Submit your favorite photo with dad — or any father figure in the life of your child(ren) — to win our Father’s Day Giveaway for June: a $50 gift card to a local Toledo restaurant.
Need inspiration? Check out the photos submitted from our Mother’s Day Photo Contest.
Submit photos by Father’s Day on June 21. Winner will be announced shortly after.
Competing with 500 schools nationwide, Clay High School in Oregon managed to place second by showing off their artistic prowess on a unique canvas— Vans tennis shoes. The 11th annual Vans Custom Culture high school competition earned the Clay’s art program $10,000 for their win in the digital category, along with a digital lesson from a Vans art ambassador this fall. We couldn’t be more proud of these talented young artists!
To learn more about how this competition gives back to art programs across the country, visit customculture.vans.com.
NOW CLOSED
In the United States, obesity is a serious issue amongst children and adolescents, but it is possible to keep children active and healthy without shaming them. According to the CDC, obesity affects 13.7 million children and adolescents.
Health risks of obesity in children include high blood pressure, asthma, sleep apnea, increased risk of type 2 diabetes, and psychological issues such as low self- esteem, anxiety or depression.
Furthermore, ADHD, social limitations and an increased risk of cancer can also be effects of childhood obesity, according to Rebecca Liebes, PhD, RDN and Vice President of the Nutrition, Health and Wellness Division at the Area Office on Aging of Northwestern Ohio, Inc..
How can parents encourage children to eat healthier and exercise without shaming them or without focusing on their weight?
“Focus on the positive: offer fun activities such as jumping, running, climbing, hiding and seeking, and more,” Liebes advises. “Never weigh your child — that can be done at the pediatrician’s office and they can address it.”
Liebes recommends water as the choice of beverage and for parents to offer fruits and vegetables at every meal.
“[They do] not need to be fresh…they could be frozen or canned. All vegetables are good, including corn and potatoes, which sometimes get a bad reputation,” she explains.
Liebes also suggests that parents avoid commenting on children’s appearances, whether good or bad. It’s a parent’s job to select healthy food for children and the children’s job to decide how much they want to eat, she clarifies.
“Focus on offering healthy foods only, which are fruits, vegetables, beans, grains and limited nuts. Remember that no healthy child will starve because they don’t like the food they are offered,” she said.
The Area Office on Aging of Northwestern Ohio offers a Kinship Navigator Program that supports relatives and grandparents raising children. Free nutrition counseling is offered for those 60 years and over or for anyone participating in the Kinship Navigator Program. Call 419-382-0624 for more information.
Teenagers today face stressors and anxiety-inducing challenges that did not exist a few decades ago, especially now with the COVID-19 pandemic and the possibility of school looking different in the fall. Although schools do their best to provide children and adolescents with coping skills, sometimes the important skill of mindfulness cannot fit in the digital, test-centered school curriculums.
According to Jenn McCullough, a certified mindfulness educator with Toledo Mindfulness Institute (TMI), “Mindfulness as a practice is about noticing, not only what’s around you, but yourself…and being present.” Being mindful helps create a sense of peace, which in turn allows one to better cope with difficult emotions and stress. Additionally, mindfulness helps plant the seeds of compassion and empathy.
Mindfulness can be practiced in a variety of ways: mindful breathing, which focuses on various breathing techniques and reflection; mindful movement, such as yoga; mindful walking; and mindful eating. Another practice McCullough teaches is “kindfulness,” which is the offering of kind sentiments to yourself, people you know well, people you don’t know so well, and people who are difficult.
The Toledo Mindfulness Institute offered its first Mindfulness Camp for Teens at the Buddhist Temple of Toledo last summer and plans to host another this coming summer, which may end up being virtual. The camp taught mindfulness techniques to improve focus and deal with difficult emotions while allowing teens to develop a sense of community with other participants.
Local Toledo schools are also using mindfulness classes and/or yoga as an alternative to detention, such as Sylvania Northview High School, Perrysburg High School and Bowsher High School. This allows students the chance to develop coping skills that in turn allows them to better handle stressful situations.
Those interested in learning more about mindfulness workshops for teens can contact [email protected] or visit ToledoMindfulnessInstitute.com.
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