Food and beverage marketing to children: Changing the trend

We all want what’s best for our children—especially when it comes to their health and nutrition. So, why is keeping junk food out of the house so difficult? Where are children learning about the food they eat and the beverages they drink? Did you know children are being marketed to on a daily basis?

As parents, avoiding advertising and marketing for children and youth can be surprisingly difficult. Marketing is everywhere: television, video games, online, in movies, endorsed by characters and celebrities, and even on packages and labeling of products.

What is marketing?

By its very nature, marketing is designed to persuade people into purchasing a product or service. For influential young minds, this persuasion can lead to unhealthy food and beverage choices.

Food and beverage marketing to children

Healthy food and beverage choices start in childhood, and unfortunately children learn a lot about both through marketing.

Every time a child turns on the television they are exposed to a variety of marketing messages. Before the age of five, most children can’t tell the difference between an advertisement and a television show.  Manufacturers and big brands recognize how easily influenced children and youth can be, and invest a lot of money to create marketing messages they feel will influence a child’s dietary decisions.

If a child sees a marketing message for a particular beverage a child will, more than likely, ask their parents if they can have that particular beverage—healthy or not.

Ottawa Public Health is working hard to help parents and their children learn the difference between healthy dietary choices and marketing ploys. Armed with the right knowledge and resources, parents and children will be able to make healthier and more informed dietary choices.

What can parents do to help change the marketing trend?

Parents need to do their research on products and read food labels. Just because something says it is 100% natural does not mean it is made with natural ingredients. Eat fresh foods as much as possible, and when shopping for packaged goods, look for products that have reduced salt or sugar and no trans fats.

Parents can also help educate their children on what marketing means and help their children differentiate between learning something new and trying to be convinced to buy something.

It can be hard to say to no to junk food, but teaching moderation and offering alternative, healthier options is a step in the right direction.

Marketing regulations

With growing obesity rates in children, it has become the mission of public health organizations to create stricter policies and regulations concerning the marketing of food and beverages to children and youth.

In Canada, the Federal government is constantly working to introduce restrictions on the marketing of unhealthy food and beverages to children and youth. These regulations include improving the information found on food labels.

The province of Quebec has already banned commercial advertisements specifically directed at children under the age of 13. Since this change, Quebec is the highest consumer of fruits and vegetables and has the lowest obesity rates for children between the ages of six and eleven.

To find out more information on how marketing influences the dietary choices of children and youth, and what steps are being taken to change these practices, visit Ottawa Public Health online.

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Disclaimer: This blog post is sponsored by the City of Ottawa (Ottawa Public Health).

Family Photo Display Ideas

As a family photographer I have no shortage of photos to display on the walls of our home.  When we moved to our home three and a half years ago I was amazed at how much wall space I had to fill and yet I’m now struggling to find space to display my favourite photos of our family. I learned the hard way that framed photos aren’t necessarily the best choice for every room after a few ninja and lightsaber battles resulted in broken glass. I absolutely love printing photos on canvas but because I add so many photos to our “favourites” collection every year I need display options that allow me to switch out photos on a regular basis. I’ve also filled the available wall space which means I’m always on the lookout for creative ways to add photos to every room.

Home office

Behind my computer I have a large white magnet board and a plethora of pretty magnets: I hang photos, cards I’ve received, favourite quotes, and special drawings from the kids.  I like being able to change photos with the seasons without having to go through the hassle of finding or hanging frames.

Bathroom

In 3 out of our 4 bathrooms we have photos printed on canvas.  It’s a great spot for beach or vacation photos and I appreciate how durable the canvas is in the damp environment.  If a canvas gets splashed it’s easy to wipe it down and I’m not worried about them falling off the walls and shattering on the file floors.  

Bedrooms

I quickly learned that kid’s interests change as quickly as Canadian weather and so rather than themed bedrooms, I’ve decorated the boys rooms with their favourite photos of themselves.  I chose colourful frames and canvas to hang on their walls and display on their shelves.

Photo ledges

A photo ledge is a great display option when you want to show off a collection of images without having to frame and hang them.  My husband recently installed a photo ledge above our front hall closet, where I have space for 4-5 images at a time.  I plan to use the space to display my seasonal photos and since I placed the photos in white mats it’s easy for me to switch out the images whenever I want.

Kitchen

When we moved into our house I considered storing beautiful bowls and vases above our kitchen cabinets but quickly realized I had no interest in washing and cleaning them on a regular basis to keep them dust free.  I’ve turned the empty space above our cabinets into display for photos and have done the same with high cabinets and dressers in other rooms.  

Sara McConnell is the mom to three boys and an award winning professional photographer specializing in maternity, newborn and family photography. When she's not behind her camera, drinking too much tea, in the pool or at the beach you can find her on Facebook, Instagram and on her website.

Sweetener Swap: 5 Alternatives to Sugar

It’s so easy to reach for that sweet, inexpensive, white stuff when you’re mixing up a batch of chocolate chip cookies. White sugar is delicious! And no matter how healthy we become (some days… after many, many attempts), we will still prefer the taste of white sugar in our treats.

