But, like other bad habits, you can nip it in the bud early with a few simple strategies to teach your child there are other appropriate, effective forms of communicating with you.

First, try limiting the situations that trigger it. Avoid extra errands when the kids are hungry.  Don’t let them get involved in a frustrating game or project prior to bedtime.

Pay attention when your child is talking, as sometimes whining is a reaction when a child feels you aren’t giving them your full attention. Praise them for not whining and talking in a normal and understandable voice that allows you to fully understand what they are saying to you.

When the whining begins, don’t overreact. Keep your response simple, calm and neutral.  Ask your child to repeat the request in a normal tone. When giving in seems inevitable, don’t delay. If you must finish the grocery shopping so you can put dinner on the table, for instance, and your child starts whining for a snack, offer something healthy right away.

Once a limit has been set, parents should follow through. It’s imperative that both parents are on board with this limit and fully follow through when the whining rule has been violated.

If you have an older child that’s developing a whining habit, suggest they come up with a solution to their perceived boredom or other voiced problem.  If you suggest possible alternatives, it might just prolong the child’s whining.

Sometimes whining can be the result of trauma and trouble in their life. A divorce, serious family illness or problems at school may be at the root.  Additional positive attention and quality one-on-one time may be just the medicine your child needs at a time like this.

Your pediatrician can also suggest alternatives to curb whining should the positive attention and disciplinary actions be ineffective.

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Some children are shy, while others are outgoing; some are active, while others are calm; some are fretful, while others are easy-going. As a loving and nurturing parent, it’s your job to encourage them to embrace their uniqueness and celebrate their individual qualities.

Allow your child to express themselves through their interests.  They may find a creative outlet in theatre, dancing or art, or they may be exceptionally talented in the sciences.

Encourage them to embrace what they like to do, what interests them, and what makes them happy.  Help them realize that they don’t need to worry about being ‘like everyone else.‘

Teach your child to make positive choices, and praise them for good deeds, behaviors and positive traits they possess.  Encourage them to become actively involved in their community, and introduce them to activities that promote a sense of cooperation and accomplishment.

Be firm yet fair when handing down discipline for misdeeds or misbehaviors, and make certain the rules and consequences for breaking the rules are clearly defined.  Show a cooperative, loving and united front with your spouse when it comes to discipline.

Accept and celebrate your child’s uniqueness. Remember that your child is an individual. Allow your child to have his or her own personal preferences and feelings, which may be different from your own.

And finally, encourage your child to be true to themselves by doing the same.  Show your child how to make positive choices with the choices you make, and that nobody is perfect and you too make mistakes.  Show your child that mistakes can be a great learning experience, and that they should not be ashamed or embarrassed about making them.  .

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Establishing healthy eating patterns is important to avoid problems such as obesity and eating disorders later in life. Various strategies can help your child accept a wider range of foods.

It may be necessary to offer a food to your child as many as 10 different times before they choose to eat it.  The problem is, many parents get frustrated and give up before the fourth or fifth try.

Try to make foods fun.  Colorful foods like carrot sticks, raisins, apples, grapes, cheese sticks and crackers can all be fun and healthy choices for your growing toddler.  Explain to them that eating good food is important so they’ll grow big and strong, and how it will help them run faster and play longer.

Children learn behaviors from their parents. If you restrict yourself to a narrow range of foods, your child will take notice and mimic your caution. Don’t limit your child’s food variety to only those foods you prefer.

It may be that your child’s tastes are different to yours, and perhaps you are simply serving them foods they don’t happen to like.  Try to set a good example and try a variety of foods in front of your child.  It could motivate them to do the same.

If your child seems healthy and energetic, then they are eating enough. If you are still concerned, keep an eye on how much food they actually eat over the day. Children tend to graze constantly, rather than restrict their eating to three meals per day like adults.

You may be surprised how those little handfuls and snacks add up. For further reassurance, check your child’s growth and weight charts, or check with your child’s pediatrician.

Try not to worry, and remember, that unless a child is ill, they will eat.   Children are very good at judging their hunger and fullness signals. Try to stay relaxed about mealtime and offer your child a wide variety of foods, and most importantly, remember to set a good example by trying a wide variety of foods yourself.  You may discover you and your toddler share a new found favorite food!

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There are many different diets out there which try to help people to lose their excess fat, these can be very difficult to follow as the whole reason we are over-weight is because of our love for food. The diets themselves normally recommend us to eat healthy but uninspiring foods.

These diets have never really worked for me, mainly because I have possibly not got the right attitude but mainly because I find it hard to stick to them. A month maybe, six months certainly not.

In my opinion exercise is the best way to lose weight. Going to a gym is certainly not for everyone and is somewhere I feel out of place and exposed. I always feel that people are looking, talking and laughing at me behind my back. Maybe I am just too paranoid.

