What are some Spring activities that I can do with my children?

One of my new favorites is what I call “The Wellness Garden”. Combine fun activities with education. This opens up opportunities to teach your children valuable life-lessons and values while spending time with them.

We live in a society where quick meals, microwave dishes, and drive-thrus are easily everyday occurrences. In addition, most children probably think all food comes from a building! Planting a wellness garden offers your children the chance to see where real food comes from and the value of hard work and dedication. Their efforts and patience will pay off as they watch the food grow and eventually have something to enjoy from their efforts.

For your salad garden, have your children list all the things they would have on a salad such as carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes (our favorite salad item), spinach, and various herbs. Then shop for seeds together, having your kids pick out the packets. Pick a gorgeous day and get your hands dirty planting the seeds. Talk about the critters you find in the soil and how some are friends to your garden and should be left alone.

Use every aspect of gardening to educate and empower your children showing them the power of the sun, the strength of the soil and how with their help, the vegetables will grow and make a beautiful salad that they were a huge part of creating. What a neat, awesome opportunity to be with your children, building their knowledge base AND contributing to their health!!

I must recharge my batteries. AKA- a mommy and daddy weekend.

So here’s the deal. Your kids are only as healthy as you are.
Let me repeat – your kids are only as healthy as you are. And if you wait to take care of YOU (your physical, emotional, social well-being) until you’re broke down, you’ve waited too long.

So how many people have heard that “if you’re thirsty, you’re already dehydrated”?
If you are tired, exhausted, overweight, eating the wrong foods, short w/ your kids, cranky towards your spouse, etc, etc… YOUR batteries need some recharging. But why wait? Why not treat your body, your whole body (body, mind and spirit) lovingly all the time? Why not forecast the storm and head the other way?
Would we (should we?) really see the “eye of the storm” and head right into it?

So here’s what I’m saying. You need to take time for you! You need to take time for yourself, your marriage, AND your family.

This weekend, my sister and her husband are graciously gifting us a “mommy, daddy weekend”. They have all three of my kids for the entire weekend! Do I feel guilty that I’m not with them? Hell no! (sorry about the cuss.. .”heck” just didn’t have the same effect). Do I miss them? --> with every fiber of my being.

But, I realize that batteries must be recharged before they are dead. Storms must be avoided. And my physical, mental and social wellbeing is of paramount importance to my children’s physical, mental, and social wellbeing. They are counting on my husband and I to act as a foundation for them to stand on. I will protect and take care of me, my husband AND my children. And part of that is taking periodic “recharge” sessions.

So here I am, thinking non-stop of my children…. Loving them with every piece of myself and anxiously looking forward to my husband getting home from work. I love this man and I can’t wait to be lazy, have long conversations, and recharge my batteries with him. I’m certain my children will be healthier because of it.

There is no other way to lead, than to lead by example.

While running this morning, I got to thinking about my children and the way they see me…. And how I influence them.



As a young girl, I can remember idolizing my parents and wanting to be like them. Not only did I want their time, attention, and praise… but they were a sort of “safety net” for me. Always catching me when I fell and ALWAYS telling me to get right back out there and do it again. I can clearly remember my dad telling me I can do whatever I put my mind to. And when I hesitated to make the jump off the side of the swimming pool, I remember him saying… “Do your best, angel girl… .the rest doesn’t matter.”

I know my children are looking to me for guidance. And guidance on all realms. Not only are they looking to me for time, attention, praise, and safety… but I’m in charge of guiding them and teaching them about health. (and not just b/c I’m a chiropractor… it’s because I’m their parent)

Our children’s health (their TRUE health) is a combination of physical, chemical, and emotional stressors. Now not all stressors are bad. For example, a car accident – bad physical stressor (please get your spine checked asap). Exercise – good physical stressor. We are a combination of the things we do to our body, the things we put in our body, and the things that rest on our minds. And when I say “we”, I mean ALL of us… young and old.

So if I’m concerned (aware) of how my children are looking at me, I better start by looking at myself. I better (to paraphrase Ghandi) “be the change I wish to see in my children”…. The change I wish to see in the world.

I believe in a healthier community and I’m certain that it starts with our children. Or does it really start with us?

If you want (and believe in) optimal health for YOUR children…. Optimal physical, chemical, and emotional health… then it must begin with YOU.

I'm sick of this...

