On Friday, April 22, 2016, the USDA announced that it has finalized meal pattern revisions to the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). This rule updates the meal pattern requirements to better align with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which was required by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010.  Changes are as follows:   Infant Meal Pattern Requires whole vegetables and fruits to be served at snack for infants 6-11 months of age. Eliminates fruit juice from the infant meal pattern. Allows ready-to-eat cereals to be served as a grain at snack for infants 6-11 months of age. Allows cheese, cottage cheese, and yogurt as allowable meat alternates for infants 6 – 11 months of age.   Child and Adult Meal Pattern Establishes the child and adult age groups as 1-2 year olds, 3-5 year olds, 6-12 year olds, 13-18 year olds. Requires breakfast cereals to contain no more than 6 grams of sugar per dry ounce. Starting October 1, 2019, ounce equivalents are used to determine the quantity of credible grain. Allows meat and meat alternates to be served in place of the entire grains requirement at breakfast a maximum of three times per week. Requires yogurt to contain no more than 23 grams of sugar per 6 ounces. Prohibits flavored milk for children 2-5. Allows yogurt to meet the fluid milk requirement once per day for adults only. Recommends as a best practice that flavored milk contain no more than 22 grams of sugar per 8 fluid ounces for children 6 years old and older, and adults. Requires potable drinking water to be offered to children throughout the day and available to children upon their request throughout the day. Reimburses providers for meals when the mother directly breastfeeds her infant at the center or daycare home, for infants birth through 11 months of age. Establishes a separate vegetable component and a separate fruit component at lunch, supper, and snack. Limits the service of fruit juice or vegetable juice to one serving per day for children 1 year old and older. Requires at least one serving of grains per day be whole grain-rich. Disallows grain-based desserts from counting towards the grains requirement. Allows tofu as a meat alternate. Allows non-dairy beverages that are nutritionally equivalent to milk and meet the nutritional standards for fortification of calcium, protein, vitamin A, vitamin D, and other nutrients to levels found in cow’s milk. Prohibits frying as a way of preparing food on-site, as defined as deep fat frying. Restricts the use of food as a punishment or reward. Allows reimbursement for meals that contain one component that is provided by a parent or guardian, or by, or on behalf of, an adult participant. Codifies proposed practices that must be followed when a provider or center chooses to serve meals family style.   The meal pattern also offers “best practice” guidelines, which (while not mandatory) will be addressed in policy guidance rather than through regulatory language. These best-practices include, among others, supporting breastfeeding mothers, including making one of the two snack components a fruit or vegetable, providing at least two servings of whole grain-rich grains per day, serving only lean meats and limiting processed meats, and serving only natural cheeses that are low-fat or reduced-fat.   Some state child care license regulations have nutrition standards that are linked to CACFP requirements. Depending on how the state regulation was written, the regulation may not automatically adopt the new meal patterns. This means that some child care regulations may have state standards lower than the new meal patterns. These states may need to reopen regulations if they want the state licensure regulations to meet the new CACFP meal patterns.   The meal pattern and best practices were developed using research and reports from the National Academy of Medicine (NAM, formerly the Institute of Medicine of National Academies) report, issued in November 2010. The rule is a balance of the findings in this reports as well as stakeholder input and cost and practicality for providers. The Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) supports the meal pattern changes, stating that they “make a good program even better.”   In the public comment period, USDA received support for the rules on breastfeeding, vegetable and fruit requirements, the increase of whole grains, and the reduction in sugars. USDA also received comments expressing concern over the cost of the changes and the timeline for implementation. These changes would come at a significant cost—both in terms of food costs borne by providers and the training and support costs to ensure that all providers have the information and supports to properly implement the new requirements.   In preparation for the meal pattern revisions, FRAC, the USDA, and the National CACFP Sponsors Association are great sources for information and support:   New Spanish (language) Nutrition and Wellness Resources: CACFP Creating Healthier Child Care Environments National CACFP Sponsors Association: Tools for Providers & Centers USDA’s ChooseMyPlate.Gov   Although the rule does not go into effect until October 1, 2017, participating programs will need ample time and resources in order to make changes to their menus and procurement systems. Cooks, center directors, family child care providers, and teachers will all need training and technical assistance.

