blog technical problems: front page whackiness

We're temporarily having technical difficulties with this blog's front page. If you do not immediately see blog posts here, then go to the blog post archive and select a date. Hot topics on this blog include:
Pain Relief issues like wrist pain and carpal tunnel symptoms, stretches for back pain, exercises for neck pain
How hip-hop stars are giving troubled kids a brighter future
One swimming woman's journey across the Atlantic
The latest stem cell studies and future research needs
Eating healthier and consuming less
Natural pain relief methods and alternative medicine
Recovery from injuries: for athletes, work-related injuries, hobbyists
Therapeutic effects of play for children
Healthy weight loss: goal-setting, changing your mind about weight loss
Starting a new exercise program and selecting the best home gym equipment for your fitness goals

School play-time is critical to children's health

Children's play-time has many health benefits, including improving their ability to focus in class.

Pediatric psychologist Carolyn Landis, of University Hospital's Case Medical Center in Cleveland, describes the reduction in gym time, recess, physical education class and time, and the detrimental impact it's having on their health. Watch this video to hear about these dramatic changes in children's health:



Sleep, energy, vitamin D, social interactions, and outdoor experiences are all being negatively impacted when children don't play. These have far-reaching consequences, beyond the impact on their school-work.
Our schools should be teaching healthy habits as much as possible, in every way possible! This means MORE gym-time, recess, time outdoors and P.E. time!

Video Game health hazards: is your child at risk?

Parents, is your child's obsession with video games hurting their health?
Watch this video to see what happened to a child whose gaming habit hurt him:



Even if your kid is on vacation, even if you can see any justifiable reason to let them have a video game binge, consider making your child agree to a few health rules before they settle in to their games:
** They must agree to get outside to play for an hour or more before they play indoors
** For every two hours of indoor games, they must spend at least 30 minutes outdoors
* They must sip water during their gaming (this is better than soda or other extra-calorie drinks, plus it makes them move because they must need to go to the bathroom)
* They must maintain their schedule of healthy meals with their family
* They cannot snack on chips or candy while they play video games
* They must obey their regular sleep schedule
* Reading should accompany regular gaming: at least one hour of reading per hour of gaming is recommended

Of course, these guidelines apply to vacation times or weekends. During the school-week and in the evenings, gaming time should be minimized. Outdoor play, sports, homework, time with friends and family, meals, sleep, reading, and cultural arts should be their top priorities, which...don't leave time for video games.