Antony Worrall Thompson challenges kids to make him the perfect breakfast

As part of Farmhouse Breakfast Week 2010, Antony Worrall Thompson challenges three teams of children to make him the perfect, healthy breakfast. This was in resposse to a survey that found:

• One third of children don’t know that oats make porridge
• 20% of kids think bacon comes from sheep
• 17% thought eggs were the main constituent of bread
• One quarter believe oats grow on trees

So, how can kids eat healthily if they don’t know the basics?

In the following video, Worall Thomspson demonstrates the importance of children knowing where their food comes from and highlights the reasons why breakfast is known as the most important meal of the day.

Sanex Dermo Kids Bodywash and Foam Bath - Hypoallergenic and pH Balanced

Following babyhood, your child’s skin becomes plumper, giving it that beautiful, smooth appearance and purity that most of us adults envy. By now, their skin is fully active and well hydrated, and should be at its healthiest. However, according to well-known GP, Dr Sarah Jarvis : “At least one in six children gets eczema, and up to one in 12 GP visits relate to some form of skin condition. That’s over 250 GP hours or 48 days worth of surgery a year”

Children’s lifestyles have also changed with today’s kids spending over 90% of their time indoors, so the environments of their schools and homes have a dramatic impact on their health, including their skin. Seasonal changes, central heating, air conditioning and hot water can all cause discomfort, making your child’s skin more delicate and prone to itchiness. Other factors that can affect the condition of their skin include not drying properly after washing and the use of bar soap.

Here are some useful tips from Dr Sarah Jarvis’s tips to help keep your child’s skin healthy:

1. Heat, cold, too much exposure to water or a dry atmosphere (central heating dries out the air) can all make dry skin worse. So can wind – be especially careful with hands and faces, which are exposed to the elements
2. Avoid normal soaps and detergents for all children, but especially if they have dry skin. Both of these can strip the oils from your child’s skin, making it more prone to dryness and itching
3. Use a hypoallergenic soap substitute approved for children to wash their skin
4. Get into the habit of applying unscented or hypoallergenic moisturisers regularly. If you start early, your child may rather like having moisturiser massaged in
5. Your child’s skin is very vulnerable to the sun, and getting burnt hugely increases his risk of skin cancer in later life. It also dries the skin out. Always use a high factor (at least factor 30) sunscreen, and reapply it often, especially after swimming

The bods at Sanex have now created a new product based on their understanding of your child’s skin and how it works. It’s called Dermo Kids Bodywash and Foam Bath - a pediatrician approved, hypoallergenic and pH balanced formulation that actively works with your child’s developing skin to gently cleanse and help keep it healthy and nurtured.

Sanex Dermo Kids Bodywash and Foam Bath joins a comprehensive family of skin friendly bath and shower products for adults – all designed to actively work with your skin to help keep it healthy and naturally protected.

Vitamin K2 can amerliorate problems of weak bones in dieting teenagers

The risk to dieting teenage girls of weak bones was recently reported in the Daily Mail - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1240859/Size-zero-pressure-girls-leads-weak-bones-say-scientists.html

“Dieting by teenage girls desperate to reach ’size zero’ could be putting their bones at risk, say British researchers. A team from Bristol University looked at more than 4,000 young people aged 15, scanning their bones to calculate their shape and density, as well as how much body fat they had.

Those with higher levels of fat tended to have thicker bones, with the connection being ‘particularly marked’ in girls. As girls tend to have higher levels of fat than boys, even when they are normal weight, the findings suggest fat plays an important role in female bone development.”

However a recent study reported by Dutch scientists in the British Journal of Nutrition , shows that a daily supplement (in children) of vitamin K2 in the menaquinone-7 (MK-7) form improved the levels of osteocalcin, a vitamin K-dependent protein which is essential for the body to use calcium in bone tissue efficiently. Without adequate vitamin K, the osteocalcin remains inactive, and thus not effective.

Paediatric doctor Dr. Marieke van Summeren of Utrecht University and her co-workers recruited 55 healthy children to participate in a double-blind, randomised placebo-controlled trial. Children were randomly assigned to receive either dailyMK-7 supplements (45 micrograms, MenaQ7 provided by NattoPharma, Norway), or placebo for eight weeks.

