Balanced Family Summer 2017

BALANCED

SUMMER ISSUE | 2017

FAMILY BALANCEDMAG.COM

HEALTH | WELLNESS | PARENTING | LIVING

FOCUSED FITNESS Boutique studios are booming in Northeast Ohio due in part to more personalized experiences and smaller settings

INSIDE: SWIMMING SAFETY 6 | HEALTHY PICNICS 10 | CAMP PARENTING 14 | HOME SECURITY 24

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INSIDE Family Matters

4 SUMMER MEMORIES

Michael C. Butz shares a childhood photo and his fondness for a popular – if not very healthy – summertime treat

Feature story

16 FOCUSED FITNESS

Boutique studios are booming in Northeast Ohio due in part to more personalized experiences and smaller settings

On the cover: Cover photo and photo below by Michael C. Butz

BALANCEDKIDS

6 SUMMER SAFETY

Having fun in the sun should include remaining mindful of hazards while in the water

10 APPETIZING ARRANGEMENTS Cookouts and picnics can be made healthier without much extra work – and without losing the taste of summer

14 CAMPING COUNSELING

Between how best to send their kids to camp and how best to handle being away from their children, parents have much to consider

BALANCEDADULTS

20 PART OF THE FAMILY

Selecting the best au pair or nanny to care for your children is an important process that requires prioritizing and attention to detail

22 PREPARE FOR PAYOFF

Managing student loan debt may feel overwhelming, but planning and prioritizing can help

24 SUMMER SECURITY

Common sense precautions and home security systems can help keep out burglars who strike during warm-weather months

BALANCEDBODY&MIND

26 PRESCRIBING A HEALTHY DIET CORUS Fitness owner Hillary Zashin inside her Beachwood studio, one of many boutique fitness centers popping up in Northeast Ohio.

MetroHealth Medical Center and the Greater Cleveland Food Bank team up to address an increase in food insecurity among Northeast Ohio seniors

28 GOING THROUGH GRIEF

Coping with the death of a loved one can be one of life’s most challenging tasks

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SUMMER 2017 | BALANCEDFAMILY | 3

BALANCED

FAMILYMATTERS FROM MICHAEL C. BUTZ

Summer memories T

here are two photos from my childhood that consistently bring a smile to my face when I see them. The year was 1983 and the scene was Pine Lake Lodge, a long-since-closed swimming hole and picnic area between Kent and Ravenna that in its heyday provided warm-weather fun for families. I was 5 years old that summer, and notably, at least to me, I still had blond hair.

In the first photo, at right, my hair is damp from having just emerged from swimming on a sunny summer afternoon and I have my favorite Spider-Man beach towel draped over my shoulders. Also, judging from the look on my face, I’m biting into what apparently was the best ice cream sandwich of all time.

The second photo, which isn’t pictured here because it hangs at my parents’ house among several other family photos, was taken immediately after the first.

It shows me looking up at the photographer, one of my parents, post-bite with chocolate crumbs around my mouth. I also have a bewildered look on my face, perhaps confused over why I was being photographed or consternated over why my blissful ice cream sandwich experience had been interrupted. All these

years later, it’s hard to remember.

I smile at these nostalgic photos of me in part because of the innocent goofiness depicted, but also, what says summer better than a kid at a beach on a sunny day eating ice cream?

I share this trip down memory lane because some of this issue of Balanced Family is dedicated to helping you have equally enjoyable experiences this summer.

For starters, local experts offer tips on how to best stay safe around swimming areas, including several local beaches. If summer camps are more your family’s style, then we have advice for how parents can successfully send off their kids for an extended period away from home – and how they can best handle being separated from their children.

4 | BALANCEDFAMILY | SUMMER 2017

FAMILY Editor Michael C. Butz editor@balancedmag.com Lead Designer Stephen Valentine

President & CEO Kevin S. Adelstein Vice President of Sales Adam Mandell CJN Managing Editor Bob Jacob Controller Tracy DiDomenico Design Manager Jon Larson Manager of Digital Marketing Rebecca Fellenbaum Events Manager Gina Lloyd

As for food, whether at the beach or park, cookouts will fire up across Northeast Ohio. Local experts we spoke to offer ways to make them healthier and involve children in the process.

Not surprisingly, ice cream sandwiches aren’t among their suggestions.

As delicious as they are, I suspect even the most forgiving dietician wouldn’t consider them nutritious.

We also have stories about keeping your home safe during the summer months and the boutique fitness center trend spreading across Greater Cleveland, among others.

We hope you enjoy reading them, and that you and your family have a healthy, happy and memorable summer.

Editorial Ed Carroll Amanda Koehn Becky Raspe Alyssa Schmitt Digital Content Producer Lillian Messner Custom Publishing Manager Paul Bram Advertising Marcia Bakst Marilyn Evans Ron Greenbaum Andy Isaacs Adam Jacob Nell V. Kirman Sherry Tilson Design Jessica Simon Business & Circulation Diane Adams Tammie Crawford Abby Royer Subscriber Services 216-342-5185 circulation@cjn.org Display Advertising 216-342-5204 advertising@balancedmag.com Balanced Family is produced by the Cleveland Jewish Publication Company, 23880 Commerce Park, Suite 1, Beachwood, OH 44122. For additional copies, call 216-342-5185. For general questions, call 216-454-8300.

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BALANCEDKIDS

Summer

safety

Having fun in the sun should include remaining mindful of hazards while in the water

By Ed Carroll

A

fter a long, cold winter, many families in the Cleveland area are ready for some outdoor fun, which likely means taking advantage of one of the benefits of living in Northeast Ohio: access to beaches, lakes and streams via local park systems.

But if you’re planning on bringing your family to the beach or even just enjoying a dip in a local pool, it’s important to be safe and aware of the dangers that can occur during your fun in the sun.

Rebecca Fischer, an aquatic territories specialist for the American Red Cross, says the most important safety advice she can give to families who play in any body of water is to make sure they’re paying attention to the children.

“Make sure they’re within an arm’s reach of their child,

any kind of distraction could happen at any time,” Fischer says. “Be attentive 100 percent of the time, not 95 percent of the time.”

