HRM Parent Blog

Most of us optimistically go about our daily lives, firm in the belief that a terrible health problem or a critical illness will not strike us.

But it could. Too many Canadians have already discovered that a critical illness can have a devastating impact on their lives - and the unfortunate reality is that suffering a critical illness or condition is more likely than you think.

And what if it did? If you're like many people, you probably assume our health care system will pay all your expenses if you become critically ill - but you'd be wrong. Many drugs aren't covered. Additional expenses like travel, day care and home care and private treatment may not be covered. In fact, to cite just a single alarming example, The Canadian Cancer Society estimates that two-thirds of cancer treatments are indirect expenses not covered by provincial health plans.*

Many other expenses, such as modifications to your home or business losses caused by an owner's critical illness, are also not covered by provincial health plans. And as health-care costs for professional services and pharmaceuticals continue to escalate, government aid continues to fall further off the pace.

How would you keep going? A critical illness may require you to hire a nurse or domestic help. Your spouse may need to take time off work. You might require timely, non-insured or experimental treatment outside Canada. These all cost money and most of us will do everything we can to preserve our health, regardless of cost. If that cost includes withdrawing money from your Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP), it could mean a serious depletion or even the loss of your retirement savings. In some cases, you could find yourself deeply in debt.

There is a bright side. You're more likely than ever to recover from a critical health problem. The remarkable strides in medical technology have made it possible for growing numbers of people who experience a critical health problem to live long and fruitful lives, perhaps even making a full recovery. And there is a reasonably-priced way to help ensure you'll have the finances to keep going until you can once again earn a living. It's called Critical Illness Insurance.

Critical illness insurance enhances your medical insurance by providing options that would otherwise not be available to you. It usually pays a lump sum to the policyholder after the diagnosis of a specified life altering illness, and the satisfying of a specified survival period. Once you qualify for the payout, you usually get it with no strings attached. First of all, it’s a tax free benefit. You can use the money any way you wish - for private treatment, paying down the mortgage, modifying your home, financing a recovery vacation or to keep your business going. This can help to protect your retirement savings.

Depending on the coverage you choose, critical illness insurance can cover cancer, heart attack, stroke, paralysis, MS, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, kidney failure, burns, diabetes and many other ailments.

Critical illness insurance - and other types of insurance such as disability and long term care - can help you achieve and maintain financial security no matter what life brings.

It’s never too early, or too late, to start investing.  But what’s the best option for you and your lifestyle?  A Financial Consultant can advise you on how to improve your saving and investment habits and help you make the very most of your money. Call us to find out more about how The Plan™ can help you prosper now… and over time.  Investors Group – Halifax, NS. (902) 423-8294.  www.investorsgrouphalifax.com 

by guest blogger Lorelei Burgess, Centre Director Oxford Learning. 

At a BBQ on Canada Day, I overheard a dad tell his son to put his book away. He told him it was rude to read when they had guests unless he was reading to them. I chuckled and asked if he’d ever thought he’d be telling his 7 year old son to put his book away.

Watching children read is exciting! It doesn’t matter how old they are, it’s exciting and it’s especially exciting to see 7 year old boys reading. At an age when boys either choose to read or not to read, the question is, “how can we engage them in reading when there are so many other things they’d rather be doing?”

I get asked this question all the time and I always remind parents that reading comes in many different forms. Children do not have to have a novel in hand to be reading. A magazine subscription is a great way to ignite a love of reading. The anticipation of the delivery or what’s inside the next issue will have your children pouring over the pages without even realizing they’re reading. Don’t worry so much about what your child’s reading as long as they’re reading. If the material is age appropriate and safe, encourage it!

Most kids love to help, so ask them to read the recipe the next time you’re cooking. The newspaper is another great way for kids to “help out” (especially when you’re making dinner and would like to know what’s going on in the news!). Have your child read the story out loud or in their head and summarize, in their own words, what they just read. Making sure they are able to articulate what they read will ensure that they comprehend the text and are not just reading the words.

