Testing.

I have for many years been an advocate of not using chemicals around the house wherever possible, especially where children are concerned. Yet people will spray 'room deodorizers' into the air instead of opening windows. They will spray a biological poison to kill a fly or bug near their child. They will microwave food on plastic not meant for the microwave.
It is not just these unthinking acts; it is the fire retardants and preservatives used in so many products that give rise to long lasting medical conditions. Then the child is 'treated' with drugs from pharmaceutical companies that couldn't care less about the child.
We all need to start thinking from the beginning again.

Money and Kids.

Hello Mum and Dad,

This is something for our older children.

As a child gets older he needs to start learning more about the world of adulthood. This is the world they are thrust into in teen years so there is need for preparation while they are still older ‘children’.

We know the child’s mind will absorb learning very quickly and foundations made now will eventually hold the child in good stead later in life.

Money is a major factor in adult life and there is reason to train the child in money management as early as possible. I don’t mean to teach them the rudiments of compound interest (although it would be a good idea) but to learn to earn, save and be choosy about how they spend money.

By no means make them into a scrooge but if they realize that money doesn’t grow in purses and ATMs they’ll have a more realistic idea that work or effort is needed to get the stuff. Instead of taking for granted the gifts and trappings of life at home they need to know somebody had to do something to provide these. It tends to endow the child with greater respect for the provider too.

Empowering the child to earn its own money not only gives it a healthy sense of responsibility but also strengthens its social skills.

· To make something to sell needs particular skills.

· To buy and sell items needs knowledge of values.

· All selling develops social interaction.

· Providing a service needs punctuality and dedication.

· Learning to work smart or hard is a lesson in life.

· Having a partner teaches sharing and cooperation.

· Money management skill is an asset for life.

· Negotiating is an art we all need.

You can see how cooperating in a family venture can bring lasting benefits to unity within the family.

If it’s a church fete stall or a yard sale, children will get an overview of what constitutes money making projects, Helping in whatever capacity they can encourages a sense of worth. Making it even more attractive by sharing the profits with the child is an added bonus to reinforce cooperation.

Individual saving to buy the latest game or electronic gadget should also be encouraged. If parents offer to match dollar for dollar; both parties benefit. Kids want so much and don’t appreciate it if it is just given to them.

Gone are the days of the lemonade stand at the front fence. But kids still swap things at school and can teach each other talents as trade.

Electronic games are a big thing with kids and so is the internet social network. If a kid is good at some game try to get them to give tips and tricks on how to win at the game. These can be printed and sold as a report for a dollar or two.

Chances are the child already has friends on the net and it’s easy to sell to friends. Just give a value product.

All sorts of ideas are around you everyday. It’s simply a matter of seeing them.

Please keep in mind what you are doing here. The reason for this is to teach the lessons the child needs to have in adult life. It is NOT to rip off people to get their money. That will lead to jail later in life.

We want to teach goal setting and planning to achieve that goal. This can start with raising some money for that special toy or gift but it has applications all through life.

Budgeting could come into it and later you could start teaching about the household budget and how it’s managed. The child needs to be familiar with all this before moving out of home or handling their own money.

One of the biggest causes of marriage breakdowns is mismanagement of finances. This can be remedied by you.

Needs and wants have to be distinguished and the difference made clear. The latest fad often ends up in the bottom of the cupboard while a need goes unresolved. Teach them to prioritize their spending while still being able to have some fun.

It’s a matter of seeing where they’ll get more value. Value is the crux of spending. Very often the cheaper option will do just as well. And for children it is often the best choice, given their ever changing wants. As they grow they’ll get to know how much effort they need to put in to get what they want. They’ll realize about value.

Sometime soon in teenage years they’ll get a part time job or may leave school entirely. They usually get a shock at having to work longer hours and having a boss that can cut off their income if they don’t perform.

They’ll waste some of their hard earned money on good times but that is expected.

If they have been well taught, they’ll put some aside for bills and expenses just like responsible adults. They will then be on the road to financial independence; thanks to you.

Would you want to know the gender of your unborn baby?

Does its gender matter?

Would you take advantage of ‘designer’ baby technology if it was more affordable?

If you were told your child would be born with mental or physical deformities, would you have an abortion?

Let me know at iqchildren@gmail.com

If you would like to comment on these issues click the ‘comment’ below.

