So, you stopped the behavior, temporarily, by scaring your child with your physicality. Wouldn’t you rather that a child be scared of a logical consequence than of you?

In essence, discipline is not about “breaking” someone.

It is about teaching someone what went wrong and what to do differently next time. This cannot be taught with a spanking but rather with logic, guidance, consequences, a loving heart, and a helping hand.

Page 16 July • August 2015

Decca is a wife, mother, counselor, and parenting educator. In an effort to further help kids and parents, Decca began studying a variety of parenting philosophies. She teaches classes, consults with other “Parents-in-training,” and runs Blue Ridge Parenting and Consulting LLC. For more information about parenting classes and consultation visit Decca’s website www.blueridgeparenting.com

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