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Gardening with Kids: Start Now!

March 24, 2015 by Kelley 1 Comment

Let’s face it: We all like and value spending time with our children, but you can play only so many games of hide-and-seek before wanting to crawl under the bed and never get found. A few years ago, I discovered an activity with children that combines the best of all worlds: fun, education, kid-friendly messiness, and adult-friendly productivity. It’s gardening—and not the plant-some-pansies-in a-sunhat sort. Last year, the boys and I grew enough romaine, baby carrots, and cucumbers to keep these items off the grocery bill for the better part of spring and summer.

Science makes a case for gardening with kids, too. Studies have shown that gardening can boost kids’ self esteem, a sense of ownership and pride, relationships with family members, a taste for fruits and veggies, and even academic performance.

My first year of gardening, I made a lot of mistakes, and almost gave up. Like baking, gardening is a science, and small missteps, not to mention weird weather and days when life gets in the way of watering, can mean curtains for a crop. I overwatered and drowned seedlings; I forgot to regularly pick my basil and it bolted and got tough; I crowded my carrots and they grew skimpy and stringy; and nothing became of the raspberries at all. There’s still a patch in the upper left hand corner of our tiny garden where, mysteriously, nothing but weeds will grow. But I keep at it, because it’s something the kids and I genuinely enjoy doing together three seasons out of the year. Here, on the right, is what our little patch looked like at the end of last summer.

Chioggia, golden, and bulls blood beets, grown by Marion Mass and her kids to sell to Puck Restaurant in Doylestown, PA.

Last week, I had the pleasure of talking to Marion Mass, M.D., a pediatrician at Jellinek Pediatrics in Doylestown, PA and a contributor to Two Peds in a Pod. Dr. Mass is a green thumb and then some: she and her three children have been growing—and growing, and growing—a garden for more than five years now. At first, they planted just four or five veggies in a small patch; now, they have more than 1,500 square feet of plants, including heirloom potatoes, tomatoes, and beets, among other exotic vegetables, to sell to individuals and one local restaurant.

Marion Mass’s daughter and friends, planting potatoes

With Dr. Mass’s help, I’ve made a checklist of all things you should be doing now to get a successful garden going this spring. We know this checklist, below, might sound daunting, but trust me, it’s doable, and worth it. And above all, says Dr. Mass, don’t give up. “Too many people start a garden, fail with one vegetable, and decide they can’t do it,” she says. “But you have to think of each planting as an experiment.” And what better message to send to your child then to try something new, have something fail, learn from it, and try again?

Gardening with Kids: Late March-Early April Must-Dos

	Select a spot for your garden. For your first year, 16-24 square feet (4x4, 2x8, 3x7, etc.) is plenty big enough. It should be in a place that gets about six hours of sun per day, has good drainage, and is close enough to a water source that a long hose can reach it.
	Decide what you want to grow and eat, and when. The Farmer's Almanac has a great site that allows you to plug in your zip code and see what you can successfully grow at different times of the year. They even have kid-friendly vegetable graphics on the chart that will help kids follow along. Don't be overly ambitious: Start with 1-3 veggies and maybe some herbs in the early spring and again in late spring. For an easy-to-grow first year, Dr. Mass recommends planning for lettuce and radishes in the early spring and tomatoes, cucumbers, and beans in the late spring/early summer.
	Purchase seeds. Home Depot and Loews carry a big selection. You can also find relatively affordable organic seeds at Burpee, Peaceful Farm and Garden Supply, Seeds of Change, and even Amazon.
	If you want to get a jump start on growing and get kids excited, start seeds indoors. This is best for plants with a long growing season, like tomatoes. It requires a sunny windowsill, some small starter pots or trays, and a seedling starter mix. Follow seed packet instructions and have kids help you mist with a spray bottle to keep moist (but not soggy) once or twice a day. Don't sweat it if seedlings fail; you can start seeds directly in ground according to planting guide above, or later in the spring, purchase seedlings from your local gardening center.
	Buy supplies, if needed, to prepare your garden plot. I used empty space in a mulch bed on the side of the house, and edged the space with these surprisingly real-looking, easy-to-install polyethylene "rock" strips from Home Depot. If you don't have that, you can dig up grass in your chosen plot (good instructions here), or opt for an easy raised bed, which sits right on top of the grass. Home Depot carries easy-assembly raised bed kits like this 4x4 plot by Greene's Fence. No yard? Put a tiny elevated bed on a sunny deck or patio space and plan for 1-2 vegetables and 1-2 herbs.
	Buy tools. Keep it simple: a trowel for working the soil, a hand rake, and a spade (for everyone in the family) works. Try this ergonomic four-piece kit for you and older children and this kid-friendly set for little ones. Soft, not-too-thick gloves are a must. Add a long hose if yours won't reach your spot, and a Dramm Wand in your kids' fave color to attach to your hose for easy, gentle watering children can manage.