IQTeens is up and running for teens and parents who want to help. Call in for a while. The format needs to change so if you have suggestions; I’m always willing to listen.

If you see someone without a smile

Give them one of yours.

Jay Ross.

© Permission to reprint parts of this issue may only be an email away. Get in touch.

Protein and Children.

Hello again,

I found this in an old book without copyright so I wrote to the only contact information supplied but have received no answer. If it breaches © please let me know. It’s by Dorothy Law Nolte.

If a child lives with criticism

He learns to condemn.

If a child lives with austerity

He learns to fight.

If a child lives with ridicule

He learns to be shy.

If a child lives with shame

He learns to feel guilty.

If a child lives with tolerance

He learns to be patient.

If a child lives with encouragement

He learns to appreciate.

If a child lives with fairness

He learns justice.

If a child lives with security

He learns to have faith.

If a child lives with approval

He learns to like himself.

If a child lives with acceptance and friendship

He learns to find love in the world.

We breed all these attitudes and outlooks into our children by the way we treat them and others. What they see us doing is what they will copy as usual behavior. Do you yell at the neighbors or spouse? Do you ‘pinch’ a couple of items at the shop? Do you take care of your body and appearance? They see all this.

What we tell them about themselves becomes their belief system. This has been stated before on IQChildren and it’s worth the reminder because of its importance.

You have to be a good parent if you want good kids. It really is a two way process. While the little one grows, you mature. Rather wonderful when you think about it.

Protein is one of the fundamental building blocks of life and we get the majority of our protein from animal meat.

Vegetarians live to ripe old ages by getting their protein from the plant world but what about children? When should they be fed animal products? We have already mentioned cow’s milk and breast milk and found that breast milk is far better. This is what you would expect.

But you wouldn’t expect your child to rip into a steak instead of cereal.

There is only one real preventive to disease and that is starting out at pregnancy with the right natural foods and continuing with raising your child this way. By ‘natural foods’ is meant to get closer to nature and further away from processed or ‘supplemented’ foods.

White bread for instance is wheat in an unrecognizable state. It’s been processed so much that it is worthless as food. They reduce it to nothing and then make a selling point of making it “Enriched” with some vitamin they took out.

That’s like chopping off your leg then offering you a discount on their prosthetic leg. Aren’t you happy you got a discount? Never mind the leg.

Beside protein, babies and the growing child need calcium, iron, vitamins, niacin etc. All of the essentials are available in a vegetarian diet. The controversy seems to be with how much of each. So far there is no consensus on this. That’s because any recommendation has to be general, given that every child is different.

Wheat (that has protein) is fed to cattle to give us meat that has less protein than contained in the vast amount of wheat. It’s only that we would have to eat an ‘unnatural amount’ of wheat to get the same fill of protein. Meat is more concentrated protein. But it takes about ten times the protein given to cows to produce this protein. It takes 8 times the area of land to feed cows than it does to feed grain and fruit eaters.

Because of the concentration, a lot of doctors and nutritionists recommend children not be given meat until their fifth or sixth year. On this basis a vegetarian diet is right.

We get protein from nuts, (crush them and put them in deserts and salads or roast them),

Beans, raw or cooked, in salads, soups or with vegetables, or mashed into burger or potato patties,

Chickpeas can be treated the same as the many varieties of beans.

Tofu can be used in so many ways. Just click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tofu

Tempeh is also high in B12. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempeh

Seeds like sesame you’ve seen on buns and can easily be incorporated into foods in small amounts. I found telling the story of “Open Sesame” with the treasure of the forty thieves helped with acceptance of seeds as a valuable food source to snack on.

Once I was on to that I introduced sunflower and pumpkin stories. What took Cinderella to the ball? What did Jack climb to get to the giant’s castle?

All it takes is a bit of identification with others like advertisers use when they try to sell products by celebrity endorsement. Johnny Weissmuller (the first movie Tarzan) was vegetarian. So are or were Bob Dylan, Da Vinci, George Harrison, Paul and Linda McCartney, Hayley Mills, Michael Jackson, k.d.lang, Jerry Seinfeld, Richard Gere, Julie Christie, Dave Scott (6 times Ironman Triathlon winner), Killer Kowalski (wrestler), Kim Bassinger. The list goes on.

Breast milk contains very little protein so why do we think babies need it? Maybe adult protein requirements have been falsely forced on children.

What do you think?

