Family Focus: Don’t Forget Your Vitamins!

I am excited to start a new blog series on What’s Up, USANA? about children and family, called “Family Focus.” I’m hoping that together, we can find ways our families can improve and grow in living a more healthy USANA lifestyle. Being a single mom over the past seven years, I can use all the help I can get!

One of the things we have struggled with in our family is remembering to take our vitamins. If your kids are anything like mine, they tend to be on the picky side of eating, so I know they’re not getting the nutrition they need every day.  “It’s vital that growing children have proper micro- and macro-nutrition each day,” says John Bosse, USANA senior scientist of product innovation and a registered dietitian. “As a child, micro-nutrition is truly laying the foundation for health in adulthood.”

Serious stuff, right?
So, I decided to try a few things to get us on the right path to nutritional health — and found great success! Hopefully these easy tips will help your family, too:
1.    Make it a Habit: “It doesn’t matter whether you choose morning or evening to take your vitamins, as long as you do it,” Bosse says. However, for my family, evenings are easiest because mornings are hectic and bedtime is more routine. I just throw our vitamin regimen in between bathing and teeth brushing, and we are set.

2.    Make it Fun: By earning a sticker every time he takes his vitamins, my 7-year-old is excited about taking Usanimals™ . Once he collects 30 stickers, he’ll win a trip to the dollar store. For my teenager, she thought it would be cool to pick out her favorite nail polish (the cheap kind, of course!) at the end of the month by taking  Body Rox™ each day. As for your kids, find something simple that motivates them — without breaking the bank.
3.    Make it Appealing: My son cringes at the thought of putting something in his mouth he may not like. Instead of fighting him to take his vitamins, I take Bosse’s advice, “If you can find a food or drink your children will consistently take with their vitamins, roll with it.” My picky boy doesn’t mind taking his BiOmega™ Jr. with his favorite bedtime snack.
4.    Make it Quality: Whenever we go to the store, my kids want me to buy the supplements that look fun — with exciting shapes, gummy textures and loads of sugar — but I always stick with USANA supplements, because I never have to worry. Pediatrician and USANA Scientific Advisory Council member, Christine Wood, highly recommends USANA vitamins to her patients because she trusts what’s in them. You, too, can be assured knowing USANA manufactures its products in an FDA registered facility, is NSF certified, and follows the FDA’s highest possible standards for manufacturing.
5.    Make it Count: It’s best to check with your doctor to see if additional supplements are recommended for you and your children’s daily regimen, because every person’s needs are different, and some kids are more picky than others (mine). “Vitamin D deficiency is turning out to be a common deficiency among children and adults, along with calcium. Both are important for bone health,” Dr. Wood says.
I’d love to get your input as to what has worked best in getting your stubborn children (or significant others) to take their vitamins. Please leave your comments below and I’ll talk to you soon!

Article from whatsupusana.com,
Written by Misty Dangel January 31, 2014 in Family Focus 
 

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