Kicking off a Healthy St. Louis Summer

The weather seems to be having a tough time making up its mind just what season it should be, but we SmartParenting bloggers have no doubts: Next weekend is the start of summer!

This week we’re focusing most of our attention on ideas for summer – things to do, recipes to cook, books to read, and (my topic for today) ways to stay healthy.

1. Break out the bug spray. While most bug bites are just a nuisance, there’s always the risk of an illness like West Nile from mosquitos or Lyme disease from ticks. This is predicted to be a whopper of a year for mosquitoes, thanks to all the rain. The handy-dandy mosquito forecast at weather.com says we’re having moderate mosquito weather now, but I don’t think they’re basing that on the current situation in my backyard!

2. Ditto for the sunscreen. If you’re concerned about the chemicals in sunscreens, click here for a post I wrote last year about that very topic. After much experimenting – and a few surprise sunburns – I have discovered that the zinc oxide sunscreens are OK for playgrounds or other dry locations, but in the water they wash off my ultra-fair boys so quickly, and the constant reapplications annoy them so much, that the very real risk of sunburn outweighs the potential risks of oxybenzone. (If you have kids who will wear hats and long sleeves, consider yourself very lucky!)

3. Hydrate with water. Get into the habit of carrying a couple of reusable water bottles in your purse or beach bag. You’ll save money, avoid unnecessary sugar, and have a remedy for heat illness at hand should your child start to show symptoms like cramps, nausea or fatigue. Some parents keep a supply of water bottles in the freezer to take with them, but I find when my kids are thirsty they’re not all that particular about whether the water is ice cold or not.

4. Head to shelter the first time the tornado siren goes off. Seeing the horrific images from Joplin was another wake-up call that no matter how inconvenient they are, warning sirens blow for a reason, and procrastinating even a few minutes can be a life-or-death decision. Many families in Joplin had only 15 or 20 minutes’ warning. If possible, stash a few necessities in your shelter area (books to help the time pass, flashlights, blankets, chairs and maybe water and shelf-stable snacks).

5. Stay active. This is another drum I’ve been beating since last summer (click here to see the post about keeping kids moving when it’s hot outside). Excess heat hasn’t been a problem so far this spring, but once summer finally kicks in your kids may start to balk at getting outdoors. That’s when a season pool pass or membership at an indoor gym can come in very handy.

6. Grow something. It’s not too late to plant a backyard garden, even if it’s simply a couple of pepper plants in a big pot on the patio. Take your children with you and find a couple of plants – one that they know they like, and one that they turn up their noses at. You’ll reward them with the simple joy of eating something fresh from the ground – and you might be surprised by the culinary curiosity they have when the “icky” food is something they grew!  My 4-year-old (who wouldn’t let asparagus on his plate two months ago) is chomping the raw spears down as fast as I can harvest them.

7. Stick to your school-year screen time limits.  This is hard, I know!  The temptation of video games, social media sites and education computer software is very real at all ages (my fellow blogger Nicole Plegge wrote an excellent post on preschoolers and TV, with advice from local expert Dr. Sophia Pierroutsakos). It can be helpful to have a stash of new books, crafts, games and projects tucked away for the inevitable cries of “But I’m BORED!” And talking to some neighborhood moms in advance about the possibility of last-minute you-kids-are-driving-me-crazy playdates is always a good idea!

8. Take time for yourself. Channel your old-school self, back when you looked forward to summer without worrying about child care or vacation schedules or fitting into a swimsuit or monitoring the a.c. to avoid sky-high electric bills. Invite that inner child over to play for an afternoon – she’s still there!

By Amy De La Hunt, Health Blogger for SmartParenting