Help kids handle their weight issues

Marc Jacobson, who practices pediatric and adolescent medicine in Great Neck, N.Y., and is a spokesman for the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), acknowledges the challenges parents face in helping their kids maintain a healthy weight.

"Parents have to think about this before their kids become teenagers," he says. "They should engage in an active lifestyle as a family so it becomes a habit."

Here are ideas for helping your children get a handle on their weight:

• Encourage them to find a physical activity they enjoy, one that doesn't depend on their joining a team. Dancing is a great example, Jacobson says. "Kids like it, and they don't think of it as exercise."

• Make small changes that add up to extra movement. Park in the space farthest from the mall entrance. Take stairs instead of the elevator.

• Involve everybody in the family, no matter what their size and shape.

• "Try not to discuss weight or shape," he says. "Instead, talk about healthy, active living."

• Follow the AAP-recommended "5-2-1-0" formula: five servings of fruit/vegetables per day, less than two hours of screen time, one hour of physical activity and no sweetened beverages.

WASHINGTON POST

Apple cider vinegar and baking soda can do more than just unclog the kitchen sink. The combination is also a great remedy for the common cold. Instead of treating symptoms with chemicals, go green with natural remedies for everything from toothaches to wrinkles. Try these holistic remedies:

• Feel a cold coming? Pour a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar into a cup of warm water. Drink this mixture several times.

• Runny nose? Add a pinch of salt to an 8-ounce glass of warm water. Dribble the mixture into one nostril, hold it as long as you can, then blow it into a tissue. Or allow the water to flow through your nose and out the other nostril. Again, clear the nose by blowing into a tissue. Do the same with the other nostril.

For more tips, check out "Clean Cures" (Sterling, $11) by Michael DeJong.

WASHINGTON POST

We all know the importance of proper refrigeration when it comes to preventing food poisoning. But do you know the safest way to stuff a turkey? Or what to do with perishables when the power goes out? Go to www.foodsafety.gov.

WASHINGTON POST