As parents, we can either accept sugar defeat, or we can try using a few healthier alternatives at home to drastically cut down the amount of sugar our family is consuming.

Photo courtesy of StockSnap

Here are 5 sweetener alternatives and the best ways to use them:

Honey

An obvious choice but hey, what other sweetener on the planet has enzymes, minerals, vitamins, amino acids and antioxidants galore, and is good for combating seasonal allergies and protecting your digestive system? I use honey in my kid’s treats a lot! Honey can be pricey to bake with, but it’s best not to heat raw honey to retain its incredible health benefits. Use it in ready to eat treats, such as drizzled on yoghurt, porridge, or toast with nut/seed butter, homemade lemonade and salad dressing.

Maple Syrup

Another sweetener choice is maple syrup. It also contains plenty of antioxidants and minerals like zinc, manganese, potassium, and calcium. It can be quite affordable too if you stock up at one of Ottawa’s farmers markets in-season. Whereas honey is best eaten raw, maple syrup is awesome in any way including baked goods, homemade granola, glazes for roast vegetables or BBQ ribs.

Ripe Bananas / Apples / Pears

You can’t go wrong with adding fruit. Diced or pureed, fruit adds a lovely aroma to baking and produces incredible moisture. Not to mention it’s just about the healthiest way to go. What better way to use up that spotty brown banana and half-wrinkled apple that your kid forgot in his lunchbox over the weekend? Sweeten smoothies, muffins, pancakes, homemade popsicles…get creative!

Photo by Jennifer Pallian

Coconut Sugar

Before you say ‘I’m healthy, but not that healthy’, try coconut sugar in your coffee. It has a slight caramel flavour like brown sugar and no, it doesn’t taste like coconut. It’s another sweetener that is packed with awesome nutritional benefits and has a low glycemic index. Use it just like sugar in your coffee, tea, sweet bread, cookies or add a touch to your tomato sauce.

Dates

Don’t pass this one by. Dates pack a HUGE nutritional punch and can save your baking without compromising taste. Psst, moms... they help you metabolize proteins, fats, and carbs. Really! Quickly soak and finely chop dates (or blitz with a few tablespoons of soaking liquid), and add them in the same ratio as sugar to sweeten your baked goods. They are wonderful in your favourite baked treats, added to oatmeal or yoghurt, and as snacks for your kids and babies!

It’s hard to give up sugar, perhaps it’s unavoidable, but it’s not as hard as it seems to swap it out. Give these alternative sweeteners a try and you may find that one or all of them will work wonders in cutting down your consumption of sugar. Your kiddos likely won’t bat an eye at your sweetener swap and you’ll be one happy mama for it.

Post written by Tatiana Westberg.

What to do when your kids love screens

My kids love screens. Like, REALLY love screens.

Sound familiar? I know many of you can relate to the struggle of getting your kids OFF screens – and into doing things that you feel are more productive and more creative. I hear you - me too!

If I have to listen (or overhear) one more British Youtuber describing a game he’s playing while my kids watch him, I’ll scream. How is it a "thing" that kids today love watching other people do stuff by video more than doing it themselves!?

Despite the useless Youtube videos, I still don't believe screens are inherently evil. I've learned to integrate screens into my children's everyday lives by following some simple rules:

1)     Embrace it!

Remember the saying: if you can't beat 'em, join 'em! It's time to embrace the screens. It's even time for you to play on the screens with the kids.

If you aren’t willing to see what your kids love about the time they spend on screens, you’re not going to understand what it is they’re enjoying so much - and you’re not going to be able to find alternatives. Spend some time with your kids getting a sense for what they really like to do on screens – are they JUST watching youtube videos? What games do they like to play? What kinds of content are they drawn to? The more you learn, the more you'll get ideas on how to take what they love doing on screens, off screens.

If nothing else, spending time with them doing something your kids really love doing is going to be good quality time together - the extra info you gather is just a bonus. 

2)     Gamefy life

Kids love screens (who’s kidding who, a lot of adults love their screens too!) because of the immediate feedback they get. It’s fun, it feels rewarding, and they/we want more!

Use that to your benefit - find ways to get the immediate feedback loop started for other activities.

There are so many great apps and products that help you blend gaming and life – stories that have you running outside to find goals or unlock achievements. This is why apps like Pokemon Go and Zombie Running are so popular. You can get out, walk, exercise and do things, and still have the positive feedback of a game accompanying you. 

3)     Make creativity a requirement

When my kids are begging for screens and they’ve had enough mindless playing or watching, I often will say yes as long as it’s something they are doing that is creative.

You want to write a story in Word? Go for it.
You want to create and edit a video? Sure thing!

You want to take an online course to learn to draw? Here are some art supplies set up next to the computer.

You want to create your own game by programming it in Scratch? Sounds like a good use of time to me!

Turn some bananas into a piano and play me some tunes? Strange, but OK!

Distinguishing between “you’re rotting your brain” and “you’re growing your brain” is key. There are a lot of ways that kids can be doing some incredible things on screens and I want to encourage them to figure those out and get really creative.  (Not to mention, two of my kids have difficulty writing by hand for long periods of time, so while I tried to get them to write stories in journals and got nowhere, I discovered that if I took away the handwriting barrier, they were willing to do a lot more writing. Sometimes it can seem like kids don’t like something for different reasons than we think!)

