Help Action for Healthy Kids, Inc. Create a Healthier Generation

05/10/2014 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

Hi guys!

Hope your Saturday is off to a great start and full of fun activities or relaxation, or maybe both!

Going Mom, Avery, and I will be out and about looking for a few clothing items for our daughter and hopefully we all have a great time along the way.

Anyone following my blog or who personally knows me, knows how much I value both good nutrition and exercise. If you didn’t know, well, I value both good nutrition and exercise; there you go.

My wife and I make it a point to show Avery how we keep active and include her whenever possible. I’ve even shared a few ways to workout with your baby on this blog. Here are a few:

When we can’t include her, she’ll watch us (or the camera) in action as we workout.

Going Mom rockin' the lunges with an overhead press!! — Going Mom rockin’ the lunges with an overhead press!!

But, not all children are exposed to a daily regimen of exercise and healthy food choices/options. Obviously this is something I am passionate about and it saddens me to know so many kids and adults both are unaware or don’t care about having a better quality of life.

I understand time is a big issue, 9 times out of 10, there’s a way to make it work. Something is always better than nothing!

Which brings me to Action for Healthy Kids, Inc. This organization works with groups and individuals across the country to implement “health-promoting school programs and resources.”

Action for Healthy Kids acknowledges that if the current trend of unhealthy kids continues, their generation will be the first to live shorter lives than their parents!

Here’s a quote from their website:

At Action for Healthy Kids, we believe that all children should be healthy and ready to learn. Sadly, they’re not. One in three of our kids is overweight or obese, putting them at risk for a variety of health complications and chronic diseases, including heart disease, gallbladder disease, asthma, Type 2 diabetes and cancer.

They are helping to combat this trend by providing resources needed across the country to “Learn, Act, & Transform”. They do this by:

Staff – We have a small, but mighty national staff of professionals with expertise in the fields of nutrition, physical activity, education, social justice and communications.
Partnerships – We work through a highly-collaborative partnership network of more than 70 national organizations representing leaders in health, education, fitness, nutrition, governmental agencies, corporations and others who care about kids. Together, we make health-promoting school programs and resources accessible.
Volunteers – Our legion of dedicated volunteers – school leaders, health professionals, parents, students and others – from within the ranks of our 70,000+ constituency, work through schools in every state and the District of Columbia to improve the health of children.
With Your Support – We need the support of millions to create social change. Consider getting involved – whether you donate, volunteer or fundraise for the cause – your help can make a big difference in the lives of children.

My birthday is just less than a month away, and I set a goal to earn $100 on the fundraiser website, Crowdrise before I turn 30.

This is where I am asking you for help. If you can and are willing, I ask that you please help by donating to this very important cause.

Just click on the link below to go to my Crowdrise page and donate whatever you can.

https://www.crowdrise.com/helpkidsgetactiveandhealthy/fundraiser/rcliley

Please share this with your friends and family and help Action for Healthy Kids, Inc. create a healthier generation of children.

You can also visit their website and sign up to take their Every Kid Healthy Pledge.

I’m signed up and ready to go; starting with our precious Avery.

Do you try to stress the importance of a healthy lifestyle to your children?

If so, please share.

Life, Parenting

Why I’m Not Giving Flowers for Mother’s Day, or Ever

05/09/2014 R.C. Liley 7 Comments

In all honesty, I have been against giving flowers for years now. Going Mom and my mom both know this and therefore never expect to receive the colorful bee food from me.

Plus, I enjoy trying to be creative and making something personal/sentimental to give. Sometimes it’s just a note with my crappy handwriting (okay, a lot of times) and nothing more, or I’ll have a small gift I made or purchased to go along.

My reasoning was simple; they just die. Why pay for something that was living and then cut and put in a vase to look pretty for a few days before it dies? Don’t say it’s the thought that counts or for symbolism, there are better thoughts and symbols out there!

Now, I have given flowers in the past, but they are ones that I picked and put together myself. Did they look good? Not really, but it was the thought that mattered. See what I did there?

Anyway, now I have a bigger and better reason not to give flowers for any occasion; most come to us from Columbia under harsh labor conditions.

