Apple Seeds – Winter 2017

September 2017 – Welcome back to school!

  • While it may feel like summer is over, that doesn’t mean the sunshine has left. The sunshine brings UV rays which can cause harm to our skin. Using a sunscreen with an SPF of at least 30 on any exposed skin can help keep you safe. It’s also a good idea to wear a hat when out in the sun to keep your face and neck protected. Remember – no matter how hot or cool it is outside, there are still UV rays!
  • Keep stress levels down by staying ahead of schedule. School work, tests, and even friend and family requests can add up quickly and cause stress in children. Help teach kids to plan ahead for their week to avoid feeling stressed at the last minute. Create a weekly “agenda” that shows their school work, sports, and other activities so it’s easy to see how time needs to be managed. Teaching children these skills will help them throughout life.
  • Children learn and perform better at school when they eat a healthy breakfast and lunch. Here are some tips for packing a healthy lunch:

-Change it up from sandwiches by using a wide mouth thermos to give them leftover of chili, soup, pasta, or stew.

-Make small wraps with a protein, vegetables, and salad dressing, or make mini-pizzas on an English muffin.

-Lunchables are not healthy. Make your own version with finger foods like crackers and cheese, small pieces of fruit, and meat cut into small circles and squares.

-Instead of bread, use small pita pockets, dinner rolls, breadsticks, or round Melba toast.

  • Vaccines keep our children and community healthy! The Immunization of School Pupils Act (ISPA) R.S.O. 1990 is a law in Ontario that makes sure all school-aged students are protected from avoidable diseases. The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit is working with you, your school board, and community healthcare providers to make sure that your child’s permanent immunization record is up-to-date. Learn more about how you can update your child’s immunization record at

October2017

  • The flu shot is safe and free! All children over six months of age should get a flu shot every year. Flu outbreaks usually begin with children, who spread it to adults. Find out where to get your flu shot at
  • Teaching children some techniques to relax can be helpful for their mental health now and in the future. One easy method to lower stress is deep breathing. This can send a message to your body to relax by lowering the heart rate and blood pressure, and it also gives the mind something calm to focus on. Plus, it’s easy to do, anywhere! Sit or lie in a comfortable, quiet place. Breathe in, counting to five, hold the breath for three counts, and then breathe out for five counts. Continue for a couple of minutes at a time, or until you feel calm.
  • If you’re looking for ways to help get your children to eat veggies and fruit, try some of these suggestions:

-Role model healthy eating by filling half your plate with veggies and fruit at every meal. Experiment with seasonings to make them more flavourful for everyone to enjoy.

-Keep cut-up veggies and fruit handy in the refrigerator for your children to eat when they get home from school. Enjoy these snacks with them while they talk about their day.

-Keep healthy dips like yogurt, hummus, peanut butter, or other nut butters on hand as they may encourage your children to eat more vegetables and fruit.

-Make desserts fruit-based such as fresh fruit kebabs, frozen grapes, baked apples, or canned fruit with yogurt.

  • Happy Halloween! Trick or treating is a fun evening for children, but eating too many treats can coat teeth with a lot of sugar. To keep teeth healthy and enjoy the treats in moderation, decide on a number of treats kids can have each day and let your child pick what they want. Make sure kids brush and floss their teeth twice per day to clean off the sugars which can cause cavities.
  • Children spend a lot of their day sitting – both in and outside of school. Physical activity guidelines recommend that children should be active for one hour per day for health benefits. This can be reached by doing smaller amounts of activity throughout the day, in bouts of at least ten minutes or more. For example, children can play on the school’s playgrounds for 10 minutes when they arrive, another 30 minutes during breaks and lunch. Then the family can be active for 20 minutes in the evening. This can include playing sports, playing at a park, riding a bike, or going for a walk with the family dog. In just three easy “sessions”, your child can be active for the day!

November2017

  • To help prevent getting or spreading the flu at school, it is important to:

-Get a flu shot every year (everyone over 6 months of age).

-Teach children to wash their hands often, for 20 seconds.

-Teach children to cough or sneeze into their arm or a tissue, not their hands.

-Avoid touching hands to face.

-Clean and disinfect common surfaces.

-Keep children home when they are sick.

For more information visit

  • Get your kids excited about eating veggies & fruit by getting them involved in the kitchen. Cooking is educational and fun! Kids will learn about food, nutrition, math and science, and will develop important food and social skills. Research shows that children who prepare their own food are more likely to eat it.Cooking helps children build confidence and important life skills, for example:

-They develop motor skills like chopping, slicing, grating, and mixing.

-Learn how to organize ingredients.

-Follow instructions.

-Learn the difference between a teaspoon and a tablespoon, and different measuring cups.

Cooking is also a great way to spend time with your child, share cultural traditions, and talk about your day.

  • Drinking water is good for you and your teeth! Other drinks (for example, juice) can leave sugars on your teeth, which may cause cavities. Drinks such as pop are high in acid, which can harm your teeth. Water can keep your mouth healthy by “cleaning” food away, and because it’s sugar-free, it won’t leave any sugar behind on your teeth. Drink up!

December 2017

  • To avoid receiving a suspension notice, make sure that your child’s immunizations are up to date with the health unit. Health care providers do NOT report the shots that children receive to the health unit. They will only update your child’s yellow card for your personal records. Parents, it’s your duty to report! Call the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit every time your child gets a shot. To find out more information on what immunizations your child needs, or to report a shot, call 519-258-2146 Ext. 1222 or go to
  • Stuck indoors due to bad weather? Get creative with your children and make animals or bugs out of veggies and fruits, then encourage them to eat their masterpieces.Here are some examples to get you started:

-Make ants on a log by cutting celery into 5 cm (2 inch) pieces. Fill the centre with cream cheese or peanut butter, and put either raisins for black ants, or dried cranberries for red ants.

-Make snails using the celery pieces and filling the centre with hummus for vegetable snails or peanut butter for fruit snails. Offer your children a variety of vegetable or fruits to make their snail. For a fruit snail, use green grapes for the body and a red grape for the head. For a vegetable snail, use chick peas for the body and a mini tomato for the head.

-Make a sheep with cauliflower for the body, pretzel sticks for the legs, and a black olive for the head.

-Make a snake by alternating sliced mini cucumbers with small mini tomatoes on a skewer. Put a larger mini tomato on the skewer as a head.

Look on the internet for more ideas and get creative in the kitchen!

  • Keep your activity levelsup in the winter by trying some new outdoor activities. Have you ever tried skating, tobogganing, skiing, or road hockey? Now’s the time! Just be sure to dress warmly and use the proper equipment for the activity, including the right helmet, so you stay safe. Don’t let the cold weather stop you from being active – get outside and find ways to stay warm!
  • Sleep is a very important factor in health. It can change how well children are able to focus in school, their activity and energy levels, and even their overall health. Did you know that lacking sleep can lead to a higher risk of getting sick? When you’re tired, your immune system is less able to fight illness. Children between the ages of 5 – 13 years should get between 9 – 11 hours of sleep, while children aged 14 – 17 years need 8 – 10 hours. Remember, every child is different and will need a different amount of sleep to feel their best.

© Windsor-Essex County Health Unit, 2017.