jueves, 3 de enero de 2013

New year resolutions the family can share

It's that time of the year again when most of us make up our mind to kick off some bad habits and make small changes in our lifestyle that can be beneficial for ourselves and those around us. Fox News broadcast this interview with pediatrician Mary Ellen Renna, who tells us how to start 2013 on the right path with our children.

The four-minute interview is very interesting, as Dr Renna establishes some basic guidelines to give our children.

Dr Renna and the newscaster talk quite fast, I know, but they give lots of examples to illustrate their ideas, which help us understand everything that is being said. In addition, some captions come up on screen with the main ideas conveyed during the interview.

Self-study activity:
Watch the interview and take some notes on what Dr Renna says about the following
  • The four steps to eat healthily
  • Excercise
  • How to imprive the children's emotional life
The activity is suitable for Intermedio 2 students.



You can read an approximate transcript of the interview by dropping by the Fox News site.

You can also find some other 'New Year Resolutions' activities by writing 'New Year Resolutions' on the search box of this blog.

Key:
Make your kids eat healthily in four steps:
- Anticipate the right food you need well in advance, not five minutes before dinner. Don't improvise your meals
- Eliminate junk food
- Educate your kids by telling thme why it’s important for them to eat well
- Participate, that is, parents need to be involved and set a good example for their children and do all the things they are asking their children to do

Exercise should be added to the child's daily routine, even if it’s just five or ten minutes three times during the day. It's also a good opportunity for parents to do some activity with their children.

Improve the child's emotional health, that is, parents need to be better disciplinarians. They can’t be their children’s friends, they have to be their parents. They have to give children guidelines, tell them ‘no’ from time to time and be strict at times.