Are We Stupid or What—As Child Obesity Rises, Our Schools Eliminate Gym

http://mybrownbaby.com/2012/07/are-we-stupid-or-what-as-child-obesity-rises-our-schools-eliminate-gym/

By NICK CHILES

A new study by the CDC should be disturbing news for the parents of any elementary or middle school aged child because it chronicles the alarming degree to which schools across the country are cutting physical education program. Yes, at the same time as the First Lady and a whole parade of other folk are raising alarms about just how fat America is, and we’re getting fatter with each year, budgets cuts and standardized test obsession are leading our schools in the wrong direction.

According to the survey by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, nearly half of students polled had no physical education during the week. In New York and California, only 20 percent of students get physical education.

Just Maybe, Maybe It’s You…Boo

http://blacklifecoaches.net/2012/02/02/youboo/

By Dr. Shambra Mulder

If you have conflicts with a lot of people (family, coworkers, friends, church members, strangers) maybe it’s you…boo. Unhealthy relationships cause one to feel anger, sadness, and frustration; however, it can cost you financially as well as emotionally. The following are three questions that you may consider before blaming others for the unhealthy relationships in your life:

• Do I have the ability to self-reflect? One of the most important tools for creating, maintaining, and sustaining healthy relationships is the ability to provide insight or self-reflection about yourself (i.e., your attitude, your behavior, and your role in the conflict). Webster dictionary defines self-reflection as careful thought about your own behavior and beliefs.

Guess What? Playing With Your Kids Can Help Your Job Performance

http://mybrownbaby.com/2012/01/guess-what-playing-with-your-kids-can-help-your-job-performance/

By NICK CHILES

Sometimes science can deliver tasty little morsels of good news. Here’s the latest one I heard: playing with your kids can actually reduce your stress at work. Talk about your great two-for-one deals. Come on, that’s like saying that eating more chocolate cake can help you lose weight. That having more sex can make your marriage better. (Oh, wait, that one is true, isn’t it?)

When you’re a busy, overstressed parent, it seems like you spend half your time fussing with your kids, and the other half telling them you don’t have the time to do… whatever it is they are trying to get you to do at the moment. Kids being kids, their request usually has something to do with play. And according to a study of stress by scientists at the LIKES Foundation for Sport and Health Sciences in Finland, we should start agreeing to their play requests if we know what’s good for us. Participants in the study who engaged in more leisure-time physical activity showed lower amounts of job stress. How cool is that—the more we play, the less stress we exhibit on the job.

Creating Authentic Relationships

http://blacklifecoaches.net/2011/12/14/creating-authentic-relationships/

By Cherese L. Jackson

Our ability to build and maintain healthy relationships is the single most important factor in how we get along in every area of life. All of life’s successes come from initiating relationships with the right people and then strengthening those relationships by being authentic.

It’s no surprise that people who tend to have few or no friends, are often also diagnosed with depression. Loneliness is detrimental to your mental, and eventually physical, well being. We do not exist in life without relationships. No one is an island to themselves. You are always relating to someone or something. We all need relationships! Tom Hanks in the movie “Cast Away” was so desperate for relationship that he formed one with a ball and even named it Wilson

Your relationships drive your life. You are the sum of your five closest friends. There’s a saying, “birds of a feather flock together”. In other words, if I want to know what you’re like or who you really are I can look at the people you call friends; your friends are a reflection of you.

Black Author, How to Heal From Grief

AUTHOR FOCUSES MUCH-NEEDED ATTENTION ON HEALING FROM GRIEF

– Why Are So Many Suffering in Silence? It’s Time for Survivors and Supporters to Talk About Grief –

Frederick, MD (BlackNews.com) — People often grieve in silence. It is common for people to feel isolated and alone when they mourn. But there is healing in support. Denise Hall Brown saw a need to promote the power of relationships and resources to aid in the healing process, starting with the publication of her first book, 2Grieve 2Gether: A Journal from the Heart Helping Survivors and Supporters Navigate the Healing Process (ISBN 9780983317005).