Don't you ever have days where you're done? Down for the count and ready for a break?
Well, when those days come for me I approach them with the sensitivity of a mother. The same sensitivity that I give to my kids, I give to myself.
I don't fight my emotions or talk myself out of them.
I'm present and observant. I find the "why?" behind it and work on coming up with solutions... ways to tackle tomorrow with renewed gusto.
And if the "why?" doesn't present itself, I don't "fight" for it.
I'm calm. I treat (attempt) myself with the same loving attention that I would give my children.
I realize that the journey is where life is at and that each challenge is offered to me as an opportunity. An opportunity to remind me of what's truly important in my life.
Life's "little punches", may just be life's little opportunities to put you back on your feet and remind you of where you're at...... and what you're doing there.

Why can’t symptoms be used as a gauge of health?

Nearly 2400 Americans die of cardiovascular disease each day. That’s 1 person every 37 seconds. For many of these victims, their first sign of cardiovascular disease was the heart attack.

Think about this for a minute. Have you ever known someone who was the picture of perfect health and suddenly died? Or a friend who’s always been healthy end up with a positive PAP smear or self breast exam? Ask someone with diabetes how long they had the disease before they knew it. Cancer, diabetes, and heart disease do not develop in just a few days and these people felt great when these ailments began. Even a small cavity doesn’t show up with immediate tooth pain, right?

Your body is designed to be healthy. Because of this, symptoms are always late stage as the body attempts to “heal itself”.

Why not take care of your body along the way? (and MOST importantly, let's teach our children how to take care of themselves) We often times take better care of our cars than we do our bodies. You put quality gas in, change the oil, wash the car, and keep the tires aligned, getting routine maintenance checks along the way. But with our bodies, we run on chronic stress, eat junk food, don’t exercise, have never had our spines checked (everyone should have a basic wellness check on their spine- the sooner the better) and spend hours slouched at a desk and then sitting in front of the tv. Is it any wonder that our bodies are aging so quickly?

You can wait until symptoms develop before you decide to take care of your body… but by then, it might just be too late.

Is childhood obesity dangerous?

Absolutely! Childhood obesity is at an all time high. It makes you wonder what’s
happening to the kids in our community and what can we do about it.

Research shows that type 2 diabetes (adult onset) is closely linked to those that are
overweight or obese. This used to be a disease associated with adults, but its
prevalence has increased dramatically in children and adolescents. In 2000, 28% of
children age 6-19 years of age in the US were overweight (nearly tripling the totals
from 1980-2000). By 2004, the statistic rose to 33.6%. Overweight adolescents have
a 70% chance of becoming overweight, or worse yet, obese adults. That’s almost 3 of
every 4 children!

Without a change, these children become overweight or obese adults who not only
risk getting type 2 diabetes, but various other health problems such as heart disease, high blood pressure, orthopedic problems, and some forms of cancer.

Do these diseases sound familiar? So much of our health is under our control. These are lifestyle diseases, so change your lifestyle! It’s important to lead by example, as your children will take on your habits. And unhealthy habits not only affect physical health but emotional health as well.

Start living a healthier life today and change your tomorrow!


FREE natural health reports at www.YostFamilyChiropractic.com
Written by Dr. Heather Yost
Urbandale Living Magazine – March 2010

What foods should I feed my children?

The link between the food kids eat and their health and well‐being is widely recognized today. And when it comes to the health and happiness of our children, I think that all parents will agree that only the very best will do.

Nutrition can be a confusing subject and many parents wonder where to start. Since diet is crucial to the health of our children, we should not rely upon processed foods from jars and boxes. There is nothing better for your child than home‐cooked meals made from fresh ingredients. And the good news is, that cooking doesn’t have to be time‐consuming or complicated. The key is to choose your 4‐5 recipes for the week ahead of time, make a grocery list, and make meals in bulk so you can freeze extras.

Make sure to pack your meals with fruits and vegetables. Researchers estimate that a diet filled with fruits and vegetables instead of unhealthy fats and refined foods, combined with increased exercise, could reduce the occurrence of cancer by at least 30%. Who doesn’t want those statistics for their child? The more colorful the food, the more nutritious it is. Choose spinach over regular lettuce, sweet potato over an ordinary potato, and go for the brightest peppers, tomatoes, broccoli and fruits you can find.

Pick recipe books that help you make nutritious and easy meals. Some of my favorites are as follows: First Meals by: Annabel Karmel (too much dairy.. just alter recipes), Crazy Makers by: Carol Simontacchi, Feed Me I’m Yours by: Vicki Lansky, and Growing Healthy Families by: Holistic Moms Network.

Remember to give your children the very best start possible and start their day with nutritious foods!

For more information and opportunities to learn more, contact us at Yost Family Chiropractic.
Written by Dr. Heather Yost
Provided for Urbandale Living Magazine (April 2010)