-------------------------
Iqteens.blogspot.com has opened so if you have teenagers or are one drop in for a while. As usual, your comments are welcome.

Jay Ross.

© For permission to use any material in IQChildren, email iqchildren@gmail.com I’ll be happy to swap articles.

“When you hold your baby in your arms for the first time and you think of all the things you can do and say to influence her or him, it is a tremendous responsibility. What you can do with the child can influence not only the child but everyone the child meets, not for a day, a month or a year, but for all time.”

Rose Kennedy, mother to some of the most influential men in American politics and finance.

While I don’t agree with the “all time” bit, she has a valid point that needs to be realized by every mother.

How you, family, friends, kindergarten and extended family treat your child determines its future as surely as genetics.

If we look back to history we find great men and women of both good and bad nature have been made that way by their parents, either through nurture or neglect.

Charles Manson http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Manson corrupted girls of his mother’s age (18 to 24) to the extent of total obedience to him. They eventually committed the Sharon Tate and LaBianca murders and have spent their lives in prison. This was his revenge (maybe unconsciously) on his alcoholic, immoral mother who once sold him as a baby for a jug of beer. I wonder if she knew her parents or how they were treated.

Neglected childhoods are a regular feature of criminal’s lives and abusive parents invariably come from abusive homes themselves. Rose Kennedy was right about that.

So many parents are living with uncontrollable kids of their own making. This by no way means that every ‘bad apple’ had neglectful parents but it is the norm. Neglect can come by providing the material things but never spending time with the child. The inner needs of a child are much more important than the electronic baby sitters or status symbols. You are its parents and the child quickly learns who cares for it. If this isn’t you, the child won’t respect you when it needs help.

The child needs a sense of self respect, individuality and qualities that can only be given by someone the child loves. It’s a mistake to leave this education to anybody else.

A child without parental love and guidance is open prey to anyone who wants to show it a good time. They can find this with other misguided kids or adults who take advantage of their innocence. Without it many children will simmer in the belief that they are not worth knowing and end up in prostitution or self destructive mode via drugs and purposely anti-social behavior. Many actually want to suffer to punish their selves for being unlovable.

Aldous Huxley’s “Island” http://island.org/Huxley/ was published in 1962 but still has a following as a plan for the ideal family community. It describes an island where people share each others children to protect the children from the foibles and prejudices of their parents. It is controversial but we need to think more about alternatives if only to wake ourselves to the fact that they exist.

Surely you know of a family whose children could benefit from seeing a different family environment.

There is a danger that western society today is moving into a more insulated behavior pattern, cutting children off from interaction more than encouraging it. It is the wrong way to go. Understanding brings respect and love. Without interaction we can't understand.

___________________________

Last week, the 26/Jan/’07 issue of New Scientist featured an article about vaccination. In spite of the proven fact that being exposed to certain substances reduces the likelihood of various diseases, many people are still against vaccination.

The reasons seem to be from reading sensationalized reports of ill effects to outright conspiracy theories directed at emotions (children are involved) and political or religious enemies. Over-reactions are common where emotional content is involved and analyzing the facts has never been the forte of the general public.

The sensationalism of journalists compounds any viewpoint that will sell more publications and earn them a continued living. Lies are only a matter of transience as they feather their own nest.

Drops in immunization precede rises in illness. Surely that vindicates it. But scares about the amount of mercury in the preservative of many vaccines have proven to be baseless. It does not cause autism. (Does someone want to comment on that?) Even then, the preservative was replaced.

Remember the ‘evidence’ of false photos after the 9/11 attack? There are other falsehoods we all believe. I mentioned one concerning a blatant lie about the Koran in iqadult.blogspot.com but we don’t have the time to investigate everything. Most Christians wouldn't have a copy of the Koran so they accept it as truth.

A previous issue of the same magazine (12/Jan/ ’08) dealt with jobs and the types of ailments workers grew resistance to. Dairy farmers are less likely to get lung cancer. Cotton factory workers are less likely to get tumors of the lung or liver etc.

A way to get a greater amount of immunity is to expose your body to toughening agents or the ailment itself. This is what vaccination and immunology is all about. A spoonful of sugar may make the medicine go down but a dose of dirt may make it unnecessary.

---------------------------------------------

Autism was mentioned back there. Scientific American ran an article about it which you can check out here.

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=navigating-the-genome-for-autism

It’s a bit technical but you will get the gist of the findings.