This week, we planted seeds for baby romaine lettuce, nasturtium flowers, and our kids’ very favorite thing to grow and pick, Danvers 126 6-inch “half carrots” (named after the Massachusetts town where the market gardeners who developed them lived), in pots on the windowsill. There’s still snow on the ground, but as soon as it melts, we’ll clean out the garden, work in some fresh compost, and plant lettuce. What are you planning on growing? Send me your pics and tips—I’ll be doing gardening posts every month or so from now through the start of the next school year.

Top photo credit: Shutterstock

When to Talk About the Birds and Bees

March 21, 2015 by Kelley Leave a Comment

My friend Beth recently sent me an email with an idea for a post. With her oldest son turning 9, she wondered if it was time to talk with him about the birds and bees.

Whaaat? I thought. My oldest is turning 9 soon, too, and I hadn’t thought that we were anywhere near “the talk.” I quickly started researching the topic, and it appeared that Beth was on the right track. Clearly, I was clueless, so I reached out to clinical psychologist Ellen Braaten, Ph.D. Dr. Braaten is the associate director of the Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds and the director of the Learning and Emotional Assessment Program (LEAP), both based at Massachusetts General Hospital, as well as a mom. Here’s what I learned.

There shouldn’t be one big sex talk, but an evolving conversation—starting very early.

Once a child gets to be verbal, you can do a few things to set the stage for later talks about how babies are made. Dr. Braaten advises always using the correct names for body parts, and also demonstrating and talking about loving, gentle relationships, generally. You can also talk about what it means to be a family, making sure to point out that there are different types of families.

There’s a good chance that your preschooler or early elementary schooler will take note that other grown-ups—maybe you or your partner—are expecting and having babies, and they might start asking more, shall we say, technical questions. “You can and should answer all questions that come up, and be truthful, without adding unnecessary details that might confuse or upset them,” says Dr. Braaten. If you and your partner conceived in the traditional way, she suggests saying something like, “Mommy and Daddy love each other, and Daddy shared a small part of himself with a small part of Mommy, and those parts started to grow into a baby.” If you have a curious child who presses for more details—but how did Daddy’s part get inside Mommy?—Dr. Braaten likes the idea of talking about parents sharing a very special hug, and leaving it at that for the time being. (If your child is adopted or is conceived via a donor or surrogate, you’ll obviously have a different type of conversation. For guidance, Dr. Braaten advises talking to friends in similar situations who have older children. “Other parents are always your best guides when it comes to this subject, in particular,” she says.)

Between 8 and 10 is a good time to talk to kids about puberty and the basics of sex.

“Kids should know when and how bodies change before they hit puberty,” says Dr. Braaten. “When you do this, the conversation will be less personal and therefore less embarrassing for them, making them far more inclined to listen and ask the important questions.” Talking about what happens during puberty to both sexes is also important to demystify the changes that they might notice in their peers. Dr. Braaten also recommends having both you and your spouse or partner present during the conversation so your child knows that either of you can field questions or concerns later.