Yeah, most flower bouquets are put together by workers being treated poorly in Columbia just so some guy in desperate need of a gift for his demanding wife/mom/grandma/male lover? can quickly pick one up and avoid confrontation! That’s just an example, I know some people actually enjoy getting and giving flowers, but I was going for dramatic effect here.

I just read this article depicting a Colombian woman’s struggle to provide for her family by working under harsh conditions in the cut-flower industry. I never would’ve put the words “harsh” and “flower industry” together unless talking about those darn thorny roses, but sure enough, it’s a serious and sad story.

Here are a few parts of the article that stood out to me:

…..pulling a minimum-wage salary of $333 per month. Years of difficult and dangerous work have wracked Lorena’s body, leaving debilitating injuries in their wake.

The National Retail Federation estimates that this Mother’s Day weekend, Americans will purchase more than $2 billion worth of flowers. Almost 80 percent of those flowers come from Colombia…..

Work in the cut-flower industry is notoriously dangerous. …To protect their investments, companies pump highly toxic pesticides and fungicides into the greenhouses where flowers are grown. Twenty percent of these chemicals are so toxic and carcinogenic that they’re prohibited in North America and Europe. …. workers often suffer from rashes, headaches, impaired vision, and skin discoloration. Women, who make up 70 percent of the cut flower workforce in Colombia, report substantially higher instances of birth defects and miscarriages.

“Women are chosen to work in the flower industry because they have agile hands—they can go through the motions smoother and more efficiently,” Fuentes explained. “Their hands aren’t as heavy, and so they can manage the flowers and arrange the bouquets faster.”

But in exchange, they’re often taken advantage of. “Women are regularly paid less than men for the same jobs,” Fuentes said….. Companies commonly require female employees to take pregnancy tests in order to weed out workers who might be eligible for maternity leave. A 2008 International Labor Rights Forum report suggested that more than half of all women in the industry have suffered from sexual harassment.

“There are so many mothers in this industry who have to work all day and can’t take care of their children,” Alejandra told me, her young daughter cradled on her lap. “Kids go to school and get out at 1 or 2 in the afternoon, and their parents don’t come home until 1 in the morning.

I could keep going, but at this point, it’s best to just read the article.

I understand not every bouquet of flowers in America comes from these poor conditions, but then I go back to my original reason; they just die.

Really, unless you absolutely just love flowers sitting in a vase for a few days before they turn their bright heads down and wilt, I’d be mad someone didn’t put more thought into a gift. It doesn’t take much, just a simple handmade token to show you care will mean more than flowers to most of us.

I’m a sentimental guy, Going Mom knows since I can never let go of anything, and I love even the tiniest of notes she leaves for me. The point being, it’s more personal.

So, for your loved ones, you should know what they really like and work off that. Write a poem about something they like or how much you love them. Use Pinterest as a guide for handmade, inexpensive gift to give.

If you’re a parent, your kid can be the one “giving” the gift and you get off without guilt! Even a picture and a card should mean more to your loved ones than flowers.

Am I getting my point across? What, you got it a few paragraphs ago? Sorry, I just want to really hammer it in. I’m not saying anyone should feel guilty for getting flowers because of how most of them get here, but maybe try something different and see how the mothers in your life like it.

It would be weird if I didn’t post a picture of the love of my life, so I’ll leave you with this to enjoy; both loves of my life!

Do you avoid giving flowers as gifts?

What do you prefer to give/get?

What are your thoughts on the harsh working conditions in the cut-flower industry? Sounds like an oxymoron, huh?

Life, Parenting

Is Sunscreen Safe for Baby?

05/08/2014 R.C. Liley 3 Comments

Well, it happened again, my hard-headedness (word?) got the best of me!

I make it a point to go out for a run, walk, or both with Avery every day, and now that it’s hot out, we’re wearing clothes with less cover. That means exposed skin!

Covering my precious cargo before our walk.

I’m guilty of going on runs sans shirt or sunscreen all of the time, and Going Mom always gets on to me about needing to protect my skin. I would just wave it off and go about my day ignorant to how the sun affects me.

If sunscreen was food, I’d be all over it researching and trying to decide what kind is healthy, but this is an area I overlook. Anyone who knows me, knows I’m very peculiar about what I eat, but I need to be more aware of other things that threaten my health as well.

