I remembered that vitamin D somehow is connected with calcium and that calcium is needed for healthy, strong bones, so much so that much of our milk and dairy products have vitamin D added. But I had to do some quick research to find out just how important vitamin D is.  What I found was scary: low levels of vitamin D is also linked to chronic diseases such as  high blood pressure, cancer, tooth decay, chronic pain, and diabetes, among others.  I stopped reading the list and ran outside to sit in the sun!  Because the way our bodies most efficiently absorb vitamin D is through exposure to sunlight.  It’s free, it’s easy.

And why are kids not getting enough sunlight? Too much time spent indoors in front of TV and video game screens. Kids need an active outdoor life for many reasons: Add vitamin D to the list!  See our Make It a MediaWise Summer parent guide from the National Institute on Media and the Family for ideas and add your own to help other parents.

How do you get your kids outside?

-Dr. Dave

TV and other screen time is an activity parents can do something about. Get your kids off the couch and on the path to healthy lifestyles.  Make screen time the “once in a while” activity this summer, not the main show.  I know it’s the hot month of  August and sometimes we just run out of ideas. See our  National Institute on Media and the Family parent guide, Make It a MediaWise® Summer for tips that can  help right now.  Also check out our Switch™ - active lifestyles from MediaWise program, an active and fun way for families, schools and communties to get on the road to healthy lifestyles.

Researchers have linked obesity to screen time for years.  This study is a warning that  health problems can happen to any child who is a watcher instead of a doer.

How do you get your kids up and about during the summer?

-Dr. Dave

We know the causes: over-eating of high calorie food, hours of media consumption, and lack of exercise.  Scarcity of adequate health care, lack of safe play areas, reduction of physical education and recess times in schools, availability of poor food choices at schools, and lack of community investment in children are also contributing factors.

School wellness programs, mandated by Congress, have been found to be inconsistent across school districts as reported in another Robert Wood Johnson report: Local School Wellness Policies. Policies relating to nutrition and physical activity in schools are up to federal standards in some school districts and not well articulated or unenforced in others.

The National Institute on Media and the Family, recognizing the role that media plays in the obesity epidemic, created Switch™, a family-centered obesity prevention, health and wellness program, that also helps schools meet their goals. Summer time is the time to Switch what you do™ , Switch what you view™ and Switch what you chew™. Addressing the three causes of childhood obesity - physical activity, media consumption and nutrition –  Switch gives kids and parents the tools to make healthy lifestyle changes that work.  Check out this video to see how Switch works with real families and make sure your family is on the path to long and healthy lives.

As a nation, we have a lot of pounds, and not much time, to lose.

-Dr. Dave

So we’ve got adults ignoring their partners and children, and kids who are ignoring their parents and siblings!  Sounds like a rooming house instead of a home.  Families are the crucibles where adults and children learn how to give and receive love, kindness, trust, support, joy, and work through anger, loss, and embarrassment, to just name a few.  The tangibles of family life – food, shelter, etc. are just structures we can build anywhere. The real function of families, which come in all sizes and shapes, is to serve as the emotional cradle…the place where children learn how to emotionally relate to other people and adults can continue to grow emotionally and live an authentic human life.

At a recent talk a state patrol officer related an observation: the new recruits coming on to the force were young and smart, but many lacked the ability to read social cues.  They just didn’t have the ability to “read” other people. Some professionals who work with kids report the same phenomena.

Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand, read and manage emotions.  Does out of balance Internet use interfere developing an Emotional IQ?  I think so.  Learning to deal with real emotions requires living, working and playing with real people.  Online interactions, friends and support groups are important and supportive for many.  Online  game playing can be fun. When they become more important over time then the real people we live with, families will suffer.

Check out the National Institute on Media and the Family’s free MediaWise Guides on the risks and rewards of social networking as well as our guide on video game addiction for tips and information on Internet use.

Do you ever feel ignored in your family because of someone’s Internet use?

-Dr. Dave

We want to hear from you! What are your top 3 favorite summer activity ideas?  Post a comment below to share your ideas or share them on Twitter – @MediaFamily.

Check back to see other parents’ ideas!

Besides giving kids time to practice social skills with their peers, active exercise actually increases brain growth and development.  Exercise releases brain chemicals in key learning and memory centers of the brain which stimulate the growth of neural networks.  At a time when we are asking our kids to perform at peak levels in their school work, we should be giving them all the tools and support to help them succeed – exercise is key.

Play and exercise are of course also key to fighting our current epidemic of overweight and obesity.  Helping kids build stronger, more active and fit bodies will only help them succeed at school.  I am heartened by the fact that I am seeing more and more families out exercising together.  Last night on a bike ride, our local bike path was as crowded as a freeway and many of the bikers were families out for a ride together and getting some good exercise to boot.   Even as simple an exercise as walking is healthy for kids.  But nothing beats kids just being able to play.  So if you have a backyard, playground, local gym, or open space – get your kids off the couch, away from the video screens and outside to move and play.

Are kids  enough “playtime” ?
What’s your kids’ favorite playtime activity?