Make reading a family activity. Children imitate their parents so be sure to demonstrate a love of reading. Have everyone grab their favorite book and head outside on a nice, sunny day. Read as a family – Harry Potter’s not an easy read for many children but it’s a great series to read as a family. Have your children imagine what the characters and scenery look like and discuss it. Encourage the kids to act out scenes. Ask questions: “What do you think will happen next?”, or “What would you have done if that happened to you?”. Link the stories you’re reading to everyday life, and use what your children know about the world to make sense of stories. 

Reading can be done anywhere but the better the locale the more fun children will have doing it. Set-up a tent outside or build a fort! Although reading should be done everyday this summer, it should not become a chore; it should not feel like work. It should be fun!

Reading begins at home.  Excitement!  Enthusiasm!  Fun!  These all come from the pages of books. Make books important in your life.  Teach by example.  Read and talk about books. Have literature around the house. Take trips to the library, park, museum, or zoo; surround these events with comments and questions that can be answered using books.

Remember: Kids learn to read and then read to learn so don’t underestimate the importance of a good book!

With two locations in Halifax, Oxford Learning goes beyond tutoring, to help ignite your child’s interest in learning, not just for one school year, but for a lifetime. To find out more on how they can assist your children, visit their facebook page or website. 

"You helped your child learn to walk, holding their hands while they stood up and grew strong. They wobbled a bit with that first step, but with each subsequent footfall they became more confident.  Don’t stop there. Just as children need to be taught to read and write, they need to be taught how to run, jump and throw. After all, movement is a child’s first language, and our ability to move is the most fundamental means we have of understanding our world."  (activeforlife.ca)

According to the Canadian Sport for Life organization only 10% of Canadian kids are getting enough exercise and nearly 30% of Canadian kids are overweight or obese.   In an effort to help young kids start and stay active they have created Active for Life - a great resource with tools and information to help your kids get active.

Their philosophy is based on doing the right things at the right time in the right way and they suggest 5 key considerations which designing sports programs for your kids:

1. FUNdamentals first: Younger children benefit from participating in a variety of activities in which they learn a full range of fundamental movement skills. More complex sport skills should only be added to their repertoire when their bodies are ready. Plus participation should always be fun.
2. Focus on child development: Because not all four-year-olds are the same – some children mature earlier, some a bit later – a child’s skill progression should be dictated by their physical, mental and emotional development, not their chronological age.
3. Child small, not adult large: Children are not little adults, so they shouldn’t be participating in sports adults would. Kids benefit from equipment, playing fields and modified games that are scaled to their size.
4. Practice, practice, fun: The more they get to participate – the more they get to touch the ball or puck – the quicker children improve their skills. This means smaller team sizes are best. And practices are more important than games. When players can have their own puck or ball they develop their skills much faster, and they have more fun while they’re at it. Kids should practice two or three times for each game they play.
5. Winning is not a good measure: Winning at a young age does not correlate to winning when your child is older. Long-term success comes from a long-term approach to skill development. And the stress from emphasizing winning is part of the reason 70% of kids quit sport by age 13.

Be sure to keep these in mind as you plan summer sports program and camps for your kids.  Plus, be sure to check out their kids sports guide to determine the skills and sports your child should be practicing based on their age and abilities. 

Your kids are worth it, so go ahead, start building their physical confidence and enjoyment of sports now so they will stay active for life.

For more information and research on how quality sports and physical activity leads to happier, healthier children visit Canadian Sport For Life.

Watching a recent episode of Jamie’s Oliver’s Food Revolution got me thinking:  How many of our HRM kids know where their food comes from?  In our modern-day, convenience-based commercialized food world, how many kids know the difference between a whole and processed food or between organic and conventionally farmed produce? How many have visited a working farm, or grown food from seed?  How many know how to read a basic food label, or understand what is added to our food to make it last so long and look so good on the grocery store shelves?

For those of you not familiar with Jamie Oliver’s show, he is trying to improve the foods served to American children in school cafeterias.  Interestingly, it doesn’t take much for him to get the kids on board with healthier eating.  The resistance usually comes from the schools or school boards, who are used to doing things one way and are often locked into supply contracts with a less than healthy bulk food supplier.

