As the 11th Annual Food Allergy Awareness Week draws to a close, it’s a good time to take a look at some interesting facts regarding food allergies.  For the last several years, food allergies have become a growing public health concern across the country, especially since children are some of the most hard-hit victims.

Here are some recent numbers according to The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN):

• More than 12 million Americans have food allergies which translates to 1 out of every 25 people in the country.
• In children under 3, there is a higher percentage of food allergies-1 out of every 17 young children.
• Total, approximately 3 million U.S. children have food allergies.
• 8 foods account for 90% of all food-allergic reactions in the nation: [1] milk [2] eggs [3] peanuts [4] tree nuts like almonds and cashews [5] wheat [6] soy [7] fish and [8] shellfish.

Since there is no cure for food allergies and even the smallest amount of a food allergen can cause a reaction in someone, parents need to take note of what their kids are eating and if their kids experience unusual reactions. Visit the FAAN website for even more information regarding food allergies and 5 steps forward the country is taking to combat this growing problem.

So my sister’s 15-month-old baby girl (Kira) is not playing by some fashion rules. Apparently, she’s not into the whole sandals-without-socks thing. In fact, when my sister (Jenny) tries to put sandals on Kira’s barefeet, you’d think it was the end of the world.

Jenny has tried several times now but without much luck. Kira will have no part of it. She lays on the ground and huffs and puffs and then looks at Jenny like, Why are you being the meanest mommy in the world by making me wear sandals without socks? 

Of course, Jenny has learned over the past 15 months a very important lesson that my mother has always taught: pick your battles. If the worse thing you’re facing with your child is a fashion faux pas or a crazy hair cut or bad taste in music, then count yourself in the lucky ones category. Jenny knows this and has happily accepted it.

Now, when Kira wants her socks on with her sandals, Jenny obliges with a smile. Then, she takes a quick picture of Kira the fashion icon and tucks it away for a later date. Some might consider that a sweet memory. I’m encouraging Jenny to think of it as good ol’ fashioned blackmail.

Got Wii?

Lots of families are having fun with their Wii games but have you tried Wii Fit yet? The Nintendo Wii Fit costs $89.99 and seems well worth every penny if you and your family like fun activities that keep you coming back for more.

The Wii Fit game lets you and the kids do everything from yoga to hula-hooping to ski jumping and more. While standing on the balance board and holding the wand, you can perfect your yoga routine or catch hula hoops as they’re tossed to you or take off from sky-high ski jumps.

Fun. Addictive. Challenging. A real workout. The Wii Fit seems like the perfect fit for families. Why not give it a go?

Looking for a family-friendly outdoor adventure? Look no further than REI. REI stores nationwide are giving families what they need to get outside and have fun.

REI has implemented a Passport to Adventure program at stores throughout the country. Families can visit their local REI store and pick up a passport along with a list of 5 family-friendly hikes or bike rides, complete with directions and maps. As your family takes their hikes or rides throughout the spring and summer, have your kids fill out information on their passport about each adventure.

Once your family has completed 3 hikes or bike rides, bring the passports back to your REI store. Kids will get cool stamps for each outing, a certificate of completion, and a free water bottle. Best of all, the family will have memories to last a lifetime.  You can find your closest REI store by checking out their website at rei.com. This sounds like a great way to get the family together for some fun in the sun this spring and summer!

It’s pretty common knowledge by now that while plastic water bottles may be convenient for us, they’re a nightmare for the earth. Plastic water bottles can be recycled but many don’t make it to the recycling bin and they do no one any good sitting in landfills.

So, what’s a mom to do with all those empty bottles hanging around the house? Tess Patalano wants you to get crafty. Patalano wrote an article, ”Thirsty for More,” for Parent & Child magazine recently on how to put plastic water bottles to good use with simple and creative crafts. 

With Mother’s Day less than a week away and long summer days ahead, you and the troops could make any of the following out of your empty bottles:

• piggy banks
• flower vases
• stained “glass”
• rainstorm “snow” globes
• message in a bottle
• magnetic magic tricks

Go to the Scholastic website to get the specifics on how to complete each of these easy (and inexpensive!) crafts. Save your bottles. Save some money. Save the earth. What could be better?