Source: Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs   In a study of 14,000 US children, 40 percent lack strong emotional bonds -- what psychologists call 'secure attachment' -- with their parents that are crucial to success later in life, according to a new report. The researchers found that these children are more likely to face educational and behavioral problems. Their analysis shows that about 60 percent of children develop strong attachments to their parents, which are formed through simple actions, such as holding a baby lovingly and responding to the baby's needs. Such actions support children's social and emotional development, which, in turn, strengthens their cognitive development, the researchers write. These children are more likely to be resilient to poverty, family instability, parental stress and depression. Additionally, if boys growing up in poverty have strong parental attachments, they are two and a half times less likely to display behavior problems at school.   The approximately 40 percent who lack secure attachments, on the other hand, are more likely to have poorer language and behavior before entering school. This effect continues throughout the children's lives, and such children are more likely to leave school without further education, employment or training, the researchers write. Among children growing up in poverty, poor parental care and insecure attachment before age four strongly predicted a failure to complete school. Of the 40 percent who lack secure attachments, 25 percent avoid their parents when they are upset (because their parents are ignoring their needs), and 15 percent resist their parents because their parents cause them distress. www.suttontrust.com

Some years back, I remember a television actor making a public service announcement suggesting parents have dinner with their kids maybe once or twice a week. I was flabbergasted - there actually had to be a public service announcement to tell people this?!   Then I realized that in our society, we probably do. The notion of mommies and daddies, home and hearth, and meals with your own kids are becoming less and less the portrait of America.   According to a study, "The average parent spends 38.5 minutes per week in meaningful conversation with his or her child."   Let me repeat that: Only 38.5 minutes in an entire week!   By simply eating dinner together each night and making an effort to talk to your kids, you can quadruple that number. You'll get to know your kids. Isn't that the point of having a family?   According to Harvard research, "Family dinners are more important than play, story time, and other family events in the development of a child's vocabulary." The dinner table is the social center of families, so it is no wonder that's where our kids learn to talk. It gives them "real live" demos and practice in speech and social interactions.   Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine show that frequent family meals are associated with "a lower risk of smoking, drinking, pot use, depressive symptoms, and suicidal thoughts. Kids between the ages of 11 and 18 also get better grades." Wow. All of that is helped just by having dinner every night with your kids?!   The archives also reveal that family meals are "related to better nutritional intake and decreased risk for unhealthy weight control practices. Families eating meals together 'every day' generally consume higher amounts of important nutrients [such as] calcium, fiber, iron, vitamins B6, B12, C, and E, and consume less overall fat compared to families who 'never' or 'only sometimes' eat meals together." This is probably because mommy cooked dinner.   Additionally, The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University found that "the more often teenagers have dinner with their parents, the less time they spend with boyfriends or girlfriends, and the less they are going to be sexually active." Not only do your kids have less time to hang out, but having a really good relationship with you makes them less likely to search for closeness by becoming sexually active. This is why you see a lot of young sexual activity in divorced families where mommy decided she didn't need a man.   A study conducted by the University of Minnesota also showed "adolescent girls who have frequent family meals, and a positive atmosphere during those meals, are less likely to have eating disorders." When I read that, I couldn't help but be reminded of my own family. During my last couple years of high school, I went down the anorexia path. We had dinner every night as a family, but it was a nightmare because my mom and dad were always angry about something. The atmosphere at dinner was not pleasant. So, it's not just being at home that makes the difference. You have to make family dinners a good experience.   Another survey asked kids, "What's the most important part of the dinner?" What do you think their answers were? The food? No! 54 percent said the important part of dinner was sharing, catching up, talking, and interacting.   The surveyors also asked teens, "Would you say your parents regularly make time to check-in with you and find out what's happening with you or not?" Compared to teens who have frequent family dinners, teens who have infrequent family dinners were almost two-and-a-half times more likely to report that their parents don't bother to check-in with them. Teens who have frequent family dinners are twice as likely to spend 21 hours or more per week (an average of at least 3 hours per day) with their parents.   The bottom line? Your family structure and dynamic affects your kids, especially at dinnertime.   Excerpted from www.drlaura.com (Highly recommend her website)

Do vaccinations help or hurt my child?   One of the most controversial issues in society today is the issue of vaccinations. Evoking intense feelings, both sides of the debate are very passionate. Studies have shown evidence to support both sides of the debate. Each alleges the other side skewed the data or altered the results to show desired outcome. So what is the truth? Maybe YOU can help us in less than 2 minutes to find the truth for the benefit of all children on the planet!    Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has.  - Margaret Mead   The following survey is a simple 11 question survey that will take you only 1 minute to complete (2 minutes if you read all the quotes, which we hope you do). Your information will be added to the data being collected and once submitted, you will be able to immediately see the results on a global scale, or just by your country if that is what you choose to view. Even better, you will be able to filter the data for specific criteria and see the results in real time.   Please remember, this is a world community project and we are dedicated to empowering the world, so that all of us can benefit from the truth and our future generations are provided with the maximum level of protection. Our promise to you is the following:  You will never have to pay a single penny at this site. This site is 100% FREE...no secret agendas! You will never have to worry about your information being sold to anyone. Everything is strictly confidential! You can be assured that the data you see at the end will be completely unbiased, with the sole agenda of discovering the truth!