“The present study is the first one to demonstrate that increased vitamin K intake by supplement improves the osteocalcin activity in children,” said Professor Cees Vermeer spokesperson and expert at the VitaK research centre in Maastricht.

Osteoporosis is characterized by low bone mass, which leads to an increased risk of fractures, especially the hips, spine and wrists. An estimated 75 million people suffer from osteoporosis in Europe, the USA and Japan. Women are four times more likely to develop osteoporosis than men.

Potential reduction of osteoporosis has to date been approached by either attempting to boost bone density in high-risk post-menopausal women by improved diet or supplements, or by maximising the build up of bone during the highly important prepubescent years. About 35 per cent of a mature adult’s peak bone mass is built-up during puberty.

MenaQ-7, a daily supplement from Springfield Nutraceuticals, formulated using natural vitamin K2 (MK-7) derived from Japanese natto a fermented soy product is now available in the UK from Independent Health Food Stores and Pharmacies.

Do Old Wives Tale family health cures work - Dr Sarah Brewer TV Show

Will chicken soup solve your family’s sniffles? Should you feed a cold and starve a fever? And is it possible to become immune to painkillers if you take them regularly? Find out by watching this live WebTV show with GP, mum and author of numerous health books, Dr Sarah Brewer.

Research has shown that half of women believe in family health advice passed down through the generations, despite the fact this may have little or no medical basis. In fact, outdated health myths picked up from our mothers and grandmothers could prove futile or, at worst, even dangerous for our family’s health. For instance, one in five women uses butter to treat burns despite strong medical advice against this.

With the cold and flu season now upon us, this WebTV show is your chance to share your inherited family remedies and find out from a medical professional if they actually work. Dr Sarah Brewer will help us separate health fact from fiction, as part of Panadol Advance’s Health Hearsay campaign - a medical myth-busting drive by mums, for mums.

Joining Dr Brewer will be busy mum-of-two, Fiona Joyce, from Panadol’s Mums Panel, which has been uncovering the nation’s popular ‘health hearsay’ and working with medical professionals to bust common medical myths. Fiona will be sharing some of the most popular (and bizarre) health remedies put forward by mums from the Mums Panel at Panadol’s last Health Hearsay focus group.

Dr Sarah Brewer and Fiona Joyce join us live online on Friday 27th November 2009 at 1300 to sort medical fact from fiction in family medicine.

Use the box below to submit your questions beforehand. If you have missed the broadcast, you will be able to watch anytime after by viewing below.

For more information visit www.mypainrelief.com

Dark Chocolate Cake with Dark Chocolate Ganache Recipe

Here is an easy recipe that children can make as a Christmas treat.

Dark Chocolate Cake with Dark Chocolate Ganache

Dark chocolate cake is the perfect recipe for any chocoholic to get stuck into. With layers of dark chocolate ganache, this is sure to get your mouth watering, just try and save the chocolate for the cake.

Serves: 8

Ease of preparation: Very Easy

Preparation Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

Sponge Mixture
90g Butter
165g Caster Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 Eggs
40g Self-Raising Flour
115g Plain Flour
½ tsp Bicarbonate Soda
40g Cocoa Powder HC
140ml Buttermilk

Dark Chocolate Ganache
250g Dark 72% Rabot Estate HC
250g Whipping Cream
150g Whipping Cream, Beaten

Equipment
2x Baking Trays
Wooden Spoon
Large Bowl
Whisk
Cooling Rack

Method

1. Start by beating together the butter, sugar and vanilla extract until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
2. Beat the eggs in a cup or basin and add the mixture a little at a time along with the plain flour, self raising flour, icarbonate of soda and cocoa powder, keeping the same smooth consistency.
3. Finish the mixture by adding the buttermilk, making sure the mixture does not get too wet or dry as you go when all the flour and eggs have been used.
4. Divide into two lined, or non-stick sponge tins. Place in the oven at 180°C/Gas Mark 4 for 20 - 25 minutes; ensure the oven is well heated.
5. While the sponge is cooking, the chocolate ganache can be made. This is made using dark chocolate and 250g of cream.
6. Melt the chocolate and add to the whipped cream. When the mix is luke warm, it is then time to add the beaten whipping cream, put to one side.
7. Once the sponge is cooked, remove from the tins and place on cooling racks.
8. When the sponge has cooled put one upside down on a plate and spread with half the chocolate ganache, place the other piece on top.
9. Finally, finish by spreading the remaining chocolate ganache covering all the cake and it is complete.