After a run.....and no sunscreen. — After a run…..and no sunscreen.

Like, for instance, sunscreen! Kelley bought some to put on Avery every time we go outside, and I have been rubbing it on her wherever her skin is exposed. You’d think I could simply just put some on myself at the same time, but that’s part of my stubbornness.

I hate rubbing it in because it gets caught in my arm and leg hair too much. Good reason, right? Since my dear wife is persistent about getting me to use sunscreen (I guess she loves me or something!), I thought I’d be smart and just buy a spray version; problem solved!

Nope, problem not solved! Now she was on to me about how bad the spray kinds are! Well crap, will I ever get it right?! I blindly argued that there’s no difference even though I had no clue about sunscreens. Kelley, on the other hand, had been reading several sources on the subject.

Needless to say, Kelley sent me links to prove why certain sunscreens are harmful and I finally admitted defeat. Note to self, don’t argue about things you have no clue about for so long; it gets you nowhere!

So now I have a certain bottle of spray sunscreen I’ll be returning soon.

Here’s a quote from the link Kelley sent me regarding sunscreens:

Could nanoparticles cause internal damage if they penetrate skin or are inhaled?
Yes. Though sunscreen lotions do not pose penetration concerns, inhalation of nanoparticles particles is dangerous for many reasons. EWG strongly discourages the use of powder or spray sunscreens using titanium dioxide or zinc oxide of any particle size.

Read the full article from the Environmental Working Group here.

Now, on to the question of this post; is sunscreen safe for your baby? Like most answers out there, yes and no. There hasn’t been enough research to definitely say sunscreen is harmful, but the effects are greater on a baby than older children and adults.

From what I read, it’s best not to apply sunscreen to babies under 6 months and to avoid the sun as much as possible. Sorry, Avery, we already messed up there.

The FDA has an informative post on the topic of sunscreen for babies along with useful tips on keeping baby safe in the sun.

Keep your baby in the shade as much as possible.
Consult your pediatrician before using any sunscreen on your baby. If you do use a small amount of sunscreen on your baby, don’t assume the child is well protected.
Make sure your child wears clothing that covers and protects sensitive skin. Use common sense; if you hold the fabric against your hand and it’s so sheer that you can see through it, it probably doesn’t offer enough protection.
Make sure your baby wears a hat that provides sufficient shade at all times.
Watch your baby carefully to make sure he or she doesn’t show warning signs of sunburn or dehydration. These include fussiness, redness and excessive crying.
Hydrate! Give your baby formula or breast milk if you’re out in the sun for more than a few minutes. Don’t forget to use a cooler to store the liquids.
Take note of how much your baby is urinating. If it’s less than usual, it may be a sign of dehydration, and that more fluids are needed until the flow is back to normal.
Avoid combination sunscreens containing insect repellants like DEET. Young children may lick their hands or put them in their mouths. According to the AAP, DEET should not be used on infants less than 2 months old.
If you do notice your baby is becoming sunburned, get out of the sun right away and apply cold compresses to the affected areas.

Thankfully, Going Mom did her research and bought sunscreen with only zinc oxide and titanium dioxide.

Unlike chemical-based sunscreens that are absorbed into the skin, zinc oxide and titanium dioxide sit on top of the skin. A benefit of this, besides not soaking into your skin and therefore bloodstream, is that they start working upon application. The chemical kind need 15 – 20 minutes to allow time for absorption before they begin to protect.

An article on BabyCenter.com explains this in detail and is yet another post worth reading. As mentioned in the article, never trust the label on products and make sure to scrutinize the list of ingredients. Hey, that’s like I do with food; now we’re talking my language!

The takeaway from all of this can be summarized in a few bullet points:

If possible, avoid exposing a baby under 6 months to the sun altogether.
If not possible, keep baby under shade and/or use a sunscreen with only zinc oxide or titanium dioxide as the main ingredient.
Do not, under any circumstances use a spray sunblock on yourself or baby.
Don’t trust the labels! Please read the ingredients and know what you are slathering all over yourself and your precious child!
I’m an idiot for doubting my wife and taking so long to acknowledge that she was right.

Thank you, Kelley, for “exposing” me to the reality of sunscreen!