If you’re swimming in a home pool, Fischer says the Red Cross has an online home pool safety course available at HomePoolEssentials.org.

Beyond the course, Fischer says it’s important to keep the pool locked, to have a fence around it and to make sure some sort of lifesaving device, such as a life jacket or life preserver, is easily accessible.

6 | BALANCEDFAMILY | SUMMER 2017

If your family prefers to enjoy its water fun au naturel, the Cleveland Metroparks has you covered. While the Metroparks has countless rivers and streams in its more than 21,000 acres of parks, Greg Headley, director of risk management at the Metroparks, says most of the park’s rivers are quite shallow and not conducive to swimming.

Christy Moore, the Metroparks’ aquatics and facilities manager, agrees with Headley but says there are alternatives for families looking to cool off.

“We do have six natural areas within the park district – five open water and one pool – where we have life guards on duty. We do try to encourage our guests to use those areas while lifeguards are on duty and heed the warnings that the lifeguards

Fischer provide,” she says.

If going to the beach is your thing, you should be aware of the dangers of rip currents. As defined by the National Ocean Service, rip currents are powerful, narrow channels of fast-moving water that are prevalent along the coasts of the United States, as well as the shores of the Great Lakes, such as Lake Erie. Rip currents can move at speeds up to 8 feet per second and it’s estimated that 100 people are killed in a rip current annually.

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Fischer says it’s hard to spot a rip current, as they can show up at any time in open water.

“Basically the most important thing is that there is a lifeguard on duty whenever there is going to be open water and (that) they pay attention to signs that say there might be rip currents,” she says. “Those (signs) are some of the big indicators that they are possible here and you need to be very careful.”

But Fischer says if a swimmer is caught in a rip current, it’s important they go with the flow rather than fight against it, which might feel

more intuitive.

“It’s incredibly important that people don’t try to swim out of it, they swim with a rip current,” she says. “Even if that means they have to go out farther or they have to go to the right or the left, they should not swim against it.”

Ultimately, the best water safety advice might be to make sure your children have learned how to swim, Moore says.

“Know the dangers of the water,” she says, adding that there are free swim lessons available through the city of Cleveland for residents at no cost. BF

Learn to swim Parents interested in signing up their children for Cleveland’s Learn-to-Swim program can call 216-664-3018 for information and to register. The Learn-to-Swim programs are provided free of charge, though children under the age of 8 or under 4 feet tall need a parent to attend the class with them. These classes are staffed with Red Cross-certified life guards and are offered year-round. balancedmag.com

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BALANCEDKIDS

Cookouts and picnics can be made healthier without much extra work – and without losing the taste of summer

By Ed Carroll

A

s families prepare for fun in the sun at various parks and beaches throughout Northeast Ohio, some may want to break free of what could be considered staples of a traditional family picnic or cookout. Foods like burgers, hot dogs and pasta salads are all great but they’re not exactly healthy.

While you might not be in a family that’s overly conscious about counting calories and cutting carbohydrates, replacing unhealthy picnic staples has its benefits – and doesn’t have to mean more work or less taste, says Tammy Randall, an instructor at Case Western Reserve University’s department of nutrition, and dietitian Karen Clifford, wellness coordinator at the Lake Health Wellness Institute.

“There’s a lot of options available, it just takes a little more planning than what they’re used to,” Clifford says. “I think a lot of people are used to just going out and buying the usual items, or pre-made items, to make life a little bit easier. Sometimes they just need to think a little bit outside the box of what a ‘normal’ picnic would be – and then they

10 | BALANCEDFAMILY | SUMMER 2017

might need to do a little recipe searching to find something that works for them.”

Randall says a healthy picnic doesn’t need to be more time-consuming, either.

“If you think about making a whole-grain pasta salad with a light vinaigrette dressing and Clifford lots of good veggies in there, it doesn’t take you any longer to do that than it would a traditional macaroni salad or potato salad with a thick mayonnaise-y dressing,” she says. “There’s some prep involved, but there would have been with a traditional picnic, also.”

Replacing unhealthy foods Randall with healthier options is an easy way to lighten a family picnic’s calorie load – and can be just as easy to accomplish. Clifford says it can be as simple as replacing chips and dip with cut-up vegetables and hummus or a bean dip.

“Meats can be different, too,” she says of finding healthier options. “A lot of times, they’re grilling hamburgers and hot

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BALANCEDKIDS dogs, and those things can still be available, but maybe in a healthier format.”

Purchasing uncured chicken, turkey hot dogs and lighter sausages is one option, Clifford explains, as is using at least 90 percent lean ground beef for hamburgers – or using ground turkey or chicken, instead.

Randall says proteins are usually the biggest unhealthy offenders in a picnic, but agrees with Clifford in saying there are healthier options with lower calorie content.

“If you want to stick with chicken, instead of serving fried chicken, use boneless chicken breasts,” she says.

Clifford suggests finding recipes that make healthy foods a little more interesting, such as a chili lime chicken burger.

“I think it opens people to new ideas for foods for them,” she says. “I think a lot of times people just resort to the same old items as opposed to thinking of what other options are available. And just because something’s healthy, it doesn’t mean it has to taste bad. A lot of people have that view, but being creative with flavoring can make a big

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difference to the taste of the so-called healthy food. It’s a matter of being creative with your ideas.”

That creativity may not be enough to convince a family’s most choosy eaters – likely the children – to buy in. One way to potentially get them interested in a healthy picnic is to have them help prepare it, and both Randall and Clifford say there are lots of ways to involve children of all ages in the process. “(Children) can help make the menu,” Clifford says. “I would take them shopping. They can help buy the foods, maybe give them options on what veggies they would like to have or what fruits they would like to have.”

Randall says younger kids can use a plastic knife to cut up fruit and veggies into cubes or strips, or help by arranging the food on a tray in patterns.