After you’ve given them the basics, leave them with a good book about puberty so they can refer to it later. For girls, Dr. Braaten recommends The Care and Keeping of You, by the makers of the American Girl doll series. For boys, The Boys Body Book, published in 2013, is well reviewed. Let them know you’re available to talk about any questions they might have.

A conversation about puberty allows you to segue naturally into the basics of sex. You can explain that girls’ and boys’ bodies change in preparation for creating babies later in life, after they develop a very close and loving relationship with someone. You then have to judge for yourself if this or another time is best to explain, frankly, how sex occurs. For many kids, these details might be best addressed in a separate conversation a year or two later. Other children will ask a lot of questions during a discussion about puberty, in which case you should be honest and to-the-point. “At this stage, keep the explanation brief and biologically based,” Dr. Braaten. To limit the chance that your child might share his new knowledge with a not-yet-informed classmate, make it clear that these conversations—just like sex itself—are very private and personal, and shouldn’t be discussed at school.

After the basic pre-teen sex talk, regularly take advantage of opportunities to talk about tougher topics.

Once your children are teens, you’ll want to talk to them about birth control and safe sex. Take every opportunity to discuss these subjects when they arise organically: like when the topic is discussed in a movie you’re watching together, or when your child talks about something that’s happening to a friend.

Every so often, a kid will ask a difficult question totally out of the blue, or in an inopportune place. If you’re not ready to address it thoughtfully, says Dr. Braaten, you can always say, ‘That’s a really good question but I’m not sure how to answer it right now. I’m going to think about it and get back to you—promise.’ And be sure to follow up within a day or two.

Finally, try to be non-judgmental whenever possible, and make sure you allow everything to be on the table. That way, your child will be more apt to come to you when they’re having a problem. “Parents tend to be naïve about their kids sexuality—it’s jarring to find out that a 13-year-old girl knows about or is even doing a lot of things that seem very ‘adult,’” says Dr. Braaten. “But kids today are exposed to more sexual conversation and images than ever before, from the Internet to everyday commercials. It can be shocking and confusing to them. As hard or uncomfortable as it may be, stay ahead of the curve. You want to be the person they go to with the tough questions.”

Photo credit: photo credit: Bees on a Bluebell via Photo Pin, cc

The Wisdom of an Irish Blessing

March 17, 2015 by Kelley Leave a Comment

I’ve never been one for aphorisms, but every so often, I’ll come across a few lines, usually poetry, that speak truth to me. Not long after having my third child, my mother-in-law passed along a poem. It was entitled, “On the Birth of a Child in Ireland.” After a little digging, I discovered that these lines were written by the Irish poet Daniel Kelleher, to honor the christening of the son of the Irish diplomat (and future ambassador to the U.S.), T.J. Kiernan. Ambassador Kiernan read the poem to John F. Kennedy after his son John, Jr. was born in 1960. When John, Jr. died in 1999, his uncle Ted Kennedy recited the poem again, at his eulogy.

I keep a photocopy of it in my bathroom drawer to get a peek of it everyday. It helps remind me, amidst the pressures and minutia of everyday modern life, what I really want for my children: curiosity, gratitude, and love, love, and more love.

Can Empathy Be Taught?

November 19, 2014 by Kelley Leave a Comment

One of my greatest memories of living in New York City as a new parent is a simple one. It was six years ago, and my oldest son was two. We were playing around a fountain at a neighboring apartment complex, and a little girl was sitting cross-legged on the pavement, sobbing. My son stopped his scooter, looked at her for a moment, and then walked over to the child and solemnly embraced her for a minute or two. He didn’t know her, but wanted to hug her. I remember thinking at that moment: my son is kind. And it filled me with warm feelings. (Feelings I try to return to, in “Calgon, take me away” fashion, when that same son is yelling at his younger brother for breathing on his Lego ship without permission.)

