Sandi Kaplan, MS, RD, Associate Director, Clinical Development & Support:

An interesting vote happened this week in Santa Clara County, California. The board of supervisors voted to ban the promotional toys that often accompany child-size meals if those meals do not meet certain nutritional standards. This law is the first of its kind.

The criteria, which are based on federal standards and recommendations from the nonprofit Institute of Medicine, would apply to all fast food restaurants giving away toys in children’s meals. Ken Yeager, the board president, said the new law would level “the playing field by taking away the incentive to choose fatty, sugary foods over healthier options.” However, toys can be given away if the meal is not too high in calories, sugar, sodium or fat.

I am definitely in favor of this kind of separation of toys and unhealthy food. In fact, I prefer that toys not be associated with food at all. I am a mom who reluctantly takes kids to the grocery store as a walk down the aisles can feel like we are being bombarded by commercials. Between Dora the Explorer and Sesame Street characters, my kids are drawn to any number of unhealthy food choices. They have not tasted most of those foods but they certainly would like to take the boxes home!

So I prefer taking them with me when our neighborhood Farmer’s Market is the destination. Far fewer battles and far more opportunities for education. When the farmer herself tells you that the beets are yummy sliced raw in salads, the kids are much more excited to give them a try.

I recently enjoyed watching the videos of kids who are working on improving their health at http://www.BeSmartBeWell.com. It reminded me yet again that a healthy lifestyle is a whole family project. At the end of a long day at work, when my almost five year old asks me to play pitch and catch, it is tempting to ask him if he wants to watch some baseball on TV instead. But each time I advocate the active choice, I am helping him to build lifelong healthy habits. Not to mention the benefits I get – more movement in my own day and some time to connect with my kid. It’s amazing how much he tells me about his day while we are out running the bases.

Because of the sedentary, supersize environment we live in, our kids are at high risk of ending up with a myriad of health issues at younger and younger ages. We can definitely advocate for changes in our environment just like community leaders in Santa Clara are doing. But ultimately, the environment we can most easily control is the one that we create in our own homes.

My kids get as excited to see blueberries on the table as they do to see chocolate. They want to play an active game of hide and seek with me as much they want to watch a TV show. But I have to check in with myself – am I bringing home more chocolate from the store because the kids like to eat it or because I am using that sugar and fat to help me destress in the evenings? Are the kids watching another TV show because I don’t feel like moving my own body?

And then I remind myself – each time I foster a healthy environment, my entire family benefits.

A game of tag, anyone?