“It just depends on the age of the child,” she says. “I think the more you get the kids involved, the more excited they’ll be about it. There are absolutely things they can do, even at a very young age. When you get into teens, they can practically do it all, and many of them are better than the adults at cooking skills.” BF

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Short-term skilled nursing and/or rehab: Paid for by private insurance or Medicare after a qualifying hospital stay. Medicare requires a three-day qualifying stay while some private insurances do not. The patient would receive services from skilled professionals, including registered nurses as well as occupational, speech and physical therapists. Besides therapy, services such as IVs, wound care, tracheotomies and tube-feedings would also be considered “skilled care” and require the services of a “skilled professional.” Time limited with an average length of stay of about two to three weeks. The type of care provided in a skilled nursing facility is 24/7 nursing care by physicians, RNs, nursing assistants and rehabilitation professionals. It is generally a step down from the hospital care that one received. The goal is to “rehabilitate” the patient to his or her previous level of functioning. Menorah Park accepts Medicare and United Insurance for skilled rehab.

Home Health Services: If remaining at home is an option but daily living support and personal care is needed, utilizing home health services can make it easier. Home health services offer highly trained RNs, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, social workers, home health aides, memory care, personal care and homemaker services. Skilled nursing, rehabilitation, social work and home health aide services can be covered by Medicare and most insurances as long as a condition requires temporary, skilled monitoring and you are essentially homebound during that time. Services may also be paid for through most private insurances, veteran’s benefits or a private rate plan.

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To speak to a Menorah Park expert on any of our services, contact Lisa Cohen-Kiraly, LISW-S, Director of Social Work, at 216-8396633 or lcohen-kiraly@menorahpark.org. You can also contact community liaison Kathleen Parrino at 216-402-0895 or kparrino@ menorahpark.org. You can also visit us at MenorahPark.org, where you will find information on these topics and more.

MenorahPark.org (216) 831-6500

BALANCEDKIDS

Between how best to send their kids to camp and how best to handle being away from their children, parents have much to consider

By Ed Carroll

G

oing away to camp can be one of the more memorable and cherished events in a child’s life.

Spending time around the campfire sharing stories, hiking, swimming and other camp-time activities are often a fun summer tradition that children look forward to each year.

But what are parents supposed to do while their children are making new friends and learning how to fish? How are parents supposed to handle dropping their kids off for a few weeks of outdoorsy fun?

Both Lindsay Johnson, Lower School guidance counselor at Gilmour Academy in Gates Mills, and Courtney Guzy, executive director at The Hiram House in Moreland Hills, offer advice to help ease anxiety for parents of young campers.

Parents should have a conversation with their child and explain to them that they will have a great time away at camp, Guzy says, and that they’re looking forward to hearing about the friends the child will meet and all the fun they will have at camp.

No matter what, it’s important for parents to stay positive while their little campers get ready for their stay, Johnson says.

“As a parent, you must be willing to openly discuss and acknowledge the child’s fears, anxieties and worries they

14 | BALANCEDFAMILY | SUMMER 2017

Guzy

Johnson

are sharing with you,” Johnson says. “Make sure you stay positive while offering reassurance that camp will be a fun and exciting time and that everyone else is feeling the same emotions as they get ready for their first time at camp.”

Something both agree on is parents should avoid making “pickup deals” with their child in case the child has a bad time at camp.

“I think a lot of times it gives the kids the message of, ‘if you’re not going to be successful at camp, we’re going to pick you up,’” Guzy says. “It’s similar to when you send a kid to school. The staff here at Hiram House is going to do everything we can to make them comfortable so they feel like part of the camp family. We notice even the other campers encourage children to stay and be involved. But it makes it really difficult when parents say they’re just going to pick up the child.”

To Johnson, pickup deals are setting campers up for failure.

balancedmag.com

THE CENTER FOR “The child will never fully engross themselves in all that the camp has to offer, even some of their favorite activities, because they will be focused on knowing they can go home,” she says. “Throughout your child’s time at camp, they will experience a wide range of emotions, from over-the-moon excitement to complete unhappiness. You don’t want that brief moment of sadness to terminate your child’s time at camp because you made a deal that you would pick them up.”

One of the most common problems seen at camp is homesickness, Guzy says, and the feeling is completely normal, especially if the child has only been away from home for brief periods, such as sleepovers at a friend’s house. To help combat homesickness, Something both she encourages parents to send letters to campers – agree on is with a caveat. parents should “It’s important not to avoid making write things like ‘We miss you, wish you were here,’” “pickup deals” Guzy says. “Instead write with their child ‘Hope you’re having a great in case the child time, can’t wait to hear about has a bad time the fun you’re having!’ or something similar.” at camp.

There are a wide range of emotions parents might feel after dropping off their campers, including guilt, worry, freedom, excitement, relief and even thinking about their child more than they usually do, and Johnson says all of these feelings are normal and acceptable.

“Parents need to take this time to refocus and regroup after the demands of the school year have ended,” she says.

“As much as you will miss your child and question yourself for sending them to overnight camp, this is your summer time as well – and you should take time to enjoy it. You may find yourself checking your mailbox several times a day looking for letters from your child or searching the camp’s social media for any glimpse of your child, but remember they are taking advantage of all the new experiences, so don’t worry if you aren’t hearing from your child as often as you had expected or hoped.”

After dropping their children off at camp, parents sometimes joke to Guzy that now they’re going to take a vacation while the child is away.

“I do caution parents that when their child goes to camp, it is not always a great thing to go on vacation,” she says. “If there were an emergency, it can be difficult to reach parents who are out of town or on vacation. I would encourage them to do things in town as adults, maybe have date night together or to clean up around the house.”

She suggests parents plan a dinner or activity with their child once they return from camp.

“I would have the parents plan some fun activities for when they get back from camp to do together when the child comes home to hear about all the adventures they had and all the fun things they did over the summer,” Guzy says. BF

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Focused fitness

Boutique studios are booming in Northeast Ohio due in part to more personalized experiences and smaller settings

Michael C. Butz

By Amanda Koehn

A

few years ago, Hetal Patel was living in Florida training to be a physician’s assistant when, prompted by her upcoming wedding, she decided she wanted to get in shape. She had never considered herself to be athletic and was worried about getting started.

