♥Calcium Bone Health
The time to set the stage for healthy strong bones is in early childhood. Calcium is essential for normal bone growth but most children need more calcium than they get. . Nearly 50 % of the adult's skeleton is built in the childhood and adolescent years. However, calcium is recognized as a major deficiency in the diets of most children and adolescents. Toddlers and preschoolers should consume approximately two to three cups of milk or the equivalent each day. School-age children need the calcium contained in three cups of milk a day and teens need four cups of milk each day.
♥ Listen to your body
Forcing kids to finish everything on their plate is not a productive way to encourage healthy eating habits. The clean plate technique will prohibit children from listening to their inner hunger cues. Forced eating fails to allow the appetite to control the quantity of food eaten. Children may over eat to please parents, avoid punishment or to just get away from the table.
♥ Be a good role model
Children reflect parents actions and attitudes toward most things, including food. It is important to try new foods and new ways of preparing them. Involve children in food preparation.
Prevent paper wasp stings nowThe open pipe ends of children's playground equipment and clothesline poles are perfect nesting sites for paper wasps. After cold weather kills colonies for the season, plug holes this fall to prevent future wasp nesting and stings. Knock down any nests built this summer, then use detergent and water to wash away the chemical residue that wasps leave to attract other wasps. Once dry, plug, seal and caulk. European paper wasp is a new insect to the urban areas of Colorado in the last five years and multiplies where buildings and other human structures provide small cavities critical to its nesting success. For further information on wasps, see fact sheet 5.525, "Nuisance wasps and bees", at
www.ext.colostate.edu
Fall and Winter tree watering
In much of Colorado, winters can have extended warm, dry, windy spells. Warm winters without snow appeal to people, but cause winter drought. Trees and shrubs at risk from dry winters include recent transplants, evergreens and shallow rooted species such as lindens, birches, and Norway and silver maples.
Water trees and shrubs when the leaves start to fall in the autumn to send them into winter with adequate soil moisture. For recent transplants, a soil needle can be used on low water pressure for one minute at each site to water the root ball and surrounding soil. Make injections in a grid pattern one foot apart and eight inches deep.
A deep root fork, soil needle, soaker hose or soft spray wand can be used to water established trees and shrubs. The most important area to water is within the dripline, from the edge of the branches to the trunk. Apply 10 gallons of water for each inch of the tree's diameter. For example, a 2 inch diameter tree will need 20 gallons per watering. Use a rule to measure your tree's diameter.
Monitor weather and soil conditions from November through March. Generally, if four weeks elapse without snow cover, water trees again when temperatures are above 40 degrees and the soil is not frozen. Water early in the day so the water can soak into the ground before freezing nighttime temperatures.
Remember to disconnect and drain hoses after use. Don't activate sprinkler systems during the winter.
A tree that goes through the winter with dry soil is likely a stressed tree. Stressed trees are more vulnerable to borers, disease and branch dieback. Water your trees this winter to keep them healthy.