Turns out there’s a good reason why that moment impacted me so much. A recent study suggests that the ability to demonstrate empathy at a very young age is a surprisingly good predictor of later behavior. University of Michigan researchers collected data on 240 children at age 3, and took note if they demonstrated certain behavioral red-flags, and then studied the children again at age 6. Turns out that preschoolers whose parents thought they showed “callous or unemotional” behavior, notably a lack of empathy, were especially likely to have behavioral problems in first grade. This lack of empathy was an even more powerful predictor of later trouble than traits like inattentiveness and defiance.

The silver lining of this glum finding, say researchers, is that empathy, unlike some other personal characteristics, can be successfully nurtured, especially in little kids. Study co-author and University of Michigan psychology professor Luke Hyde singled out Parent Management Training, a treatment model used by many child psychologists who care for families of conduct-challenged kids, as a good starting point for parents who want to help their little ones be kinder and more aware of others’ feelings.

On its Facebook page, the Parent Management Training Institute posted a piece about helping children learn empathy. They offer these three useful tips, which I paraphrase here. I hope to practice all three with my kids—even, and perhaps especially, my three-year-old—in the coming months.

Model empathic behaviors whenever possible. Isn’t this the case with so many good parenting practices? Talk often about how others are feeling, and how you might be able to help them.

When your child says something negative about a peer, counter them with positivity. It’s common for children to focus on something a person is doing wrong. When they voice a negative observation out loud—”Tara is bad at basketball,” is the example used by the PMTI—don’t just say, “that’s not nice.” Prompt them to be more understanding in the future by offering insights into possible reasons the target of the observation is having trouble (“Tara just started the sport; remember when you did?”) or pointing out other ways in which the person shines.

Be a storyteller of kindness. Kids often respond to true stories about kind deeds and actions more than abstract reminders. Tell them about how you or someone they know has lent a helping hand, or relate an inspiring story from the news.

I’m going to add a final one: Do something selfless together. Next week, look for a post about simple ways even the littlest members of your family can give to others in need this holiday season.

Photo credit: Theloushe via Photo Pin, cc

How Important is Cow’s Milk for Kids?

October 21, 2014 by Kelley 2 Comments

Got milk? Maybe not, if you’re on trend with the latest federal data. What used to be an automatic addition to families’ weekly shopping list is being replaced by a widening array of dairy alternatives, such as soy, almond, rice, and hemp milks. Other parents are ditching the idea of milk altogether and just sticking to water, juices and other drinks. Since 1975, cow’s milk consumption has dropped 25 percent.

The problem: Kids who don’t drink cow’s milk often lose out on certain key nutrients, particularly vitamin D. Canadian researchers report that children who drink milk alternatives are twice as likely to have low levels of the vitamin, which is crucial for healthy bone development. (When vitamin D levels are low in our bodies, we’re unable to absorb bone-building calcium.) Five years ago, the American Academy of Pediatrics doubled its recommended daily intake of vitamin D for children from 200 IUs to 400 IUs. Virtually all cow’s milk sold in the U.S. contains D3, an animal-derived form of the vitamin that the body seems to absorb particularly well, and 3-4 cups will supply a child with his recommended 4oo IUs for the day. Many, but not all, alternative milks are fortified, and when they are, it’s usually with plant-dervied D2, which most experts believe to be a less potent source of the vitamin.

Most kids get a healthy dose of vitamin D during the spring and summer if their arms and legs are regularly exposed to the sun. But from now through March, sun-dervied D is in short supply in much of the U.S., meaning children in the northern half of the country must get their daily D through their diets. Kids can get some of the vitamin through fortified orange juices, cereals, yogurt, cheese and eggs, though those food sources rarely measure up to cow’s milk when it comes to the amount of D per serving. What does: fatty fish. Salmon, tuna, and mackerel contain as much or more vitamin D—the potent D3 kind, no less—per serving than milk. But these fish aren’t on kids’ menus for a reason. Milk is considered to be the “best” form of vitamin D mainly because most kids are happy to consume it; if they don’t or can’t, it’s tough to find an alternative children will get enough of.