There are opportunities with technology to learn hard skills (like a programming language) and softer skills, like reasoning, analyzing, and problem solving.

4)     Have them learn while playing

My kids are bookish – and by bookish I mean screens and not sports. They love to read and play games and they have a strong family history in engineering and the sciences. They love to build things and figure things out.

There are so many ways to encourage their love of learning and problem solving with tech.

My kids have been attending workshops for years that taught them about snap circuits and Minecraft and other techy things. I’m always on the look out for more; these are kids who love to spend their weekend visits with their grandfather building and programming robots.

Level Up Kids is the latest activity I’ve found that works well for my kids, and they can't wait to spend a week at summer camp with them this summer.  At Level Up kids are learning to code and even getting to bring home their own mini pocket computer. There's both an academic and a social aspect - finding friends who enjoy the same kinds of things.

At Level Up the kids are learning to problem-solve, reason abstractly and quantitatively, model with mathematics and so much more. Plus, the camp makes sure they still get outside and play throughout the day as well.

There are a TON of summer camps scheduled here in Ottawa (both centretown and Kanata,) including Minecraft Hacking, Web Development, Robotics and Intro to Programming. There's something for every techy child!

(I did hope my older son might like to learn to program web sites so I could get him helping me with mine, but apparently Minecraft mods are a bit more appealing)
 

5)     Set limitations

Regardless of the learning value, kids still need to get outside and off screens. We have limits on screen times and the kids need to do chores or outdoor activities in order to earn more time on their screens.

Clear expectations on what those limits are has helped us. The expectation in our family is not that you automatically have access to screens, you need to earn them- so really, we’re gamifying getting games, and that’s why it often works for us!

So the next time your kids are stuck in front of a screen watching a couple of siblings challenging each other to do strange things or a British guy talking about his pugs, think about some of the ways you can use their love of screens in a way that makes them feeling like they're winning. You know they're learning all kinds of skills that are going to help them be truly successful in life - working in a tech field, or just having learned to problem solve, find patterns and improve their math skills. I figure those are all really handy skills for the kids of someone who builds online businesses to have - WIN. WIN. WIN!

How do you use your kids love of screens to your advantage? Leave a comment and let us know!
 

Win a week at camp!

Want to win a week at a Level Up Kids Ottawa camp for your child? We're giving one away! Enter below using Rafflecopter. Please note - to be entered, a blog post comment is mandatory. Liking us on Facebook and Twitter gives you bonus points!

Contest closes May 31st at 12pm EST. Winners must be able to attend the camp in the Ottawa region.

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This post is part of the YummyMummyClub.ca and #LevelUpKids sponsored program. I received compensation as a thank you for my participation. This post reflects my personal opinion about the information provided by the sponsors.

Kids are going N.U.T.S for Ottawa's newest activity

I don't know how many times I've sat down with my kid to read her a book, or work on homework together, only to become frustrated by her constant fidgeting. To me, her movements (I call her "wiggly jiggly") always meant that she wasn't paying attention. It was over time that I came to realize that moving was helping my daughter to learn more effectively.

And it works for adults too! Do you get stuck on a problem at work, go for a nice walk, and then solve the issue by the time you're back at your desk? Clearly exercise and learning go together.

I've learned to deal with my daughter's upside down poses while I read Harry Potter, and our school has several exercise ball chairs for the bouncy kids to use during class. But a new facility in Ottawa is offering an innovating learning experience for kids of all ages.

N.U.T.S (Neuron Upgrade Training Station) is an obstacle race with a twist: you have to answer fun trivia questions along the course! Kids go through physical obstacles (monkey bars, cargo nets and crawl pipes) and knowledge obstacles, which are touch screen consoles with age-specific and curriculum-based questions.

Research has shown that children who are physically active before taking a test or going to class received higher marks than those who didn't do any physical activity before learning. Moving helps our brains to learn better and faster, and mood is also improved. Clearly, my fidgety daughter is onto something!

Jamie Beaudin, a teacher in Cornwall, had a chance to check out the N.U.T.S "upgrade" experience (this is what they call the obstacle course) with his class of students. "I like the concept of moving and learning, I find it important, especially students with ADHD or behaviour problems," says Jamie.

The staff at N.U.T.S supported the students through the obstacle course, answering questions and providing guidance. Jamie says that all students were given results at the end of the course, and provided with positive feedback. 

"One of my students isn't really fond of sports, but when we were at the Nuts Facility, he gave it 110%," says Jamie. "The different obstacles makes every students work in different ways."

The facility is not only for teachers and students (although this would make an amazing field trip!) but open to families and groups. Find out more about your visit by checking out the website, and you'll be given guidance on what to wear and bring to the facility. 

I can't wait to check it out with my daughter, and see first-hand the benefits of movement and learning.

Disclaimer: N.U.T.S is a Kids in the Capital blog sponsor. All opinions are our own.