Who doesn’t want their children to behave well? Margie Markarian figured that most people do so she wrote an aritcle, “Positive Parenting: How to Encourage Good Behavior,” for the latest issue of Heatlhy Children magazine. In the article, Markarian includes a list of discipline don’ts for parents when it comes to getting good behavior out of kids. Here’s a quick summary of Markarian’s big no-nos for moms and dads:

• No hitting or spanking–Using physical force shows kids that violence is an okay way to solve problems. Markarian, as well as many other experts, strongly oppose hitting kids.
• No labels–Calling a behavior bad is fine, but telling your son he’s a “bad boy” is no good for anyone.
• No unreasonable expectations–If you set the bar too high, you’re setting your child up for failure. Don’t expect perfect behavior from your daughter late in the afternoon when she hasn’t napped all day.
• No idle threats–Mean what you say and say what you mean. Kids learn quickly if moms and dads don’t follow through with their warnings or threats.
• Avoid inconsistencies–Don’t let the kids play you against your spouse or partner or co-parent.  Divide and conquer is bad here. Always present a united front.

The Injury Prevention Program (TIPP), a program of the American Academy of Pediatrics, has a few ways to help parents get their kids to wear their bicycle helmets. Of course, they remind parents to be good role models and wear helmets themselves. Children are old enough to start learning to take precautions on their own. Check out the tips from TIPP below:

• Establish the helmet habit early.
• Talk to your children about why you want them to protect their heads.
• Reward your kids for wearing helmets.
• Don’t let your children ride their bikes without their helmets.
• Encourage your child’s friends to wear helmets.
• Make sure everyone in the family wears a helmet on every ride!

Steve McDonagh and Dan Smith deliver plenty of helpings of great fun and fabulous food on their Food Network show, “Party Line with the Hearty Boys.” They’ve also built a Chicago cooking empire that is a bright spot in the Windy City.

This week, Kelly Haramis spotlights McDonagh and Smith in the Chicago Tribune with their tips for tricking a picky eater:

1. Know when to give up–The Hearty Boys defer to their pediatrician’s wise words of wisdom on this one:  Is he drinking milk? Then he’s not going to die.
2. Don’t open with your best line–If you’re aiming for your child to eat meatloaf for dinner, offer him a few meaningless scraps first. Let him say yes or no, giving him the feeling of power and choice, and then bring out your best stuff.
3. Watch how other people feed him–It might be hard to hear, but your child may eat much better for Grandma or Uncle Bob or Nelly the Nanny. If what they’re doing works, then follow their same method to the madness. The consistency at all meals could help everyone out!

In USA WEEKEND, Ann Pleshette Murphy discusses how to encourage kids to care. She reminds parents that various studies have shown that altruism can start as early as 18 months of age. 

Additionally, Murphy notes that research shows that kids who volunteer have better grades fewer discipline problems and are less likely than their ego-centric peers to abuse alcohol drugs and tobacco. In fact, kids who volunteer just one hour a week are 50% less likely to engage in risky behavior. Murphy provides these 3 tips for parents to help get their kids to care:

1. Reward your child’s impulses to aid other people in your own house.
2. Reach out to neighbors to work together on service projects or to help those in need.
3. Pick an area of interest that inspires the individual to take social action.

It might just be that babies are what their mothers ate. Kind of. According to a recent British study, there is a link between what a woman eats before she gets pregnant and the gender of the baby she conceives.

The study involved approximately 700 first-time pregnant women in England who did not know the sex of their fetuses. These women reported on their eating habits for the year before their pregnancy.

56% of the women who were among those with the highest-yet still normal-caloric intake had boys versus 45% of women with the lowest caloric intake. And women who had at least one bowl of cereal for breakfast each day were 87% more likely to have boys than those who had cereal/breakfast once a week. On average, the women who had boys ate about 400 more total calories and took in 300 more milligrams of potassium daily than did the women who had girls.

You’re probably thinking, like I was when I heard about the study, doesn’t the dad have the final say in having a boy or girl? The researchers point out that it’s a possibility that certain nutrients make women’s bodies more hospitable to sperm carrying the male chromosome.  Who knew?

More research needs to be done to prove this theory but it’s interesting to say the least. And if a women would like to try for a certain gender, maybe having a few extra bananas and bowls of cereal…or a few less if they’re leaning toward pink…might be worth a shot.