I personally would recommend hiring a personal trainer. Now you might think that only the rich and famous could possibly do this but you would be wrong. There are many personal fitness trainers who are either connected to a gym or who advertise locally in newspapers or magazines.

These are specially trained people who are willing to come to your house to show you how to correctly exercise and they do not cost an arm and a leg.

If you have attempted this route before but have had a negative experience do not despair. It may well be because you just did not hit it off with your personal trainer. I have been using a personal trainer for the last five months and only plumped for him after trying out four others first.

My personal trainer is very good for me. He keeps me on my toes, is very good at making me continue to work hard when all I want to do is quit. He is also very fair and seems to understand how far to push me. Together we have worked out and agreed a program which includes various goals for the future. He seems to also understand about the types of food which I should and should not be eating. I am happily still able to eat a lot of foods which I like and he has also introduced me to a number of other ideas which are healthy but also very tasty.

Hiring a personal trainer was the best thing I have ever done with regards to losing weight and I would recommend it to other people. I have now lost the beer belly and still continue working hard, it is now more as a fitness thing rather than to lose even more weight.

The trainer has even stated that I am likely to actually gain weight in the future as certain muscles grow. I will not be fat though, I will be toned and a little but muscular. I look forward to the future and can also now for the first time in a number of years enjoy shopping for clothes.

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Instead we are a product of our revolutionary, technological society. I am not saying we can blame technology, rather I am saying that as with our youth, the adults are also a reflection of the society that surrounds them. It isn’t an excuse, but it is a thought I pondered based on my typical day.

I get up in the morning, not to the sound of an aggravating buzz, beep, or the blaring of the radio. These alarms would get my blood racing right from the start, but I would hit snooze to stop the insanity. Then it would happen again, and again, the snooze bar.

After a few times of this I am would now be late for work, rush to the shower if I even had time, rush to the car, and speed off to work. Not in today’s world. Instead, I wake to the soothing sound of the ocean on my Homedics radio and slowly wake peacefully.

No blood pumping, no increased heart rate. I just have a nice and slow, easy awakening. Next I head to the shower where I put turn on my shower CD player and listen to something that I enjoy while I take my time letting the water almost run cold.

During my toweling off and getting dressed period of the morning, I can hear my coffee being made on the coffee maker that is set to make me a cup every morning with me not having to do a thing. While I sit and drink my coffee pondering the day ahead of me, I notice that it is almost gone, so I gently push a button on my key ring that starts my car and gets it nice and warm for me before I even get to it. I can then take my leisurely stroll to my car, get in, and have a nice peaceful drive to work (barring any unforeseen road rage).  Nothing like before when I had to run to my car because I was late most of the time due to the annoyance of my alarm or run because it was cold and then get in and shake and shiver for 10 minutes until it warmed up.

Once at work I find myself taking out my PDA and seeing what is on my agenda for the day. Nope, no more flipping through pages of my pocket calendar or scheduler. My work day is simple and uneventful, but instead of having to run back and forth through the office to get messages to everyone, I can now simply send an interoffice email with the push of a button. When it is time to leave, I again start my car from my office and drive home.

Arriving at home, I put in a microwave dinner that doesn’t have to be chopped up, cut up, stirred, blended, kneaded, poked, or even prodded. Push a few buttons and five minutes later I am sitting in front of the TV watching the shows I recorded on my cable’s digital recorder and eating my five minute, nuked meal.

Would I have done this in the past? The answer is no, because I would have had to physically make something to eat, and there wouldn’t be anything on TV worth watching, so I would eat and go do something like yard work, clean the house, play with the kids, whatever, just something else to occupy the time.

Oops, while I was eating, I got some crumbs on the floor and then dropped some more on the way back to the kitchen. Oh well, I will just push the button on my robot vacuum cleaner and let it clean the whole floor as it is preprogrammed to do.

Finally, my day is coming to an end and instead of doing something really constructive before I go to bed, I can’t resist the opportunity to surf the Internet for a little while, maybe chat to some friends or relatives, and check my email. Besides, I have to plug in my PDA to the computer anyway. Now my lazy or technologically dysfunctional day is complete.

This whole story brings me back to my question that started the whole thing. Am I lazy or am I just a product of my environment. It is this author’s opinion that I am both. Years ago, even the simple things like making the dinner would be exercise, but now it is too easy because it is done for you in a box.

Everything today is easy and most adults are on the heavy side, because things are easier and don’t take as much energy. That doesn’t mean we in society are lazy, it means we don’t have to exert ourselves as much to accomplish the every day routines that are needed to complete the day.

However, I could stop by the gym on my way home, or go for a walk after dinner, so I am also lazy too. The Internet just pulls me in night after night and I can’t seem to make myself do anything else after dinner. Shame on you technology for holding that gun to my head!

Brad G. Morris

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