“It kind of really intimidated me at first,” she says.

When Patel would leave her home around 5 a.m. each day to go to medical rotations, she saw this intense workout class below her apartment. She describes it as seeing a lot of orange lighting, people exercising on rowers with loud music and having “someone yelling at them.”

She eventually tried out the curiosity-piquing class, which was OrangeTheory Fitness – an hour-long, high-

intensity workout based on achieving a certain heart rate that allows participants to continue burning calories up to a day-and-a-half after working out.

She immediately joined.

And as of October 2016, she and her husband, Sachin, relocated to Solon to own and operate their own OrangeTheory studio.

“You get to see your results, you get to really hold yourself accountable for what you’ve been doing,” Patel says of the franchise program

16 | BALANCEDFAMILY | SUMMER 2017

Top: From left, OrangeTheory Fitness of Solon head coach Deanna Salapa and co-owner Hetal Patel. Above: Salapa performs one of the exercises in which she leads OrangeTheory members.

that as of June had nine locations in Northeast Ohio

and about 900 open or soonto-be opened worldwide.

balancedmag.com

Michael C. Butz

It’s not just OrangeTheory.

Boutique gyms offering personalized, energetic group exercise alternatives to big-box gyms are popping up across the country.

A common theme is that boutiques package their exercise classes as convenient, communal and something meant to be experienced rather than endured. However, such classes often come at a price greater than memberships to many large gyms, with some costing $30 or more per class.

Is Cleveland jumping on the boutique fitness bandwagon? Four local boutique gym owners, who coincidentally all came to the field unexpectedly from other career paths, can’t say “yes” quickly – or emphatically – enough.

Customized experiences Walking into the redand-white-accented, sleek CycleBar in Beachwood, an aspect most reflective of the cycling program’s intentions might not be the free bananas nor the intense “CycleTheatre,” but the water cooler which has options for both “chilled” and “room temp” water. This type of tailored expectation – from being able to check in seamlessly on iPads, to being emailed the class playlist after the session, to getting a lavender-infused towelette on the way out – is exactly what its owner, Joe Purton, says makes the experience, in addition to the workout itself, top notch.

“You are in charge, you can make it as difficult or as easy

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as you want it to be,” he says of the 50-minute cycling class that is meant to be intense, thanks to the “CycleStar” instructor, but lets users control the resistance and speed on the bike.

Purton, like Patel, is not a fitness maven by trade. For 18 years he was a certified public accountant with Sisters of Charity Health System and opened the studio in April 2016. He says he was initially drawn to working out at CycleBar, which he’d experienced elsewhere before opening his franchise, because he was sick of trekking to big-box gyms, parking his car, changing his clothes and then finding that the class he came for was full. At CycleBar, the workout is modified more directly to the clients’ needs; the bike is already reserved and users can plan, without the hassle, to focus simply on themselves for that 50-minute stretch.

CycleBar, a franchise, also is opening at Crocker Park in Westlake.

“You can come two minutes before class, you can hang out after if you want, or you can run out and all is done in an hour,” Purton says.

Top: CycleBar owner Joe Purton inside his Beachwood studio’s CycleTheater.

Above: The amenities at CycleBar provide a space for members to interact.

Work HARD, make friends Hillary Zashin wants people to hang out at CORUS Fitness, the boutique fitness studio she opened in February in Beachwood.

“I don’t want them to leave,” she says. “I’m trying to create this as a community so that people are accountable when they don’t show up.”

CORUS looks like a record store merged with a Pilates studio – a recordsleeve-covered wall provides a backdrop to where

participants complete small, yet forceful movements on elaborate machines. CORUS relies on a Megaformer for all exercises, which is similar to a Pilates machine but allows for intense weight training as well. The class emphasizes small motions that work up to 600 muscles each.

Zashin, who wears silver sneakers with a red lightning rod that seem to fit in perfectly with the gym’s aesthetic, regularly jumps in to perfect movements during a class taught by another instructor.

SUMMER 2017 | BALANCEdfamily | 17

Amanda Koehn

Top: GrooveRyde owner Zosimo Maximo shows off one of his gym’s stationary bikes. Above: GrooveRyde is home to both a cycle studio and kickboxing/boxing studio.

“I want it to be as hardcore as possible,” she says of the routine that she created.

Like Patel and Purton, Zashin is also a career changer. She was a city prosecutor in Brooklyn, a suburb southwest of Cleveland, for the last 14 years. She always valued fitness, however didn’t find her ideal workout until she tried Megaformer-based classes while traveling to other U.S. cities.

“I was like, if I don’t have this in Cleveland and somebody does it and they don’t do the job that I want, to teach it to the standards that I want, I’d be really

bummed that they beat me to it,” she says.

The expertly structured, unique class naturally builds rapport and is one of the reasons people continue to come back, Zashin says. And the studio seems naturally cool, filled with rock ‘n’ roll memorabilia and featuring a dry-erase board that collects communal reactions to the class such as “Love it! Ouucchh!” and “Fun workout with my pals.”

“I wanted an environment that feels like you’re at a rock concert,” Zashin says.

Patel also wants OrangeFitness to be an experience where classmates get to know each other.

18 | BALANCEdfamily | SUMMER 2017

Thus far, she’s been successful.

“So many people have made friends just here and now they’re like attached at the hip,” Patel says, adding that she’s noticed gym users going on runs together even on days when they don’t attend her class.

Building a lifestyle Like Zashin and Patel, Zosimo Maximo, owner of GrooveRyde in Woodmere, wants his boutique fitness studio, which emphasizes cycling, to provide an intimate experience that offers potential to connect with others while working out.

However, he also wants his programs – which he started with his wife, Anjua – in 2015, to provide a certain type of lifestyle experience that revolves around fitness and healthy eating.

“We’re very inspirational here,” he says of GrooveRyde, which will expand to downtown Cleveland in the fall and the Van Aken District of Shaker Heights in summer 2018.

“We train our teachers to almost be like life coaches, so that aspect is very important in our teaching to not just be a cheerleader, but to really give them attention and important information and take this journey through our 50-minute class.”

