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A
guide to some healthful holiday gifts
December 2, 2009
Suzanne Havala Hobbs
It
can be hard to find unique gifts for kids these days. In an
era of electronics that makes board games passé, the
wish lists have gotten shorter.
Consider yourself lucky if your child’s list includes
more than the latest video games, gaming equipment, and iTunes
cards.
But if you can find a few appealing gifts that combine attention
to education, health and fun, they can be a nice complement
to this year’s Wow! gift and benefit your child throughout
the year.
For young kids, consider:
* Gardening gear. Inspire kids to learn how to grow healthy
foods in their own backyards.
Your child will look forward to early spring weather when
he can break out his own pair of garden gloves, kneeling pad,
trowel and sun visor and help you plant the first seeds and
small plants.
* Seed starting kit. Garden centers carry sets of small, biodegradable
seed pots filled with potting soil.
They’re easy to use. Place the small pots in a shallow
tray, and add water and seeds. Start small herbs and other
plants on a sunny windowsill and transplant them – pot
and all – into the garden in the spring.
* A new lunch bag. L.L. Bean carries several styles in a wide
range of patterns for under $20, and you can order online.
* Captivating books. Hungry Planet: What the World Eats remains
one of my favorites. By Peter Menzel and Faith D’Aluisio,
gorgeous photos show diverse families surrounded by all of
the food they eat in a typical week.
Another excellent choice is A Life Like Mine: How Children
Live Around the World by DK Publishing and UNICEF. The oversized
paperback is filled with beautiful pictures of smiling children
from all over the planet, with simple explanations about what
their daily lives are like, including what they eat and how
they prepare their meals.
* Kid-sized apron and chef’s tools. Wrap an apron with
a whisk, wooden spoon and a colorful latex spatula.
Include a kids’ cookbook and help your child learn the
basics.
Older kids and teens are a greater challenge, but this is
also the age when many are beginning to get interested in
nutrition. Think about:
* A subscription to Nutrition Action Healthletter. Published
by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, the newsletter
will help your child develop critical thinking skills.
Information
is available online at http://www.cspinet.org/nah/index.htm.
* A set of chopsticks. Pair them with a gift card for a vegetable
stir-fry at a local Chinese restaurant and encourage your
child to become familiar with healthy eating traditions from
other cultures.
* Cooking lessons. They’re offered at specialty foods
stores and restaurants or in your own home with a private
instructor. Check the web for options near you.
* A tetherball set. If you have a little space in the backyard,
this game will keep older children moving for hours.
A ten-foot metal pole sunk into the ground has a rope and
soccer-like ball hanging from it. Two players hit the ball
with their fists or hands, each trying to keep the ball away
from the other player, moving the ball in the same direction
until the rope is completely wrapped around the pole.
Find tetherball sets at sporting goods stores and online at
Amazon.com.
Then go ahead and ask Santa to bring you the Wii Fit.
Suzanne
Havala Hobbs is a licensed, registered dietitian and clinical
associate professor in the Department of Health Policy and
Management and the Department of Nutrition in the UNC Gillings
School of Global Public Health. Send questions and comments
to suzanne@onthetable.net.
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