Family Living Focus by ANNE M. LUKEN Montgomery Co Nutrition Agent Raising Good Eaters Can Be Fun! Good nutrition is important at all ages. However, at a very young age, eating patterns and habits can be established. Chil dren learn by example, so set an example by eating right. When children are growing, they need vitamins and minerals and healthy foods to grow prop erly. Eat with your child and provide a variety of healthy foods. The parent/adults responsibil ity is to serve healthy food at spe cific times and regularly. It is the child’s job to decide whether to eat or not and how much. Ellyn Satter from her book “Child of Mine Feeding with Love and Good Sense.” Serve the right amount of food at appropriate times. Try to pro vide children their food at the same times everyday. Children have little stomachs and need to eat about every two to three hours. Snacks can be a very im portant part of the food they eat to grow. 4-H Summer Program Assistant WEST CHESTER (Chester Co.) Attention all interested men and women who have com pleted at least one year of college and who are interested in learn ing more about Penn State coop erative extension and the 4-H Youth Development Program. Children should have food from the food guide pyramid at all times. Healthy food that is needed includes whole grains, fruits and vegetables, dairy foods, lean meats, nuts, beans, legumes, eggs, poultry and fish. There is no good or bad food. However, children need vitamins and minerals for growing. Be cause children eat less than adults, it is essential they get what they need. Extra foods should be limited, including foods high in fat, salt and sugar. Children will be robbed twice if they eat candy, for example. The candy would give extra calories and fill the child. If the child ate an orange in stead, the child would get vita min C and many other good things. However, when the child eats empty calories such as candy, soda, etcetera, he or she will not have room for what he or she needs to grow. To encourage young toddlers to eat; serve some finger foods and familiar foods. This way they can have some foods that Hands-on experience as a member of the Chester County 4-H team, working with Penn State cooperative extension, is available this summer. Experiences will be provided through the 4-H Youth Develop ment Program which includes are easy to eat and some foods that require the use of the uten sils and provide some challenge. Here is a fun recipe to try with your children: Sliced bananas Sliced strawberries Cubed cheese Pretzel sticks Poke the pretzel sticks through the fruits and cheese chunks. Tip: Include the child by giv ing them a plate with one of each item. Allow the child to choose what to eat alone and what to put together! Enjoy a healthy snack! When feeding children, always avoid choking foods, such as hard candy, nuts, grapes, coarse ly cut meats, raw carrots, apples, and popcorn. Don’t get too caught up in evaluating your child’s diet. Do not worry about it. Pay attention to whether he or she seems energetic and is grow ing well. Enjoy your kids, they are only small once. Five Ways To Encourage Good Eating For Preschool-aged Children 1. Provide meals and snacks at appropriate times. 2. Provide some finger food at each meal or snack. 3. Provide a variety of foods, especially fruits and vegetables. 4. Serve some familiar foods with new foods. 5. Serve healthy foods every few hours. Healthy foods include; lean meats, dairy products (low fat over age 2), whole grains and fruits and vegetables. family living, dairy, livestock, camp, and other Penn State com munity based programs. Please send a letter of inquiry with a current resume by April 1 to: Laurie Szoke, Chester County 4-H Coordinator, 601 Westtown Road, Suite 370, West Chester, PA 19382-4546. got mi Afitroi For The Control Of • Starlings • Pigeons • Sparrows • Crows Avitrol Is A Pesticide For Control of Pest Birds *29s°° +6.00 Shipping * Restricted use pesticide must have current applicators license Blain Supply Rt. 1, Box 117 H, Blain, PA 17006 (717) 536-3861 Hawaii Farm Tour The Best Escorted Vacations, You’ll Ever Find 15 Days From *2034 4 Islands AddfHOforsom*dtptrturtcitits Departs Mondays and Thursdays January 14th thru the 31st, 2002 Includes airfare Hawaiian owned hotels, transfers, baggage handling, Es cort flying with you from island to island, staying in OAHU, HAWAII (Kona & Hilo), MAUI & KAUAI Sightseeing includes Honolulu City Tour with Peart Harbor, Volcano National Park, Kona Coffee Plan tation Tour, Parker Cattle Ranch Museum, Or chid Nursery, Macadamian Nut Factory Tour, Wailua Riverboat Cruise, Fern Grotto, Guava Plantation, plus more as listed in brochure. Open 1-800-888-8204 Our ?4id v eai - Over a million satisfied customers Fruit Kabob Recipe k? Make Those Rodent nocks END/', DHrae Tracking Powder* • Kills Rats & Mic 4 6 lb. Bucket \ *49.95 Shipping * Rat & Mouse Bait Available* St Seventeen West Snyder FFA members earned gold medals in the Pennsylvania FFA recordkeeping contest at Penn State. Gold medal winners include, row 1, left to right, Phaedra Wray, Kelly Bedlyon, Sheri Hood, Kate Heeter, and Jodi Fetterolf. Row 2, Shane Kreamer, Laura Knepp, Mike Fultz, Mike Sassaman, and Joe Adams. Row 3, Chuck Kessler, Daphne Wagner, Victoria Adams, Han nah Etzler, Jenna Briggs, and Amanda Shaffer. West Snyder FFA Members Win In State FFA Recordbook Contest On Feb. 8-10, 37 West Snyder FFA members entered records at the state FFA recordkeeping ca reer development event. Thirty-five of these members earned a gold, silver, or bronze medal in this event. Members earned the right to compete at the state level after competing at the SUN Area level in January. West Snyder members earned 47 state medals from 52 entries. Twenty-one of these medals were gold medals. Kate Heeter and Lance Her man earned gold medals in beef finishing. Chuck Kessler and Jodi Fetterolf won gold medals in swine finishing. Gold medal winners for practicum skills in cluded Jenna Briggs, Victoria Adams, Kelly Bedlyon, Daphne Wagner, Lance Herman, Mike Fultz, Sheri Hood, Shane Kreamer, Laura Knepp, Mike Sassaman, and Joe Adams. Gold medal winners in the sheep finishing category included Amanda Shaffer, Hannah Etzler, and Chuck Kessler. Hannah Etzler also won a gold medal in the sheep breeding enterprise. Amanda Shaffer won a gold medal in dairy herd and Phaedra Wray earned a gold medal in off farm employment. 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Toll free: 877/606-3113 Philadelphia, MS 39350 Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 24,2001-B5 Twelve silver medals were awarded to West Snyder FFA members, including Tiffany Es benshade, on-farm employment and practicum skills; Heather Hollenbach, swine finishing; Derek Fetterolf, swine finishing; Douglas Hollenbach, sheep fin ishing; Melissa McWilliams and Travis Catherman, on-farm em ployment; Mike Brouse, off-farm employment; and Jason Brosius, Phaedra Wray, Ciara Klingler, Cameron Hackenberg, and Jessi ca Harper, practicum skills. Thirteen bronze medals were won by Heather Hollenbach, sheep finishing; Andrew Kream er, Roger Wilt, and Doug Hollen bach, swine finishing; Laura Knepp and Brad Novinger, on farm employment; Victoria Adams, off-farm employment; Melissa McWilliams, dairy herd; James Wright and Brad Noving er, poultry production; Mike Sheaffer, field com; Brandon Herman, beef breeding; and Ray mond Hood, practicum skills. FFA members invested many hours of recordkeeping into these financial records. Amanda Shaffer was named the Snyder County winner of the AgChoice/Pennsylvania Farm Bureau MSC Business Service Award. Her recordbook was se lected after she earned two gold medals on the state level.