GrooveRyde is best known for its group cycle program, where participants ride to a music beat and incorporate upper-body exercises. It also has a kickboxing/boxing class called Beat Box, which incorporates cardio and emphasizes the “full body experience.” Its space is modern and cozy with studio walls containing inspirational quotes from songs.

Maximo says that although he used to work as a reality television producer in Los Angeles for shows like MTV’s “Room Raiders” and Ultimate Fighting Championship’s “Ultimate Fighter,” he became attracted to building community through fitness.

After he moved to Cleveland with Anjua, who became a manager at Lululemon in Woodmere, they saw a gap in the Cleveland fitness community’s cycling offerings. They wanted to start a studio that would build a following around healthy ideals and familiarity.

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Michael C. Butz

“(In the past) the choices you had for that intimacy were things like, especially in the suburban area, the country club. And now, boutique has kind of given people another reason to form a tribe and a lifestyle,” Maximo says.

Moreover, Maximo wants to show that healthy living and exercise is for everyone, regardless of age, ability or demographic. As the fitness center has grown in popularity, classes have grown more diverse.

“We’re getting people from 13 all the way up to their 60s,” he says. “So we basically, I would say, market more of a lifestyle than just, ‘Hey, come lose weight’ or ‘Get ripped.’

We try to create the most welcoming experience.”

Investing in yourself All four boutique owners understand that making time to exercise can sometimes prove challenging – and

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offer tips for overcoming the obstacle.

Maximo says to better conceptualize time, log a day’s activities and find where there might be space. Many will find they spend hours browsing social media and could sacrifice at least 45 minutes to work out.

Patel also notes that, often, once one does make time for fitness, it has unexpected benefits, like relieving anxiety – which could be motivating from the outset.

“I think a lot of people would say they come here to de-stress,” she says.

“Sometimes you just have to walk through those doors and leave everything else out.”

Patel also says OrangeTheory is good for communal motivation because it has locations all over the country, which offer essentially the same classes, allowing one to share a fitness experience with a friend or

Top: CORUS Fitness owner Hillary Zashin exercises on a Megaformer machine. Above: An instructor assists a client with her form during a class.

relative who lives far away.

Patel says her mother, a St. Louis resident, now goes to OrangeTheory classes and they text about their goals and calories burned during workouts.

Moreover, OrangeTheory Solon’s head coach, Deanna Salapa, says as someone who

regularly works with people at fitness levels ranging from never having exercised before to marathon runners, a class atmosphere lets participants feed off the energy of one another. She just has to get them in the room.

“It’s always the hardest part to start,” Salapa says. BF

SUMMER 2017 | BALANCEdfamily | 19

BALANCEDADULTS

Part of the family

Selecting the best au pair or nanny to care for your children is an important process that requires prioritizing and attention to detail

By Alyssa Schmitt

T

he need for family helpers has never been higher as more families join the dualincome club. In nearly half – 46 percent – of households across the country, both parents work full-time jobs in addition to parenting, according to the Pew Research Center.

As many parents will attest, finding a stranger to take care of the youngsters is no easy task. After parents determine whether they want an au pair or a nanny, there’s the search, interview and, finally, the decision – with multiple steps to take during each part.

CONDUCTING A SEARCH Before searching for a nanny or an au pair, parents should take a moment to think about what they really need.

Will the nanny or au pair need to drive

the kids around? Are they going to be cleaning up around the house? “(One) reason it doesn’t work out is that you need a certain skill that they don’t have,” says Barbara Shane, senior community counselor at Au Pair in America in Solon. “The family has expectations that she’s going to be driving the kids, but she can’t.”

Once parents determine what skills they’ll need in their family helper, they have to figure out whether they want an au pair, who brings a different culture

into the house, or a nanny, who might have more experience with children.

One of the biggest differences between the two is the length of time they stay with the family. Au pairs range from 18 to 27 years old, Shane says, and can only work up to two years for a family.

“I always tell my families that it’s great because you can sit down and look at the skill set you need this year,” Shane says. “It was like getting a new teacher.”

On the other side, nannies vary in age and can stay as long as the family needs them. “(When it’s) long term, the nanny becomes a part of the family,” says Melissa Ridler, owner of Nanny Connection in Hudson.

Parents also need to consider the time it takes from searching to hiring the two different caregivers. With the Nanny Connection, this process can take three to six weeks to finish. To find an au pair with Au Pair in America, its recommended parents budget 10 to 12 weeks.

ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS Once parents have an idea of what they need in a family caregiver, they can start the interview process – and both Ridler and Shane put a heavy emphasis on this step.

“I think the keys are really having a conversation or somehow getting to

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Before searching for a nanny or an au pair, parents should take a moment to think about what they really need. the true core of that nanny’s experience … really honing in on their long term in-home nanny paid experience,” Ridler says.

For Shane, when dealing with problems arising in au pair households, it’s usually because of one main issue that’s overlooked in the interview. “(The) No. 1 thing is that they’re not getting along with the host parent,” she says. “You need to talk about personality, lifestyle or expectations.”

In the past, an au pair coming from anywhere in the world was especially difficult to interview, but the process has evolved and become easier.

“The world has changed with technology,” Shane says.

“What I tell my families here is to have three interviews on Skype and think of situational questions to email.”

Asking the nanny or au pair questions in the interview is only one part of the interview process. References, a background check and family interaction is a must before making the decision.

“References are a huge key along with background checks,” Ridler says. “We also encourage the family to interview a nanny and have them come back to have some time with the children and the family before they send an offer.”

TIME TO DECIDE After parents have interviewed multiple

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candidates, they must answer the difficult question: Who should take care of their children?

“I think it’s really great to choose an au pair who has a hobby,” Shane says. “I would like to see what they did in their spare time because I think there’s a commitment to having something you do every day.”

For a nanny, it’s important to find the right personality match, Ridler says, and to be on the same page when it comes to pay and commitment.

“That’s part of what parents aren’t always aware of, establishing the contract and realizing they’re an employer,” she says.