Bike Safety for Kids

Olympic BMX star Shanaze Reade explains how you can make road safety cool

According to official government statistics, children are more at risk from road accidents from 3pm onwards in autumn and winter. Whether they are out playing or walking back from school – many children will be out on the streets during late afternoon and early evening in the weeks and months ahead, but the dull winter weather means children could be at greater risk from road accidents than any other time of year - especially if they are not wearing high visibility gear.

Fortunately there are things you, as a parent, can do. From ensuring batteries in bike lights are always fresh to making sure your kids are wearing the correct safety gear like helmets and reflective clothing - these small things can mean the difference between life and death.

It’s hard being a parent and making sure your child has all the right kit for school, but clothing and accessories that can be seen by all road users is not something that should be scrimped on. Parents and their children should know they can accessorise with small items like clip-on reflectors, arm bands and stickers, and wearing bright or light coloured clothes will give them even better visibility.

Now Ready brek is supporting the Department for Transport’s ‘Be Bright Be Seen’ campaign in an effort to reduce child casualties on our roads, and ensure that wearing fluorescent & reflective gear is as much a part of a child’s daily routine as a healthy breakfast - making sure they’re ready for anything the day might bring.

Along for the ride is someone who knows a thing or two about bikes and safety - Olympic BMX star Shanaze Reade. In the following clip she highlights the importance of both.

Further information available at www.weetabix.co.uk/brands/ready-brek/ and www.direct.gov.uk/talesoftheroad

How to Treat Head Lice

TV doctor, Dr Chris Steele, discusses Head Lice and explains about how they can be detected and killed easily and effectively. Autumn is the peak time of year for outbreaks to occur in schools, and the video gives details to parents of what head lice exactly are, what to look out for and how to treat them.

The video below is sponsored by Full Marks who provide solutions and sprays to deal head lice including non-insecticde head lice treatments such as Full Marks solutions or sprays.

Fussy Eating in Children - Top Tips

It’s an age old problem that has plagued well-meaning parents throughout the ages – how to get the kids to eat up their greens and other healthy foods.

But a snapshot of modern family life shows that the mums and dads of today are losing the mealtime war as kids use a sophisticated mix of old and new tricks either to get out of eating healthy foods they don’t like – or to eat them up at a price!

A nationwide survey of more than 3,000 parents commissioned by sweet corn producer Green Giant – one of the few vegetables that most kids like – has found that one in three children are described as fussy eaters by their parents, while two-thirds of parents insist that kids are more fussy today than when they themselves were youngsters.

According to the findings, more than one in 20 children resorts to hiding the foods they don’t want to eat, with one mother reporting that her six-year-old son is regularly caught flushing peas down the toilet. A mother with a four-year old son, said she has to pretend that his favourite animation character, Buzz Lightyear, is on the phone saying he is having the same thing as him for dinner before he will eat.

A similar proportion of children have been caught sneaking food onto another family member’s plates and to the dog, while good old-fashioned sulks (13%), tantrums (14%) and claiming to be full (34%) are children’s most common forms of defence against eating foods they don’t like.

One in five parents say they let their kids eat dinner in front of the television, while a similar number have resorted to buying special treats for pudding as a reward.

One in 10 parents say to keep the family happy they eat at different times to their kids, and one in five say they have to cook different meals to suit different tastes.

The OnePoll study also shows that one in 10 children regularly use mobile phones or iPods to entertain themselves during mealtimes, while the most frequent mealtime family arguments include having to eat at the table, bad manners and rows over the washing up.

Meanwhile, more than one in five parents say they offer rewards or bribes to make their children eat, while one in six parents are just giving kids what they want to eat.

The study also shows the increasing lengths that both parents and children will go to in their bid to gain an advantage in the mealtime war stakes, with blackmail, tricks and good old-fashioned tantrums all being deployed.