If your child doesn’t drink a few glasses of D-fortified milk everyday and isn’t able to get enough vitamin D through the foods above, there is a solution: supplements. Yes, they are an added cost, and hard to remember to dispense in the chaos of a morning, but they can be an important investment, particularly now, when the leaves are starting to turn and the sun goes into hiding for several months. The supplement-review company Consumer Lab has rated Carlson Super Daily D3 400 IU for Kids highly. They are liquid, tasteless drops, so they should go down easy (or easily snuck into food or a drink). It’s $13 for 10 ml, and since only a drop or two is a daily dose for a child, the bottle will last awhile. (If your child already drinks fortified milk, be sure to consult your doctor before using a supplement, since there is a thing as too much vitamin D, points out HHK adviser Dana White, R.D. A blood test can confirm whether your child is getting adequate amounts.)

Also, if you have any recipes that have turned your kids into salmon or tuna lovers, please share below or here. I’m working on a post about helping kids like fish—many parents’ nutritional white whale—so your recipe could make it into an upcoming piece on the site.

photo credit: Hades2K via Photopin, cc license

Are Fit Kids Better Learners?

September 27, 2014 by Kelley Leave a Comment

photo credit: KWDesigns via photopin cc

We’ve all been told that a good night’s sleep and a balanced breakfast are essential for making sure our kids are ready to learn on school mornings. But did you know that 10 jumping jacks might help jump-start their brains, too?

Two recent studies build on a growing body of research showing a strong link between heart-pumping activity and increased learning potential in kids. In brain scans of 9- and 10-year-olds, University of Illinois neurologists discovered that fitter kids had healthier “white matter”—which is related to more efficient neural activity— in their brains than less-fit children. Michigan State researchers, meanwhile, have found that a bout of physical activity before school helped kids be more attentive and perform better in math and reading skills.

This probably doesn’t come as a surprise to many childhood education specialists: Preschoolers and kindergarteners often start the day outside or with some sort of movement activity, because children seem better able to cope with circle time once they’ve gotten their energy out on the playground. But as kids age and curriculum demands grow, they typically move from bed to bus to desk chairs, where they’re expected to log an hour or more of quiet work until recess or P.E. Given the recent findings, this shift seems pretty arbitrary—and possibly counterproductive. Older kids clearly benefit from “shaking their sillies out,” too.

Many schools have already come to this conclusion. More than 1,000 schools across the U.S. have adopted the BOKS (Build Our Kids’ Success) program. Launched by mom Kathleen Tullie in 2009, it helps communities set up volunteer-led, before-school fitness games, like relay races and obstacle courses. In many towns, it’s allowed schools to make up for P.E. time lost due to budget cuts or academic curriculum constraints. (According to the National Association for Sport and Physical Education, most elementary school students receive only between 33 and 66 percent of the recommended 150 minutes of P.E. classes per week.)

The Peter Woodbury School Playground. Photo credit: The Playground Project

Other schools offer physical activity before school to accommodate kids who need to be dropped early due to bus or parents’ schedules; and what starts out as a logistical necessity winds up benefitting kids. At the Peter Woodbury Elementary School in New Hampshire, kids are dropped off early, at 7:30 a.m., so the buses can leave to pick up middle schoolers. Because the building isn’t yet open to students, all grades start the day on a playground that’s uniquely designed with nature in mind. “There are 400-some kids out there playing all sorts of ball and adventure games before sitting down to learn, and all are having a blast,” says HHK adviser Curt Hinson, Ph.D, who’s observed the school while touring the country as a recess and P.E. consultant.

The only problem: If you’re like me, the thought of fitting an extra activity into the morning routine is mildly panic-inducing. Every last minute is packed—with breakfast making, shoe finding, shoe re-tying, and nagging, nagging, and more nagging. And yet, I know my high-energy boys would benefit from running-around time before school begins. Their school does open the gym and provide supervision in the hour before school to accommodate early-working parents. I think I’ll try to take advantage of that at least once a week, particularly as the weather gets colder and there are fewer opportunities throughout the day to get the kids outside.