Whether parents decide on an au pair or a nanny to help raise their children, both Ridler and Shane say the stranger they hire will become part of the family. BF

SUMMER 2017 | BALANCEDFAMILY | 21

BALANCEDADULTS

Prepare

for payoff Managing student loan debt may feel overwhelming, but planning and prioritizing can help

By Amanda Koehn

T

o many, “student loan management” may seem like an oxymoron due to the unwieldy nature of the financial burden. Just being reminded of one’s student debt can put a damper on a day, especially when other, smaller expenses are easy to prioritize, like a small car loan or day-to-day expenses.

A November 2016 Federal Reserve report found 66 percent of 18 to 29 year olds with a bachelor’s degree have student loan debt. Also, a 2014 University of South Carolina study showed student loans were associated with poorer psychological functioning, after adjusting for other variables, and is supported by other research that shows debt has measurable mental and physical effects.

Thus for many, especially younger adults, student loan debt is something that needs help managing but is often confusing to navigate.

SITUATION AFFECTS MANAGEMENT While it’s well established that student loan debt is a major problem for young adults (for example, 57 percent of people under 30 considered it as such in a Harvard University Institute of Politics poll), the amount of debt and ability to pay varies.

22 | BALANCEDFAMILY | SUMMER 2017

“There’s some people that come out of college with a great job and they have plenty of income to pay down as much as they can, and there’s some people that come out of college with a lower income job where it’s much more challenging,” says Todd Resnick, co-founder and president of One Seven, a Beachwood financial planning and investment management firm.

Scott Weingold, owner of Strategic College Funding Solutions, a Beachwood college planning company, says that upon graduating college and getting a job, if one has a relatively high income and few other major expenses, then feeding a large portion of funds into loans is advisable, as more interest will be avoided and the loans will be paid off sooner. If one has a lower paying job or cannot afford monthly payments, an income-based plan is likely a better bet, as one can pay smaller amounts over a longer period of time.

“Those with high incomes probably wouldn’t want repayment plans that were tied to their incomes,” Weingold says.

MAKING BIG DECISIONS It’s important to find a good equilibrium between making responsible loan payments, having cash to put into a 401(k) and saving for emergencies, Resnick says.

“It could lead you to take on other debt if you pay down too fast and don’t have savings for a car repair (and) accrue credit card debt,” he says, adding that putting money into a 401(k) early in one’s career can have a dramatic effect on future finances.

Money managing Factors to consider when choosing how much to pay on student loans: • Other debt, especially high-interest debt (credit card, car loan, mortgages) • Emergency savings • 401(k) savings • How important it is to you to avoid interest balancedmag.com

Western Reserve Periodontics, Inc. Charlene B. Krejci, D.D.S., M.S.D.

Sasha B. Ross, D.M.D., M.S.

Michal Marcus, executive director of Hebrew Free Loan Association of Northeast Ohio, a Beachwood nonprofit that lends up to $5,000 for college or graduate school interestWe are a periodontal specialty practice dedicated to free, says parents and students who providing quality care in a comfortable atmosphere. haven’t already taken on student debt We practice all aspects of non-surgical and surgical should consider ways to prevent periodontal therapy including: Marcus having to manage massive debt in the future.

• Consultations “I think often (for) parents, it’s • Periodontal Diagnosis hard to say no to our kids,” she says.

• Periodontal Cleanings “We want them to go to their dream • Gum Grafting for Recession school, but that’s not always the best • Esthetic Periodontal Surgery decision and certainly as a parent, if • Bone Regeneration you have a child approaching college, Sasha B. Ross, • Osseous Surgery D.M.D., M.S. there is a good chance you may be • Oral Biopsies approaching retirement at some point.

• Dental Implants Resnick You don’t want to be compromising • Management of Complex your ability to take care of yourself Dental Cases also, as you age.”

3609 Park East Dr., Suite 411 Marcus adds that involving students Beachwood, OH 44122 • (216) 464-8985 in understanding coming debts early 34501 Aurora Road Suite 208 is important, too, so they don’t finish Solon, OH 44139 • (440) 248-1623 Website: www.gumdrs.com • Email: ask@gumdrs.com college and have no idea how much FAX: (216) 464-7338 student loan debt they have.

One of the biggest problems relating to accruing large amounts of Weingold debt, which can seem unmanageable, ™ is students and parents choosing the wrong school and overpaying for a program that won’t meet their needs, Weingold says. He Transforming challenges into opportunities says to start navigating the college process early, like during the for healing and personal growth. freshman or sophomore year of high school. That way, students and families can make more thoughtful decisions about the best • Stress, worry and anxiety – • Behavior changes school and program for the student, wisely consider future debt Client - Images Wellness Insomnia,of IBS, headaches • High-risk pregnancy, severe and secure other sources of funding, like scholarships.

• Preparing for surgery and hyperemesis Jane Ehrman other invasive procedures “We see family after family end up overpaying for college • Childbirth preparation • Pain relief – acute and chronic because they had no idea what they were doing,” he says.

• Performance anxiety – • Serious/life-threatening illness Resnick and Marcus also advise seeking professional help, if academic, athletic & – dealing with diagnosis, performing arts possible. Those concerned should check out services offered by treatment, life, death and College Now Greater Cleveland, a nonprofit that advises on college recovery issues and loans, Marcus says. One Seven, Resnick says, is testing a pilot program where young people have a financial adviser who is also a younger adult, and they can get advice and interact with other Jane Pernotto Ehrman, MEd, CHES, CHT people in the program trying to navigate finances.

440-213-1872 “They will be a resource because it’s harder to get an adviser at jane@imagesofwellness.com a larger institution at this stage of life,” he says. BF imagesofwellness.com

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BALANCEDADULTS

Summer security Common sense precautions and home security systems can help keep out burglars who strike during warm-weather months

By Ed Carroll

S

ummer in Northeast Ohio is prime time for cookouts, baseball, outdoor concerts, and unfortunately, burglaries.

While the warm weather during Cleveland summers ushers in many welcomed summer activities, statistics show burglaries are more probable in July and August, when families are more likely to be away on a summer vacation, leaving their homes alone and possibly unprotected, according to asecurelife.com.

