Children
Rock Star Kids
March/28/2010 10:14 AM
Glam Kids
The Rock Star Style of Today's Youth
By Nicole Hanratty
Kids today--including my own--live the life of little rock stars. Recession or economic downturn aside, today's kids have more style and glam than their predecessors from previous generations. From the schoolyard to the mall, kids--especially girls--are rocking some serious fashion.
Glam kids today have closets that are filled with popular hip clothes nothing short of runway ready. And this is true whether parents are shopping at Bloomingdales or Target. Everywhere I go, I see kids dressed like their rock star idols: Kristen Stewart, Demi Lovato, Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, Justin Beiber, Zac Efron, Jesse McCartney and Taylor Lautner.
Children's clothing is constructed now to look adult-like and trendy along with their accessories. Rock star style sunglasses, necklaces, bracelets, bags and shoes--all very Hollywood--are available in tween or teen stores such as Justice, Forever 21, Urban Outfitters, Claires, H&M, as well as department stores ranging from Nordstrom to Kohl's. They are designed identically to high-end offerings on Fifth Avenue in New York City. The knockoff syndrome has gone size blind. One style fits all. Read More...
Ending Childhood Obesity
February/10/2010 05:20 PM
The Skinny on Childhood Obesity
By Nicole Hanratty
Is it really any surprise that one in three kids today are considered obese? First Lady Michelle Obama is intent on helping all moms who face the daunting task of fighting this seemingly impossible battle and her crusade will not be an easy one. Frequent birthday celebrations and holiday parties at schools bring cupcakes and donuts to snack time weekly. Parties on the weekends customarily offer pizza and cake to kids. Hot lunch menus at school offer fast food from Popeye's Chicken, Domino's and Taco Bell. Long commutes to and from work for parents--in addition to kid's after school activities--make drive-thrus convenient for dinner. French fries have become the standard accompaniment with every kid’s meal at restaurants of all sorts. Sodium, sugar, hydrogenated oils and fat are the primary ingredients in pre-packaged snack foods that get consumed by our children daily. Sodas and juice boxes have replaced water and milk as a main source of hydration. Worse yet, virtual play has replaced bike riding, baseball and running around with friends at the park.
ACCESS: A recent visit to the downtown area of Hartford, Connecticut illustrated to me that there are entire neighborhoods--where people lack their own vehicles--without fresh produce or proper grocery stores to shop for healthy nutritious food. We drove blocks around a lower income neighborhood lined with apartments without coming across one proper grocery store.
Only a minimal amount of fruit and vegetables were offered in the local convenience/liquor stores that we saw within walking distance for those residents. What did line the shelves looked dirty, old and unappealing. Admittedly, I too walked past the overripe fruit to find a bag of Ruffles that looked safe and clean to eat. Sodas and juices were enticingly placed en masse throughout the store and sold for a fraction of the cost of bottled water. For residents in areas like these, access to healthy alternatives stands as a huge barrier.
BUDGET: The cost of healthy eating can be an especially burdensome financial challenge for the lower and middle class in this economy. With everyone needing to cut back and downsize, groceries need to last and perishable items that go wasted are undesirable.
In times like these, it can seem more sensible to spend your grocery money on a box of fruit roll ups that boast being a, "Good source of Vitamin C, Fat Free and Gluten Free," and won't spoil than on a basket of strawberries that will likely last no more than three days. And while you can't compare the two products nutritionally, most parents don't realize this or haven't been educated enough on the negative health effects of replacing fresh fruits with manufactured fruit flavoring. Read More...