-----------------------------------------------

If you would like to be notified about each new issue of IQChildren send your edress with “send iqchildren” in the subject line to iqchildren@gmail.com

I hope to have more issues on a regular basis from now on and this will make them only a click away.

Remember, your views are important so your comments are welcome. Just click ‘comments’ below.

All the best, Jay Ross.

© Tags autism, vaccination, children.

Santa and Lying, Stem Cells.

Hello again and happy holiday if you’re having one.

The reason for the holiday is the Christian churches’ celebration of Jesus Christ’s birth but that is not what I want to discuss.
It’s lying.
Just like the Christian church took over several pagan holidays and beliefs, it too has been infiltrated by other forces with their own agenda. One of these is Santa Clause.
Originating in the forth century with Saint Nicholas who was well known for giving gifts given to him, to the poor; it took on several incarnations to arrive at the current “Yo Ho Ho’ model we have recently.
The present day Santa is somewhere between 130and 80 years old and still changing.
From a Bishop in what is now Turkey, to a married man at the North Pole with dwarfs and elves running an enormous toy factory, is quite a stretch. When we add flying through the sky with gravity defying reindeer delivering presents to good Christian kiddies the world over; it gets a bit too much.
In Australia he’s often been depicted with smiling kangaroos pulling the sleigh.
Here is an interesting brief history http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Claus

Kids learn early that Santa isn’t real. Older siblings or friends tell them or they find a lot of things in the story hard to believe (not surprisingly). So what is the point?
At the age when they are most vulnerable and we should be teaching them to trust us, we tell them this complete load of rubbish knowing full well that they will find out the truth and realize we lied to them.
It may serve to elicit some good behavior (bribery) prior to Christmas but surely there are other ways to do that.
It may prepare them to realize not to believe everything they are told, which is a good thing. But know that this now includes everything you tell them.
Do you want to be known as a liar?
How much is the Santa fabrication worth?

Santa is worth a fortune to the retailers and they have successfully replaced the original purpose of Christmas with a time of buying and indulging in hedonistic pleasures. Spend, spend, and spend. Eat, drink and be merry.
Christmas won’t go away but its meaning is being replaced by consumerism. If you want to teach your children the values of the Ten Commandments do so all year round. But at least let children know the truth about Santa Clause and what Christmas has become.

Last issue I mentioned “eclampsia”. If you haven’t looked it up; you can here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eclampsia Around four million women suffer from it. Approximately 63,000 women and 300,000 children die because of it every year. It’s a condition during pregnancy in which women experience convulsions and coma.
The reason I mention it is that it can be treated for almost no cost by a substance found in the supermarket – Epsom salts. Epsom salts is Magnesium sulphate.
This is made into an infusion and simply injected. Problem solved.
But if the drug companies had their way we would be buying a course of pills.
This still leaves the question of why so many die each year. It seems that it is case of simple ignorance.
Most of the deaths occur in developing countries where doctors are heavily influenced by the drug companies. There’s a whole new market for pharmaceuticals. There’s no money in Epsom salts so they forget about it. GPs can not be expected to know everything and it often takes a specialist to recognize a type of problem.
The hope of good health across the world lies in the interaction of doctors via the net. Programs where symptoms are described and diagnosis is given by a specialist are the answer; that is if they aren’t hijacked by the drug companies.
You can bet your boots they will try to do just that.
If you know of other treatments for illnesses or uncomfortable conditions that affect mother or child, share them with us.

*Stem cells have the genetic code needed to grow into almost any organ tissue of the body and even to become a complete organ.

It’s pretty remarkable stuff that is in its infancy as far as research has gone so far but it promises astounding possibilities.

Recently scientists have discovered that menstrual blood is rich in stem cells that can be used to create tissue to repair damaged organs and help fight disease.

These stem cells are so valuable because they come freely from your body and there is no chance of rejection when reintroduced to your body.

They also hold the key to grow into customized tissue for specific applications to aid the prevention or possible cure of conditions like Parkinson’s disease.

But stem cell research has been a contentious issue for a long time and getting appropriate cells has been a difficult task. Umbilical cords, bone marrow, the lining of the uterus, embryos and a host of other sources have been used.

Each of these sources has some problem associated with it. For instance, the inside of the uterus has to be scraped to get the cells.