How can families keep their homes protected while out enjoying the warm weather?

Capt. Guy Turner of the Westlake Police Department says one of the most important things for families to do is to create the illusion that someone is home.

“You can accomplish that if you ask your neighbor, ‘Hey can you park your car in my driveway?’” he says. “Turn a light on, maybe put it on a timer or something.

If you leave it burning the whole time, (FirstEnergy Corp.) loves ya – and that’s OK, too. Leave the radio on. Stop the mail. Stop the infrequently delivered

24 | BALANCEDFAMILY | SUMMER 2017

newspaper, or if you really want them, ask a neighbor to pick them up for you.”

Westlake police get a few dozen break-ins each year, with some involving businesses and others homes, but Turner says a lot of them were left unlocked. He says to make sure all of the doors and windows are locked, even if you’re just going out for the evening.

“The most important thing is to make sure everything is secured,” he says. “Generally, residential burglaries take place during the day, because the burglars, being sociologists, know that for most two-income families, there isn’t going to be anybody home.”

Chief Annette Mecklenburg of the Cleveland Heights Police Department says burglaries are actually down in her city, with 2016 having the lowest number of reported burglaries ever at 117. Though she didn’t have specific statistics, she says unlocked homes or vehicles are often

prime targets. She agrees with Turner that families should make sure every door and window is locked at night or whenever they leave the homes.

“Burglars want to get away with a crime,” she says. “They want to make the least amount of noise possible. And if they can find and open an unsecure window or door, obviously they’re going to want to make entry that way instead of having to break a window or force open a door, which could make a lot of noise and could draw the attention of nearby neighbors.”

Both Turner and Mecklenburg had mixed feelings regarding home security systems. Mecklenburg says she can’t tell anyone which alarm system is better, but did say most homes that were broken into didn’t have alarm systems, as the burglars usually don’t want to draw the attention an alarm can bring.

Turner says alarm systems work on a limited basis, and said most of the alarm notifications their department gets aren’t actual break-ins but rather things like a relative coming by the house and not

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Dull

Mecklenburg

Turner knowing the alarm was activated. He says they’ve also seen instances in which people’s homes were broken into and the alarm system wasn’t turned on.

“If you’re going to spend the money on an alarm system, you might as well turn it on,” Turner says.

If homeowners want the extra peace of mind a security system brings, there are plenty of options. Brenda Dull, operations manager at State Alarm, says without an alarm system, families are relying on neighbors or passers-by to let them know whether someone is attempting to break into their homes. State Alarm serves approximately 8,000 clients in the Cleveland area, including residential and

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commercial clients, Dull says, adding that former police officers have told her burglars say they’ll skip houses if an alarm system sign is posted outside of the home.

“With the security system, we would be monitoring the system 24 hours a day, 365 days a year,” she says. “That’s our business, that’s what we do.”

In addition, if you have a security system and are at home, it would give you a pre-warning if someone had possibly entered the house while you’re sleeping, Dull says.

“When I ask a lot of people the question ‘What are you more concerned with: when you’re home or when you’re not home?’ inevitably they answer ‘when I’m not home,’” she says. “But for me, personally, it’s when I am home. I want to know if someone is trying to get into my home while I’m sleeping, or in the backyard, even.”

Clients have a number of customizable options, and Dull says that at State Alarm, they listen to a customer’s needs and make suggestions accordingly. She also says families should get in the habit of locking doors and windows, even if they do have an alarm system.

No matter what families decide to do about a security system, Turner has one request for families when it comes to protecting their homes.

“For the love of God, don’t put the (spare) key in the fake rock, (burglars) all know what those look like,” he says. BF

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BALANCEDBODY&MIND

MetroHealth Medical Center and the Greater Cleveland Food Bank team up to address an increase in food insecurity among Northeast Ohio seniors

By Amanda Koehn

Prescribing a healthy diet F ood insecurity is just a “buzzword” for hunger, says Dr. Henry Ng, director for the center of internal medicine and pediatrics at MetroHealth Medical Center. And while there are stereotypes about people facing hunger, the problem has no identifiable face.

“There is still such a stigma around hunger and linking it only with poverty, but it goes far beyond that,” Ng says, adding that even middle class people who face a “catastrophic change in their lives,” like the loss of a job, can become food insecure quickly.

In the Cleveland area, food insecurity is a rising problem, especially for senior citizens. As health risks naturally come with aging, one can imagine how not being able to afford healthy food like fruits and vegetables can make things much worse. However, Ng and MetroHealth, along with the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, are embarking on an inventive new approach to reduce both food insecurity and illness for lowincome people – an increasing portion of whom are senior citizens.

DOING MORE WITH LESS The reason for growing food insecurity among seniors is multifaceted, says Kristin Warzocha, president and CEO of the Greater Cleveland Food Bank. For starters, seniors are

26 | BALANCEDFAMILY | SUMMER 2017

living longer and the baby boomer generation is aging, which Warzocha says people in the senior-service industry call the “silver tsunami.” Secondly, more people are aging at home, where they still provide for themselves.

Also, while inflation grows and many seniors struggle to stretch social security checks for cost-of-living needs, federal and state resources for programs that help have not kept up.

The Ohio Department of Aging, which administers funds and oversees senior programs, saw a 54 percent funding reduction between 2001 and 2016 – a reduction felt by area seniors.

“There’s been a pretty significant push to help seniors age at home, but for a low-income senior, they’re choosing on a regular basis between food and health, food and medicine, and food and utilities,” Warzocha says.

ADDRESSING THE NEED Ng says MetroHealth CEO and president Dr. Akram Boutros became interested a couple years ago in working with the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, as both institutions wanted to help people with few resources improve their health. The two organizations announced a partnership for a pilot program to address poor health and food insecurity in the Cleveland community in December 2016.

The program, which Ng and Warzocha help lead, will likely kick off in early fall and has several key components.

