Health

Children need to get moving

New York — With child obesity becoming a growing problem, there is a big push to get children moving in addition to improving their diets.

“The Busy Body Book: A Kid’s Guide to Fitness” (Crown) by Lizzy Rockwell is a child-friendly picture book about the importance of exercise. It portrays both traditional sports and other activities, including flying a kite, walking the dog and even playing a trumpet in a marching band, as enjoyable ways to stay healthy.

Equally important, though, are the explanations of why children need to be physically fit.

One illustration details what each muscle does in terms kids will understand:

• Facial muscles let you smile, blink, chew and talk.
• Biceps help you lift heavy things.
• Back and stomach muscles let you stand up straight.
• Quadriceps lift your legs and bend your knees when you walk.
• Triceps help you push open a door.

“When children know the remarkable potential of their bodies, they want to test it out,” Rockwell said in a statement. “When they see others engaged in activities that look fun and stimulating, they want to join in.”

Decorations

For animal lovers

New York — For children who can’t get enough of their furry friends, American Girl magazine has ideas for do-it-yourself pet decorations, including:

• Create a “sea globe” (as opposed to a snow globe) by placing glitter, sequins and little plastic fish toys in an empty jar. Fill with water. Screw top on and shake the jar up.
• Make a pretty garland by putting colorful animal stickers on round tags found at office-supply stores. Punch a hole at the bottom of each tag, and connect tags with paper clips, maybe colored ones or clips bent into circle shapes.
• Make a set of greeting cards starring your pet. Decorate plain cards with stickers or colored paper. Cut out photos of your pet and glue them onto the cards. A whole set of cards could even be a gift.