Objections to stem cell use seem to be centered on the “playing God” argument. The reasoning runs to the extreme of; “If you start making organs then you’ll start making complete humans.”
Let’s assume that is a bad thing but why would anybody want to? We have more people than we are coping with now. Besides that is way beyond the scope of medicine. The idea is to repair hearts, livers, cancer ravaged organs and brain cells.

For your children this is a miracle in the making.

There is one more development.

Over the next few years there will be products on the market enabling you to collect and store your own stem cells for future use.

These are already in testing stage.

Soon you may be able to provide your own insurance against mind and body decay.

*** I've released a report "How to Beat Bad Habits Forever". It is a way that WORKS.
It's only $5.00 and well worth much more. To get it just email iqchildren@gmail.com and I'll send details.

* Visit IQAdult while you’re in the neighborhood.

Be kind to each other.

Jay Ross.

(c)

OVERLY CLEAN?

A lot of experts are telling us we are too obsessed with cleanliness and are breeding a future race of disease prone children because they haven’t developed immunities to everyday living. I’ve been saying this for decades but that is no reason to ignore normal health problems babies are prone to.

What is the best product on the market for babies’ skin?

A baby’s skin is delicate and sensitive so you need to be very careful of any cleansers that you might use on the skin. You shouldn't be using the same products on your baby as you would use on your own skin even though symptoms appear the same. Our skin is hardened by exposure to such a variety of factors; sun, wind, chemicals etc.

The products that have been formulated for use on babies are a lot milder and designed to reduce specific rashes and other skin irritations. If you find that your child is getting skin problems then you need to look at all aspects of the products you’re using on your child.

You will also need to look at the products that clean your child's nappies and clothing and even the materials used for the clothing your baby is wearing. Some fabrics can irritate the skin. Even if it is natural cotton, it may be treated with chemicals that may cause a rash.

Obviously it is essential to pay particular care to nappies. Make sure they are well rinsed after washing. This will ensure that there are no cleaning products that could cause skin irritations If you have a child with particularly sensitive skin you might need to consider using disposable nappies rather than washing your own reusable nappies.. The down side to this is the disposal problem. They have to be securely wrapped and they do contribute to unnecessary landfill.

Young children do get rashes and skin irritations however there are some excellent products on the market to help comfort a child. The idea is to minimize as much discomfort as possible. Let the child go nude often, particularly in sunshine. Sunlight kills bad bacteria and it’s free so use it instead of lotions.

You should also air your baby's bedding in the sun regularly and check for any dampness otherwise you could be inviting bacterial problems that can also cause breathing problems. Adult beds have all sorts of bacteria and for the most part we cope with them. It’s the same with babies only they don’t have full control over bladder and bowel movements yet.

Even the condition of the baby's room can have a dramatic effect on the child's skin and breathing. Make sure the room is clean and free of dust, dampness and is well aired.

If you find that you're not solving a particular skin issue consider changing any products you’re using, even those that you have used successfully on another child. Children are not all the same. You’ll find one product could cause problems whereas another similar product is completely satisfactory.

It’s no surprise that many of the baby skin care products on the market contain some ingredients that can cause skin irritations and other allergies. Many manufacturers of baby care products are unfortunately focused first and foremost on their profits and they know that packaging and marketing are what sells their products more than anything else.

For this reason they will add fragrances and colorants to enhance the look and smell of the product to boost sales. These additives are there to impress you, not the baby. Unfortunately they can play havoc with your child's comfort and health. This is mass market stuff and everybody is different, so keep an eye on products.

Look at the ingredients on the packs and see if they have included any chemicals or colors that could be causing your problems. This is one very good reason to recommend all natural products for baby skin care. There is less chance of problems caused where fragrances can affect breathing and asthma type symptoms.

You can always make your own products as that will be one surefire way to know exactly what is going into them however you're probably already coping with a shortage of time and energy so for most people that won't be a viable option.

Another thing to consider is the fact that they have always got their hands on their mouth and anything that comes in contact with their hands is likely to get ingested. For this reason anything that you put on your baby's skin has to be safe orally or at least taste bad enough to dissuade them from doing it again.

Baby is going to suffer one major irritant, nappy (diaper) rash.

Keep the diaper clean and dry. It’s the moisture that softens the skin and allows penetration of toxins. Remember they don’t just pee themselves. This combination in a warm enclosed diaper will cause all sorts of trouble. And when a child changes to more solid food they need to be changed more often.

