Children are our future and we as parents need to help them attain their highest potential. If we want to have a strong and healthy future.

Today's diet is high in simple carbohydrates, sugar and fat. Soft drinks, cakes, candy,and junk food are constantly bombarding our families, it seems to be their daily diet.

Statistics show that heart disease is showing up at a younger age. Diabetes is reaching epidemic proportions, asthma is becoming a common occurance. People are beginning to look at these as normal. Well it is far from normal!

A major contributing factor in these diseases is obesity. So what is a parent to do: first thing we must to is to educate ourselves.

Here are 10 ways to Prevent Obesity

1/ Be an example Children learn from their parents, first thing you as a parent must do is to show your children that you are willing to change.

2/ Do a Kitchen Clean-up Get rid of all foods that have refined flour,or sugar in them and replace with whole foods such as whole grains, whole sugars for example raw sugar, honey, or stevia, and foods with as little chemical additives as possible

3/ Replace soft drinks, and highly sugared snacks, with healthy alternatives. Be creative. Limit sugar intake to 10% of your daily diet.

Title: SINGLE MOTHERS AT GREATER RISK FOR DEPRESSION Author: Dave Turo-Shields, ACSW, LCSW E-mail: mailto:editor@overcoming-depression.com Copyright: by Dave Turo-Shields, ACSW, LCSW Web Address: http://www.Overcoming-Depression.com Word Count: 934 Category: DEPRESSION

SINGLE MOTHERS AT GREATER RISK FOR DEPRESSION

In a recent study of 2,921 single and married mothers it was discovered that single mothers have a 40% higher incidence of major depression, with a depressive episode lasting an average of 12 months.

There are two primary areas that catapult single mothers into depression. These are:

1. Increased number of life stresses

2. Decreased amount of social support

These findings correlate strongly with my experience in working with depressed, single mothers. What research did not address was Catch-22 that single mothers are in.

If you are a single parent you already know what I am about to say. If a non-married, childless adult observed all that a single parent does throughout a day, they would need two days sleep to recover from watching such an exhausting day in life of a single mom.

A single mother often does work of three people on any given day. Now, ask that single-mother to take time to reduce a stressor and increase her social support system and boy are you in for a fight!

There does not appear to be a way out. It's love, duty, hard work and little sleep for single moms.

Is there a better way?

Yes! However, before presenting it to a single mother, you'd better make doubly sure you've done a glorious job of attempting to understand what her average day is like, FIRST!

When an individual is heard, and I mean really listened to from heart, they have a tendency to open up ("Seek first to understand..."). Then you may have opportunity to offer suggestions.

Now, let's flip coin. Single mothers are often not just exhausted, but can also be jaded, indignant, prideful and stubborn. Life has not turned out way they dreamed it would. Perhaps there were marital dreams, dreams of perfect home, dreams of providing best for their children, dreams of spending more time with their children and dreams of being perfect family and more. All lost.

In place of those dreams they may have bitter feelings over marital loss, less than optimal living situations, no "play" time with their children, visitation issues, child support issues, financial stress and list could go on for many more pages, couldn't it?

If you are a stressed-out single mom, please pay special and close attention to what I wrote above (maybe read it twice)... then read on.