In the episode I just watched, Jamie was surprised at how little the high-schoolers he was working with knew about their food and where it came from.  They had obviously not been taught “real food basics” at home or in school.  Are any of you struggling with how and what to teach your kids about our food system and healthy eating? 

If so, here are some topics for family discussion to help you get started:

What are Whole Foods?  I tell kids that whole foods are recognizable in nature.  If it’s on your plate, and you can imagine it growing or living in nature, it’s probably a whole food.  Some “whole foods” can be made with other whole food ingredients, such as whole grain breads or soups and stews.  Get your kids to go through the fridge or pantry and identify as many whole foods as they can.  Make a meal that evening together out of only whole foods.  Take a trip to the local Farmers’ Market and discuss how the foods available there differ from those available at the supermarket.

What are Processed Foods? The easiest way to define these for kids is to say processed foods are made in a factory, and have lots of unnatural ingredients added (things you can’t easily identify in nature).  Show your kids the ingredient list on processed food, then compare that to the one ingredient whole foods.  Explain how chemicals are used to preserve, color and flavour processed foods.  Talk about the “less than 5 ingredients” guideline for packaged foods, or the idea of “not eating anything if you don’t know what it is”.

 Where does our meat come from?  I sometimes get push-back from parents on this one, but doesn’t it seem crazy that we are raising a generation of kids who don’t realize that the “chicken” in their chicken nuggets is meat from a bird?  (And if it isn’t, go back to the processed foods discussion!)  Talk to them about the importance of knowing where the animals we eat are raised and how they are treated and fed.  The meat farmers at our local Farmers’ Markets love to talk about the care they put into raising their animals!  Just ask them!

Organic v. Commercially-Farmed Produce: Kids should know that while it is often cheaper and easier to produce fruits and veggies by using chemicals, too many of those chemicals can be harmful to our health and the planet. We need to choose carefully, and buy organic and local when we can. Take your kids to an organic farm, or start growing some tomatoes or zucchini in the backyard.  Help them to appreciate the work and love that goes into producing natural food.  This will also show them how tasty fresh organic food can be!

Don’t be afraid of these topics.  Kids are smart and they want to learn.  And most of all, kids want to feel great and be healthy.  Who knows, you might just learn a little something new in the process too!

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 more great information and recipe ideas, visit her website

by guest blogger Lorelei Burgess, Centre Director Oxford Learning. 

It's June. The sun has finally begun to shine and our thoughts are turning to summer vacation. By now, you've likely spent time thinking about what your children will do this summer. Too often activities, lessons and sports are planned that will keep our children entertained and active during the summer months while overlooking their educational needs. It is imperative that a break from school does not mean a break from learning.
 
Studies show that the lack of school structure leads to unhealthy eating, lack of sleep and a regression of academic skills accumulated during the year. It can take a month or more to get back into the swing of things once school starts. So, what can you do? Make a plan. Before kids have a chance to plan a summer filled with video games, television, staying up late and sleeping in, make a plan. Even the simple act of having a plan in place can help keep kids on track academically.
 
Learning does not have to be formal but it does have to continue.

Plan to read together and take turns reading out loud. When it's your turn make sure you demonstrate how much fun reading can be. Reading out loud will help improve your child's reading fluency which will lead to increased reading comprehension. If they are reading word by word it's simply a list of words without context by the time they get to the end of the sentence. Have them practice sticking the words together or sewing the words together with an imaginary needle and thread as they read. Be sure to have a discussion about what was read to ensure understanding and build reading comprehension skills.

Set a schedule. Children are used to following a routine during the school day, so sticking to a routine during summer vacation is natural and comforting for children. Summer shouldn't be about lazy, carefree days. Bottom line, kids need structure and you'll appreciate it when September rolls around! 

Play a board game. Board games teach all kinds of skills that video games don't including organization, persistence, planning and can lead to improved memory skills. Games that use memory can teach essential mathematical skills like addition, subtraction, multiplication and even estimation. Bring on the board games!
 
 

With two locations in Halifax, Oxford Learning goes beyond tutoring, to help ignite your child’s interest in learning, not just for one school year, but for a lifetime. To find out more on how they can assist your children, visit their facebook page or website.