So what is the best all-round product to protect baby? Cleanliness is essential and nothing will replace it. But petroleum jelly or Johnson’s Baby Oil are top of the list to protect against chaffing and forming a barrier against poisons entering the bloodstream through the skin.

*****

While writing this issue a friend asked what was meant by the first sentence.

Kids eat dirt, bugs, and flowers and put their own poop into their mouths. It’s simply what they do. It is a learning process and teaches them a great deal. But more than that; it prepares the body to fight the nasty things they will encounter.

The problem arises when they ingest poisons like rodent bait, garden fertilizer or medicine cabinet pills. Obviously these need proper storage or being kept beyond their reach

We tend to use cleaners so much that we create a sterile environment that can produce kids with underdeveloped immunities. They’re not ‘toughened up’ so they’re vulnerable to any nasty bug that may come along in later life.

We could argue that the cleaners themselves could be a source of health disruption to an oversensitive child like this.

A male child who develops Mumps (parotitus) won’t get it as an adult. That’s fortunate because it can cause sterility in teenagers and adults. See what the purpose of immunization is?

Becoming immune to these assaults on the body is a survival technique. The people against immunization can’t deny this but they say we have gone too far in introducing unnatural immunization that can actually harm rather than help.

Please, if you disagree send a comment.

*****

Do your children believe in Santa Clause?

What is “eclampsia”? We’ll get onto these topics in the next issue.

It’s quite surprising but about 50% of children under the age of twelve have an “eidetic” memory. What’s that? It’s what is commonly known as a ‘photographic’ memory.

Somehow it disappears as we age. This is probably because it is not encouraged. We were taught by other adults who let this ability slide so we do the same. But it is there and you can develop it if you know about it.

Show your child a picture for a short time and then ask questions about how many of certain items are in it; or what color something is.

Gauge the state of the child’s eidetic capacity over a few different times and if you like what you find start developing it. This can be done with normal memory games but with a greater slant to the visual aspects.

Such a talent can be a huge benefit in life so it’s worth your while.

• If you would like to contribute more than a comment, get in touch at iqchildren@gmail.com If you have a blog on a compatible topic, I will promote it if it benefits my readers. Get in touch.

Be good to each other,

Jay Ross.

©

FOOD AND FAT KIDS

FOOD FOR FAT KIDS.

Somehow the conversation got around to food and school lunches.

“I give my kids pita bread and filled with lettuce, grated carrot, meat, tomato and things, like McDonalds make those wrap-a-rounds. Tom had his lunch stolen twice last week. It’s the same with Marie.”

I asked why parents don’t know about this.

“They do. The school has a healthy food policy but parents are too lazy to take the time to do something different, even with all the kitchen gadgets we have now. It’s so easy to throw in a sugary candy bar and a couple of sandwiches of pre cut cheese and sausage meat.”

There is one eight year old there who is so fat that he swings his legs out to walk, half turning as he goes. He is from a split family and his father has him from Sunday to Wednesday then mother has him from Wednesday till Saturday.

His mother gives him reasonably good food but dad’s a baker and fills him with cream buns, jam tarts, cake and dohnuts. He comes to school each day with a bag of the stuff for the other kids so he doesn’t get called the usual names associated with his size.”

“One girl asked Marie why she ate grass. Marie said it was lettuce. The girl said they throw that stuff away. She didn’t have the faintest idea what sprouts were.

“I give them frozen fruit salad tubs. It’s thawed by lunch time. I suppose it looks like something from a shop so other kids want it. It doesn’t enter their heads that they can make it at home.”

I was really as astonished as Chef Jamie Oliver when he discovered English kids didn’t know what a carrot or stick of celery was. When they can’t tell a cucumber from a tomato what hope is there? Where do they think meat comes from? Do they know we have to kill a cow to have a steak?

Have they ever thought you could grow tomatoes, not have to rely on a shop to provide them?

There is a multi billion dollar move to control the worlds’ food supply. It’s bound to succeed if this state of ignorance exists among the youth of the planet. Already we have seedless fruit so we can’t plant more and huge companies “own” varieties of genetically modified wheat that can only be bought from them.

The idea that man can "control nature" is born of ignorance and arrogance. Look at the dramatic rise in cancers since the chemicalisation of agriculture after WWII. The benefits are there, yes, but at a price.

