HRM Parent Blog

by guest blogger Deanna Cogdon Miller

If you’re anything like me, when you see your child’s daycare or school number pop up on your caller ID, you get a little lump in your throat. Two weeks ago, our daycare number popped up late on a Friday morning and I recognized the voice of our oldest daughter’s teacher. My first instinct was to ask if she was ok and her teacher replied that yes, she was ok but that there had been an “incident”.

Her class goes swimming most Fridays and for fun, she was trying to blow water through a pool noodle. Rather than blowing it, she sucked it in by mistake. She went completely blue, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t talk and according to her teacher, had panic in her eyes. The lifeguard got her out of the water and talked her through it – eventually getting a little cough out and as more came, her colour came back and she recovered fully.

From the moment I answered that phone call from daycare, our experience was nothing short of amazing.

Thank you to her amazing teachers who praised her for how great she did but knew not to make a huge a deal of it. I firmly believe that their supportive but easy going reaction is the reason she has had no problem getting back into the pool since this happened. 

Thank you to Kaitlyn – the lifeguard. As a former lifeguard, I know how scary it is when you realize you actually have to put your skills to work. She was calm, focused and praised and encouraged our daughter as she coughed. She also told the teachers to let us know we may want to get follow-up in case there was water in her lungs which could potentially be dangerous when she slept. Another lifeguard with different skills, a different level of confidence and a less calm demeanor could have meant an entirely different outcome for us. I don’t even know her, but I am ever so grateful to Kaitlyn.

Thank you to the incredibly nice nurse from 811 who did everything she could to find information for us on children who could potentially have water in their lungs. After not finding what we needed, she put me on to poison control.

Thank you to the unbelievable woman at poison control who was so supportive and because they’re located at the IWK, went and found someone in the IWK’s emergency department to find out what we should do (which ended up being to take her in).

Thank you to the IWK for having the policy that once your child has been in emerg, you can call and talk to someone for 48 hours afterwards. Her lungs were fine when we took her in on Friday and we were told to watch for signs of infection. When she developed a really high fever Saturday afternoon, we called for advice and ended up taking her back.

Thank you to our daycare for including us in the process of report-writing that has to happen after an incident like this. They were extremely supportive and wanted to make sure we were fine with all the details and everything that was submitted.

Thank you to the pool for actually calling us the next day to see how our daughter was doing. I was in shock when the woman said where she worked and why she was calling.

So the moral of the story? We have unbelievably great people in HRM and because of the skills, kindness and support of people we know and many complete strangers, I can sleep at night.

Deanna lives in Dartmouth with her husband and three children. When she's not reading stories, dancing to ABBA or burping a baby, she works in communications for Bell Aliant.

In this week’s post, I am issuing my first HRM Simple Family Challenge, which will increase your family’s long-term health and wellness.  Up for the challenge?  Then read on!

Superfoods are whole foods that do more than just provide energy -- they also have the amazing power to turn regular kids into Superkids!

A diet rich in Superfoods boosts immunity, energy and overall wellness and supports healthy development.  Introduce these nutrient-dense foods to your children early so they develop a taste for them and can make them a lifelong habit.

Your challenge is to introduce at least one new Superfood to your family’s diet and educate your kids about the specific health benefits of that food.  Give your kids the credit they deserve:  their sharp little minds are capable of making good, informed choices - it’s your job to give them the information they need to do this.

There are so many Superfoods to choose from, I can’t possibly list them all in this short post, so for this first challenge I’m giving you three “easy sells” to choose from:

1. Wild Salmon:  This one is an easy sell to kids because it’s “brain food, and makes you super smart”.  I told my kids I can actually see their brains growing when they eat it, which prompted a chorus of:  “Is my brain growing now, Mommy?”

Wild Salmon is lower in mercury and higher in healthy Omega-3 fats than farmed salmon.  Omega-3s boost brain development, counter depression and reduce inflammation throughout little (and big) bodies.  Baked or broiled, sauced or naked, whole or canned, salmon’s a winner!

 2. Sweet Potatoes:  Also a pretty easy sell, they can be prepared any way kids like to eat regular potatoes:  baked, roasted, mashed, or in soups and stews.  They can even be sweetened with maple syrup and cinnamon to satisfy a sweet tooth.  Sweet potatoes are loaded with beta carotene (kid speak: “supersight”), potassium, iron (“superstrength”), fiber and vitamins E & B6.

3. Berries:  Blueberries are highest in antioxidants, but all berries are terrific Superfoods.  I tell kids that antioxidants are Superheroes who stop the evil Free Radical in his tracks.  Without enough antioxidants, the evil Free Radical can take over your body and make it really sick.

Throw berries (frozen or fresh) on & in everything:  smoothies, yoghurt, whole-grain baked goods, cereal, home-made popsicles.  For a morning treat, try blending a cup of berries until smooth and then combining with some maple syrup (over low heat) to make a delicious syrup alternative for whole-grain waffles and pancakes.  For a terrific healthy waffle recipe, check out my Yummy Cinnamon Flax Waffles on the Simple Balance blog (January 7/11 post, just click on the website link below).

Good luck and health to you!

Wendy McCallum, LLB, RHN, is passionate about providing busy parents with the tools & support they need to feed their families wholesome food, so everyone can play, learn, and feel better!  She is a mother of two terrific HRM kids, ages 6 & 7.  For information and recipe ideas, visit her website

by guest blogger Wendy McCallum  

Hello HRM Parents! I am very excited to introduce myself to all of you who love this site as much as I do!  My name is Wendy McCallum, and I am a local nutritional & wellness consultant, founder of Simple Balance Consulting, and mother of two wonderful HRM kids.  This is the first of many posts I will be contributing over the coming months to the HRM Parent blog.  I look forward to sharing tips, tricks and recipes with you to help you manage your families’ food, wellness, and overall balance!

Given that many schools are out, I thought I’d share some quick & healthy portable snacks to have on hand when packing for day trips or travel with kids over the vacation period.

Are you planning on spending some time at the Oval or Canada Games Centre over the break?  Or maybe you have a long flight to a sunny destination ahead of you?  

The best family snacks combine a protein, healthy fat and a complex carbohydrate.  This combination will provide longer-lasting energy and eliminate the sugar highs and lows of a refined, processed treat (We’ve all witnessed the nasty aftermath of that cycle!).  The complex carbohydrates (fruits, veggies and whole grains) provide fibre and sugars which require work from your body to be accessed.  The result is slower, more regular release of sugar into the blood and a longer source of energy.  The healthy proteins & fats (nut butters, legumes, low-fat dairy, lean meats, and healthy oils) take longer to digest and keep you feeling fuller longer.  

Here are a few easy snack ideas: 

• nut (or seed) butter and honey sandwiches on whole grain bread or crackers
• sliced fruit with yoghurt or nut butter for dipping
• 1 oz cheese with fruit or whole grain crackers
• cubed cooked chicken in a whole grain pita with veggies and tzatziki or hummus
• hummus and cut-up veggies
• nuts/seeds with dried fruit (raisins, apricots, prunes, etc.)
• hard-boiled egg with veggie sticks and bean dip
• yoghurt with fruit, sprinkled with flax and wheat germ
• homemade protein energy bars
• simple fruit & veggie smoothies (milk or nut milk, frozen berries, banana, and a handful of raw spinach - they won’t taste it, I promise!)

Wendy McCallum, LLB, RHN, is passionate about providing busy parents with the tools & support they need to feed their families wholesome food, so everyone can play, learn, and feel better!  She is a mother of two terrific HRM kids, ages 6 & 7.  For information and recipe ideas, visit her