Grow Your Own Healthy Kids!

Of course it's very possible to grow a bunch of healthy kids, especially if you can find the child in you as well. Being a kid can be great fun, and there's no reason why we can't run around and play kids games until we are grandparents and beyond. As soon as the sun is shining get outside in the fresh air... especially if you live in a climate that has very short summers ( talking UK here!). Make the most of the sunlight. As long as you protect your skin from harmful rays, sunlight is the best form of vitamin D - and doesn't it make you feel good! There are lots of outdoor games that need little or no equipment. The secret is to cast your mind back to your own schooldays, or perhaps your parents day and revive the traditional games played before the digital phenomenon infiltrated our homes. Of course, computer games and other computer stuff is great - I mean you are reading this right? And I used my laptop to write it, so I certainly couldn't follow my dreams as easily without the web at my fingertips. But getting outside is important, as is exercise and fun. A little exercise repays us with tons of energy and the fun factor needs no explanation at all. Outdoor games If you have a patio area in your garden, invest in a box of giant chalks and draw out a hopscotch game using paving slabs as squares if possible. If you've never played this great game you can find a diagram and rules on my website... Outdoor Games There are a couple of other ideas on that page including a version of Twister played outside. Ball games, including simple throw and catch games for very small children are a great co-ordination exercise as well as being fun. Badmington, tennis and dodge ball are all possible in a reasonably large garden. If you really haven't got the space, take a trip to the park. Seasonal Solutions: Make the most of technology and take a camera on woodland walks. In the springtime, the wild violets, bluebells or daffodils that grow in your region can be captured on camera and then later turned into home-made greetings cards perhaps? Or frame your favourites and brighten up your kitchen with splashes of artistic family photography. During the autumn or winter, there are often fallen branches or wild fungi that can be collected - the edible ones could even provide a family meal - but obviously not ALL fungi are edible so take a reliable identification source with you. Small branches can be turned into Christmas decorations, and with a few fallen pine cones and a sprig of holly, they can make attractive table decorations. Indoor Games Pencil and paper games have long since gone out of fashion which is a shame as they really are a great educational tool as well as bringing the whole family together in some quality time. Try traditional battleship games played manually rather than on the PC or other electronic form. The exercise of creating your own playing board can be just as much fun as actually playing the game. Misfits can be played with younger children; First draw a head and neck of any type of creature or even monster, at the top of a length of paper, fold over the paper to hide the picture and then pass to the next player. Then all players draw a body and arms unde eath the neck, fold over and pass on. Then repeat, drawing legs and feet. Open them all up to find an assortment of weird and wonderful mixed up creatures. Young children love this game. For more wonderful ideas on how to grow healthy kids and find the kid in you, read my book, Granny's Book Of Good Old Fashioned Common Sense available direct from Black & White Publishing and all good bookstores.