I’ve researched some other ideas to help kids get moving more, both before and during school hours. Here are a few:

1. Take 10 minutes for tag at home. Tag requires no equipment, special skills, or prep time, and can be done practically anywhere. Although it may seem daunting, most of us could probably manage to build 10 extra minutes into our mornings to provide some tag time before or after breakfast—by setting the alarm a bit earlier, and packing lunches, and laying out clothes, shoes, and backpacks the night before. Try this variation if the same-old gets boring. (Older kids might be more game for a mini-jog around the neighborhood with you.)

2. Set up before-school playdates. Even if your school doesn’t have an early morning drop-off program, they may allow kids to play on the playground or in the gym as long as they’re supervised. (Be sure you check with the school beforehand.) Link up with a couple like-minded parents (who can also drive or walk their kids from time to time), and arrive on the early side for a 10-15 minute game of basketball or kickball before the bell rings. For more ideas, check out the BOKS website.

3. Talk to teachers about giving your child’s class “brain breaks.” Many schools already encourage this: stopping lessons in the middle to have children get up from their desks and stretch, do jumping jacks, or even dance for a couple minutes. To give the teacher ideas—and collect a few yourself to use during long homework stretches—check out the Scholastic book, Brain Breaks for the Classroom: Quick and Easy Breathing and Movement Exercises That Help Students Reenergize, Refocus, and Boost Brain Power Anytime of the Day.

4. Learn why you, too, may be clearer headed after that morning game of tag (or a jog or a Soulcycle class.) Read John J. Ratey’s Spark, which digs deep into the latest findings on the exercise-brain connection, in both kids and grown-ups.
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When the Bully is a Sibling

September 22, 2014 by Kelley Leave a Comment

Sibling rivalries are as old as Cain and Abel, and generally speaking, nowhere near so dramatic. It’s the rare parent of multiple children who doesn’t deal with squabbling or even screaming from time to time. But new research suggests that parents should scrutinize their kids’ relationships with one another a little more closely. A study by scientists at the University of Oxford found that kids who were bullied by their own siblings were twice as likely as other kids to suffer from depression and anxiety. “Forms of bullying where victims are shoved around the playground or targeted at work have been well documented,” says lead author Lucy Bowes, Ph.D. “However, this study uncovers a largely hidden form of bullying. Victims of sibling bullying are offered little escape as sibling relationships endure throughout development.”

Photo credit: Susan via Flickr, cc

That was the real eye opener for me. Sure, it’s hard enough for a child when there’s a bully in her class, on her bus, or at her lunch table. But what if the bully shares his toys? His dinner table? His bedroom? While educators are falling over themselves these days to implement bullying awareness and policies on school grounds, we parents tend to write off sibling-to-sibling struggles as a normal part of household dynamics. And yet, it makes perfect sense that when the power dynamic is lopsided enough, kids can feel there’s nowhere to turn, and the negative impact is lasting.

To be sure, bullying is different than garden-variety “fighting,” and the majority of sibling squabbles are just that. In the Oxford study, researchers defined sibling bullying as incidents of being ignored or verbally or physically abused by a brother or sister several times a week. Among 3,452 kids studied, 23 percent reported this level of bullying. (Interestingly, girls were more likely to be victims of bullying, and older brothers were most often the perpetrators.) Of the bullied children, 12% were clinically depressed, 16% had anxiety, and 14% attempted some kind of self harm (cutting, etc.) in the previous year. Those who said they were never bullied by a brother or sister were about half as likely to have these issues.

While it would be silly to freak out over every little battle your kids’ wage over the front seat or the remote control, it’s clearly important that we be a little more aware of the way they fight, and intervene when necessary (as exhausting as it can feel sometimes). HHK adviser Polly Dunn, Ph.D, a psychologist and mother of four who has seen her share of sibling squabbles, helped come up with some tips:

1. Watch how your kids interact. Look for power imbalances. When one child (typically the older sibling, but not always) is frequently starting the arguments, initiating physical fights, or talking badly about the other child, those are all red flags.

