Thanksgiving Aftermath

While it has been three days since the Thanksgiving holiday, some of us still might feel like we are in a food coma. This past Thursday was all about gathering with family and friends to enjoy delectable foods while celebrating the journey of the Pilgrims to America. The feast accompanied with this day offers wonderful foods such as mashed potatoes, turkey, ham, green bean casseroles, and yams. However, all of these dishes may raise a concern: Is it okay to indulge in these somewhat unhealthy foods for one day?

My answer is: YES, please go for it! This is one day out of the year. I understand that some people are on diet plans or try to closely watch their calorie intake, but to be fair I think this day is viewed as a treat and a celebration, so it is not necessarily bad/unhealthy to make an exception for one day.

Author Cameron English wrote an article on Polymic discussing how indulging on one holiday, Thanksgiving or Christmas, is not what leads to people becoming obese. In fact, he encourages readers "to eat the food we wisely avoid (or should avoid) the rest of the year" not only because it's only one occasion but also because it helps to maintain a healthier diet.

When talking about enjoying these foods, he suggests that," instead of thinking of occasional splurges as lapses in judgment, you treat them as manageable parts of your lifestyle, and you learn to control your eating habits more effectively as a result."

English ends by arguing that it is not these one-time things that contribute to the obesity of Americans, but it's instead their eating habits the other 364 days of the year.

Holiday celebrations are meant to be fun, not something to be dreaded. Don't let the worry of weight-gain take over, but focus on what can change in your eating habits either before or after the holidays.

It is too hard to sit down at a Thanksgiving dinner and stare at all the delicious foods that have been prepared, let yourself and your kids enjoy this day for what it's worth but then be more disciplined in your eating habits on the normal days of the year.

TV in Relation to Children's Health

Two recent articles published by The National Post and USA Today focused on the negative effects watching television can have on kids.

The National Post article specifically honed in on the effects of eating meals in front of the TV and why that has a link to overweight children.

Dr. Catherine Birken, a pediatrician and researcher at Toronto's hospital for sick children, found that counseling parents on effects of TV-watching hasn't yet proven to be effective, but what they are discovering is that there are some positive effects stemming from not allowing kids to eat in-front of the TV.

When being distracted by other factors while eating, it often causes us to lose track of what we are consuming and how much. Sometimes a TV is put on in a home to distract kids while their parents are doing other things around the house, and if that is combined with food then there is no supervision over what is being consumed potentially leading to overeating.

The study published by USA Today proves that TV doesn't just have an effect on physical health. The study concluded that there was a link between number of hours of television watched and lower-attention during playtime, low-quality interactions between parents and children, and lower performance on cognitive activities.

Both of these articles just prove that children's health has so many facets and can be so easily influenced due to their young age. Television exposure is an easy aspect to fix and alter so there just needs to be that realization and change of action because of that realization.

Bullying: It Can Be Stopped

October was not only a month celebrated with costumes and candy, but also one of bully awareness. National Bullying Prevention Month, according to PACER, is a "time when communities can unite nationwide to raise awareness of bullying prevention through events, activities, outreach, and education."

I took a look into the Fort Collins community to see what schools do currently or did during this particular month to discuss bullying in their classrooms. My focus was on Dunn Elementary, an IB World School located at 501 S Washington Avenue.

Dottie Mark, a counselor at Dunn Elementary and Fossil Ridge High School, said, "We take it very seriously" when asked about dealing with bullying at Dunn.Mark discussed that there wasn't anything specific they did for the month of October to focus on bulllying, but the school constantly follows the guidelines of the Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports Initiative (PBIS). PBIS wants to help schools in Colorado to have effective school settings through academics and behavior.

Mark says PBIS teaches kids to "Stop, walk and talk." The guidelines and strategies of PBIS are taught to staff and students each year at Dunn.

Pictured: Main entrance at Dunn Elementary

One parent, Brian Reed, feels like bullying isn't even an issue for his kindergartner who attends Dunn.

"They pretty much don't put up with that there. I take my kid there everyday and I've never seen any problem," Reed stated on Monday after picking his daughter up from school.

Haley, who will be turning 6 on Wednesday, shared her opinion from her first-hand experiences.
"One time, Connor was so mean to me after school. He got so mad at me, so mad. Him is always mean to me," she uttered as she animatedly told her story.

However, when asked what she was taught to do if she was ever bullied, she referred to the 'Stop, walk and talk' phrase. Evidently Dunn's bullying system is having an impact.

While Dunn did not do anything specific for the month of October to raise awareness on bullying, they place a high priority on not tolerating bullying year round. Educating the staff/faculty along with the students of what to look for in a bullying situation and how to address it is what makes Dunn's approach to bullying so effective within the school community.