However, three quarters of parents surveyed found modern family mealtimes stressful and compared them with reverse parking, being late for work and a trip to the dentist. Some even admitted parents were to blame, with more than half (55%) saying parents let their kids get away with being fussy, more than four out of 10 (44%) admit to just wanting an easy life, and more than a quarter (26%) saying they don’t have the time or energy to argue.

Perhaps most annoyingly for parents, the survey found that their children’s mealtime behaviour can totally change when a take-away is on offer, or if they are eating out. One in four parents say they children will eat what they are given at a friend’s house, while one in five will clear their plates without argument if out dining at a restaurant or eating a take-away at home.

General Mills nutritionist Vanessa McConkey RNutri says: “These findings reinforce the importance of getting back to the table - sitting down together as a family to enjoy mealtimes, without the many distractions revealed by this survey. Kids can be very fussy and encouraging them to eat a proper, nutritious meal can be difficult for parents”.

“Instilling healthy eating habits early on in life will help ensure children eat a healthy, balanced meal, rich in vegetables and fruit and get more of the nutrients they need. It will also increase the likelihood of these healthy habits being carried on throughout life. Choosing vegetables like canned sweet corn can make it much easier to ensure children get one of their recommended five a day.”

Requiring no cooking or preparation, Green Giant® sweet corn is so versatile – it’s the ultimate store cupboard product. Just 80g of Green Giant sweet corn (approximately three heaped tablespoons) counts towards one of your five-a-day, which makes it one of the most convenient vegetables around. What’s more, because Green Giant cans its sweet corn within 24 hours of picking, it keeps its natural sweetness and crisp texture.

Kid’s Learn New Skills with Fruit Shoot!

Fruit Shoot’s have started a campaign with real kids who’ve ‘got the juice’ (or who’ve got cool new skills to you and me). As the weeks go by you can see them perform their amazing skills (which we call the ‘wow’), and then learn how to do it for themselves (the ‘how’). Watch and listen to our expert kids showcase a range of the coolest skills, then break each skill down into bite-size doable chunks for kids everywhere to learn.

Here are the first two, relating to basketball skils and skipping skills. We will add more as they get released.

Basketball Skills

Skipping Skills

Win Pom Bear Safe Walking Kits for Walk to School Month

Follow the Bear during Walk to School month

October is Walk to School month so leave the car at home and get the kids walking!

Kidszine.co.uk has teamed up with Pom-Bear to giveaway 10x Follow the Bear Safe walking kits (each worth £15). Each kit contains a Follow the Bear high visibility sports cap and book bag, so your child will be seen at all times on their way to and from school, plus a multi-pack of Pom-Bear potato snacks for your child to enjoy as part of a balanced diet.

Pom-Bear recognises the many benefits for kids of walking to school and offers the following safety advice for parents supporting Walk to School month.

Pom-Bear’s safe walking tips

1.     Teach your children the Green Cross Code and ensure they put this into practice every time they’re out walking. Children should not walk to school alone until they have learnt and confidently practice the code

2.     Where possible, walk on pavements, keeping well away from the curb, and always walk between your children and the traffic

3.     Make sure they can be seen at all times by using reflective and high visibility clothing. This is especially important at night and as the mornings and early evenings become darker during winter

4.     Hold their hands firmly at all times

5.     Teach them to pay attention when walking and never listen to personal stereo systems, use mobile phones or hand-held games

Pom-Bear is a fun teddy-bear shaped potato snack that children love. Deliciously crisp and light they melt in the mouth to give a unique taste. And, it’s one snack you won’t mind them having too. Each pack is made from the best quality potatoes and cooked with 100% Pure Sunflower oil making them an even lighter eat by further reducing saturated fat. Pom-Bear is also suitable for vegetarians and contains:

• No artificial colours, flavours or preservatives
• 25% less salt
• Now even less saturated fats. Pom-Bear Original potato snacks now have only 3% saturated fat
• Less than 100 calories per pack

Visit www.pom-bear.co.uk for more information about the Follow the Bear campaign.

For your chance of winning one of the Walking Kits please email the answer of the following question to ‘kidszine@xec.co.uk” and validate your entry by signing up to our newsletter here.

Question: On which Government site can you find out more about the Green Cross Code?  (clue visit http://pom-bear.co.uk/promotions/safe-walking-tips).

Competition ends Midnight 30 September 2009.

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