2. Treat sibling bullying as you would school bullying. Chances are, if you got a call from school and were told that your child is bullying a classmate, you’d take it seriously. It’s important to apply the same gravity to bullying at home. “I have a zero tolerance policy for bullying, both in and out of my home,” says Dr. Dunn. “If one of my children is exhibiting bullying behaviors towards someone else (sibling or not), I let them know that this is not acceptable behavior and that if they continue there will be consequences. And then I follow through. It’s important to make sure that the consequences reflect the seriousness of your zero tolerance policy and are of a currency that your children understand. For example, if one sibling is bullying another then the offender will be grounded from all electronic devices and extracurricular activities for one week. If they can’t shape up, then that will be extended.”

3. Teach your children to speak up if they’re feeling victimized. Often, we discourage kids from “tattling.” While it’s important that we teach children to stand up for themselves, that might feel impossible for a kid who’s cowed by an imposing brother or sister. Teach them the difference between a disagreement and a bullying situation, and make sure they feel comfortable coming to you or your spouse when they feel unable to stand their ground.

4. Foster situations in which your kids can work or play together peacefully. Whether they’re contending for the last roll at dinner or your attention after a long day, a sibling can easily feel like your child’s stiffest competition. Be careful not to stoke rivalries by comparing one to another, and make sure you build a little lighthearted communal downtime—walks, treat baking, family movie time—into their weeks. “Sibling relationships are so powerful because they know each other like no one else could,” says Dr. Dunn. “They grow up with the same parents, the same grandparents, the same homes, the same values, the same happy memories, and the same problems. Although each may be impacted differently, siblings can relate to each other in a way that no one else can.”

An Introduction

August 7, 2014 by Kelley 1 Comment

Welcome! I’m thrilled you’re here.

I’m a health writer, editor, doctor’s wife, and mom to three wild and wonderful little boys outside of Boston. I love to run, cook, garden, play outside with my kids, get lost in great literature, and hang out with extended family and friends, from Philadelphia to Seattle.

We came to Beantown from New York City, where for six years in my 20s I wrote about youth sports, college football, and the Olympics for Sports Illustrated. When kids came along, I traded the press-box life for an editorial desk job, and oversaw pregnancy, infancy, health, and family fitness coverage at the late, great Child magazine, and later, Fitness. Since 2008—when my second child was born, my husband was neck-deep into surgical residency, and leaving my kids to hop a crowded 6 train to work each morning was starting to feel less than ideal—I’ve been on the freelance track, publishing features for Parents and Parenting, among others.

This blog is born from a comment echoed, in some form, by just about every parent I get to chatting with, professionally and personally: “I just want my child to be healthy. And happy.” Who doesn’t feel that way? While the voice inside our heads may wonder whether a higher ERB score or faster fastball may be just the thing to give our kid that elusive “edge,” we all know in our hearts—and medical literature agrees—that overall wellness, including a sense of well-being, is really the secret sauce in a successful life. So I set out to design a blog that promotes kids health and fitness without being clinical, condescending, or panic inducing. With the help of expert sources and everyday moms whose genius ideas motivate me everyday, I’m determined to create a place where parents can find cutting-edge health information as well as fun, not-impossible ideas for helping kids eat well, stay fit, rest easy, and generally just feel good. Without any mention of toddler juice cleanses, kiddie treadmills, or my own children’s bowel habits.

So, thanks for stopping by, and please do return soon. I have many story ideas on the front burner (next to the burned rice; with a blog launch, everyone in the family has to make a couple sacrifices.) If you have any comments or requests for topics to cover, give a shout. You inspire me; I’ll do my best to inspire you.

With gratitude,

Kelley

Photo credit, top: Stephanie Rita Photography