Unless we act soon all our food will come from conglomerates that will demand their own price for what we can now grow for ourselves.

Teach children about growing food. It tastes so much better and it’s safe. Steer them away from the 'fast food' junk that masquerades as real food. Analyse the advertising, see the lies.

If children are not taught about food and what affect various foods have on the body what hope is there for a full life? Beside their life expectancy being shortened their lifestyle is limited immensely.

It is not a matter of not being able to run anywhere; it’s a matter of being able to get out of a lounge chair; of taking ten minutes to do something that should only take one minute. It’s missing out on so many of life’s joys that enrich us.

One day they’ll have a sex life (or part of one; there is a physical aspect here.) and pass on their body metabolism and bad habits to another generation to spread ruin in more lives.

There are three main body types http://bodybuildingpro.com/bodytypeinformation.html

The endomorphs are the heavy boned/bodied people that should not be confused with neglectfully obese people, just like ectomorphs should not be confused with bulimia.

Bulimia seems to be more of a neurological problem but while a psychological problem does exist with compulsive eating it is none the less an ignorance problem as well. The problem compounds itself by making exercise harder to do, the more it is needed.

If children don’t get on that slippery slide at the beginning it will save them so much pain in the future.

What about how they will think of you? Your neglect led them down this path when they didn’t know better. Don’t you think they will blame you?

If you are not teaching your child the right way to eat, what to eat and when to eat you are committing a moral crime against that child.

They have to know that quantity does not equal quality and that many foods actually do harm to the body. Cola is bad for children. Unsweetened fruit juice is good. You should know what is what.

Another thing a lot of adults should correct is the habit of shoveling food into the mouth and swallowing it. Stop doing that and teach children that in order for food to be properly digested it needs to be mixed with a good amount of saliva from the mouth. The way to get saliva working for you is by chewing food. Make a joy out of getting all the tastes out of what you put into your mouth. Smaller portions chewed into nothingness give more to the body than large chunks swallowed and eliminated from your system in the toilet.

If it doesn’t get stored as fat it ends up being flushed. Either way is bad and a senseless waste.

The French have the right idea with the one hour lunch accompanied by a light red wine and good conversation. The body has time to assimilate the food. It’s not grabbing a hot dog while walking down a crowded street.

Kids grow so quickly and so their diet should change rapidly too. You don’t keep feeding them mush. As soon as they show the ability to grasp things is when to start introducing more complex foods. Get them on to more adult food as soon as their tastes evolve. It is astonishing how they will accept a Mediterranean salad of marinated meat chunks and olives with chunky cheese bits, colorful capsicum and rocket leaves if it looks good and Mum and Dad eat it.

Even left-overs can be represented in those plastic tubs and the tubs reused to cut back on useless landfill.

Presentation is essential and takes so little time. Any good cook will tell you that people eat with their eyes before their mouth. If it looks appetizing it must be good. If school food looks like it came from a shop it will be more readily accepted. If it is colorful or exotic looking it will be wanted.

Presentation takes a little thought at the beginning until you get into the swing of it. Then it’s a no effort habit.

See if you can influence the school shop to introduce healthier, better presented lunches and less of the candy bar, cola drinks. If you could put bubbles into fruit juice you’d make a fortune. Anybody want to get rich?

We are looking at an increasingly obese population brought about by the age of plenty and ignorance of how, when and what to eat. Couple this with sedentary lifestyles of watching sport instead of participating, being passively entertained by TV where no muscles are used or PC games where the only muscles used are in the hands. How can those possibly lead to healthy children?

Just a word about when to eat; we eat to provide material to build the body and provide energy to keep it doing tasks. As adults we need less to build the already built body and primarily need food for our energy requirements. More than that is waste.

With children they need the body building aspect and the energy for their lifestyle. A keen sportsman needs more than the couch potato. Eat according to how the food will be used, not because it is something to do.

At night we do not need energy so do not have a large meal. You’re going to sit and sleep, so don’t eat.

In the morning you are facing a day of activity so eat a good breakfast and top it up during the day according to the amount of energy you are using. Do not eat just to eat.

Topics we could discuss here involve the vegetarian way of life, calorie intake, good and bad fats, kosher food and religious taboos.

If you want to get into the debate about breast feeding and bottle feeding, just open the discussion by making a comment. Click at the bottom of this issue.

Email me at iqchildren@gmail.com

Take care,

Jay Ross.