Physical activity

My five year old son is currently involved in his first year of Little League. As an avid red sox fan, I am thrilled, hopeful and filled with pride. But what is the best way to introduce your preschooler to organized sports? After one failed attempt at soccer and now a relatively successful run at Little League, I’ve learned a few pointers that I would like to share with you. Read More »

"It's like riding a bike." Our all-purpose metaphor for any skill which, learned once, comes casually back when tried again, usually much later. There's something joyful in this idea - some delight in both recalling the work it took to master the skill in the first place and the surprise with which we pick it right back up. How perfect to be able to share this essential skill (and metaphor) with your little one! Read More »

When our kids are in constant motion, it hardly seems that we need to give more than glancing thought to their physical development and level of activity. If anything, we might sometimes wish for slightly less activity around the house. But young children's need to keep challenging themselves physically cannot be wished away, even for a day. They are working hard to train those little bodies of theirs to move and respond in all of the ways we adults take for granted, and it's more or less a full time job. The experts call this amazing process the development of "gross motor skills," a cumbersome phrase for the control and movement of the large muscles in the body (as opposed to the "fine motor skills" that refer to ways in which children learn to perform delicate tasks with their hands). Parents tend to focus intently on these skills in the first years of babyhood when we can hardly believe our eyes as our cozy little bundles go from waving and kicking to scooting across the floor to crawling and (finally!) those eagerly awaited first steps. Read More »

From the surprising foods filled with sodium to a new report about how much Americans exercise, FatFighterTV has a look at diet and fitness headlines making news this week. Read More »