First, MetroHealth will screen patients for food insecurity through a survey. Those who screen positive for having poor access to healthy food will then be directed to food pantries

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The Western Reserve Area Agency on Aging, which funds the majority of meal programs for seniors in Cuyahoga and other Northeast Ohio counties, served 602,108 fewer meals in 2015 than in 2002 because funding has not kept up. As a result, the Greater Cleveland Food Bank has advocated for increased federal and state aid for seniors, Warzocha says. They may be up for a tough fight, though, considering proposed federal budget cuts for programs that support Meals on Wheels, a national organization that helps local groups provide hot meals to seniors.

Thus, advocates and volunteers are always needed.

“We are getting calls from seniors desperately in need of food, need a home-delivered meal, and they are finding waiting lists,” says Warzocha, adding they currently serve about 5,000 cooked meals per day and are increasing their capacity.

Ng says for those interested in reducing food insecurity, visiting the Greater Cleveland Food Bank is a good start. He says he was “amazed” the first time he saw how it works.

“It opened my eyes on how complicated it is, and at the same time, how important it is to alleviate hunger,” he says. BF

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and resources near their residence.

However, patients who screen as both food insecure and have a medical condition that would benefit from a specific diet, like diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure or heart disease, also will be paired with a nutritionist who will guide them on a healthy lifestyle.

Ng Health progress of those with diet-related conditions, a large portion of whom are seniors, also will be monitored by doctors and referred to a new on-site MetroHealth food pantry.

“It also has the added benefit of encouraging clients to come back to MetroHealth to reconnect with their providers,” Warzocha says.

Warzocha Although there are similar hospitalgrocery initiatives nationwide for low-income patients, Ng says what makes this program special is that participants will have the aid of an expert to help them navigate healthy eating – a service they likely never had.

“We want to take the idea of an undifferentiated food bank that is co-located in a hospital and kind of step it up a notch or two and say, ‘how do we better tailor the needs of people with food insecurity, considering who they are and the health conditions they might have?’” he says.

Ng adds he expects the program to save “lives and dollars,” especially considering the cost of prescription drugs to treat conditions that could be helped with a healthy diet.

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SUMMER 2017 | BALANCEDFAMILY | 27

BALANCEDBODY&MIND

GOING THROUGH

Grief Coping with the death of a loved one can be one of life’s most challenging tasks

By Alyssa Schmitt

E

ngland’s Prince Harry recently joined a long list of celebrities – from Whoopi Goldberg to Michael Jordan – who have opened up about the loss of a family member. In his case, it was his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, who was killed in a car crash in 1997. While Prince Harry avoided dealing with her death by joining the British military and acting out, an important lesson went unnoticed: you cannot run away from your feelings.

Coping with the loss of a loved one can be difficult for anyone but is crucial to talk about, especially with children.

Diane Snyder-Cowan, director of the Elisabeth Severance Prentiss Bereavement Center in Cleveland, stressed the importance of early education on how to express the feelings that come with grief.

“There’s an increase in high-risk behavior when children lose a parent before 19,” she says. “The lesson we’ve learned as counselors, therapists and physicians is that we need to educate everyone at an early age about how normal it is to be sad.”

28 | BALANCEDFAMILY | SUMMER 2017

Once children learn how to identify, cope and accept grief, they can begin to learn how to maintain their connection to the deceased through their lives, Snyder-Cowan says, even though they will miss that person physically.

Bookatz Developing these skills early on could become important later in life but not every child deals with death at a young age. When death is experienced as an adult, the same lessons are true, but it can be more complicated to understand.

Snyder-Cowan referred to four tasks of grief, which do not have Snyder-Cowan to be done in order, rather than stages of grief.

The first task, she says, is to accept the person has died.

“You might be waiting for the phone to ring because you are waiting to call your mother every night and then your mother is not here,” Snyder-Cowan says.

The second task is to work through the pain of grief.

“Grief is really hard and it hurts because there is no calendar and no timeframe,” she says. “It’s a roller coaster of emotions. ... There’s no right or wrong way to grieve.”

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The third task is adjusting to a new role.

“If you’re a spouse and now you’re a widow, maybe you’re now taking care of all the financial pieces of the marriage,” Snyder-Cowan says. “It can be very frustrating to people.”

The fourth task is to define the enduring connection with the deceased.

“There’s no stage, no calendar, people move all around,” she says. “Think about it as ... (a) pinball bouncing all over the place. That’s how people feel with grief.”

Natalie Shapiro, the funeral director at Shapiro Funeral Services in Orange, describes grief in a common way.

“I think it’s all relative and each situation is different,” she says.

Grief can change from person to person depending on the relationship with the deceased, Shapiro says, and the same should be true when in mourning.

“You can never generalize these things, and that’s what I tell families when they come in,” she says. “Your funeral is your funeral. People say ‘Well, what does everybody do?’ It doesn’t matter what everyone does. It’s ‘What do you need?’”

Each need is different depending on the relationship with family and the deceased, and those needs should be thought of when planning a funeral. Maybe all the flowers cause a burden or maybe the flowers help light up the room. It depends on the individual’s need.

One way Bart Bookatz, funeral director at Berkowitz-KuminBookatz Memorial Chapel in Cleveland Heights, says to help

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deal with grief is to not shy away from talking about the deceased.

“I think it helps you realize that what you might have buried or cremated is just a physical aspect,” he says. “Once you talk about the feeling about the person you lost, it makes you realize you still have the memories of that person and the love for that person.”

As the living still remember the deceased, family members cannot forget to keep an eye out for each other and be aware of whether someone might need counseling. Bookatz listed signs to watch for, including a lack of motivation inhibiting someone from completing daily routines or from getting out of the house.

On the flip side, Snyder-Cowan says to be aware of whether a family member is keeping busy all the time.

“They can’t accept or absorb what happens,” she says.

“With every death that occurs, your life changes no matter your relationship with that person. It’s one less factor in your life.”

When Prince Harry shared his path to understanding grief, and ultimately admitting he needed assistance, it helped normalize the path everyone dealing with a loss can experience.

“It’s a journey, it’s a process,” Snyder-Cowan says. “You move through it and it softens over time. You don’t get over the death of somebody you love so deeply, it just might hurt less.” BF

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