Yesterday, we talked about how important it is to help kids keep their brains active during the summer.  Today, I want to talk about keeping the body active.

Most experts agree that kids need about an hour of physical activity every day to stay healthy.  Now, I'm not suggesting that you strap a kid to a treadmill or a weight machine.  Activity can take a lot of forms.  If you have access to a pool, swimming or a spirited game of Marco Polo qualifies.  So does an hour of swinging and climbing the jungle gym at the playground or riding a bike or running through the sprinkler on the lawn or just running around aimlessly.  The key is to get moving. Spending the summer in front of a screen (computer or television) is not a good plan.

Add to the healhy turn by taking advantage of summer's bounty to add more fruits and vegetables to your diet.  Fresh berries, ripe peaches, tart plums, and watermelon make wonderful snacks and desserts.  English cucumbers, fresh peppers, and sugar snap peas taste as good as candy.

A real key to healthful living in the summer is staying adequately hydrated.  When it's hot and you're sweating, you need to drink even more than usual.  But soda and even many fruit drinks are full of sugar and chemicals.  It's amazing how tasy icy cold water is when you are hot.  To make it easier to drink enough, keep a pitcher of water in the fridge.  Tap water is fine. Most of the world would be ecstatic to have such safe and inexpensive water.  Give yourself a spa treat by adding some sliced citrus fruit to the pitcher.  It will add some lovely flavor and may make you likely to drink even more.