Balanced lifestyle is the key to raising healthy kids

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The Creator entrusted children to our care. We have a responsibility to protect them and keep them healthy," said Darlene Cardinal, an Aboriginal cultural instructor from Grande Prairie.

Cardinal was in her element and thoroughly enjoyed sharing her knowledge of the child development wheel with the 75-plus delegates from all over Alberta, the NWT and Nunavut who attended her workshop, Effective Parenting from an Aboriginal Cultural Perspective.

The workshop was but one of several presented March 14 to 16 at the Children and Families Celebrating Strength conference in Edmonton. The sessions were part of an attempt by Health Canada, Community Action Programs and the Canada Pre-Natal Nutrition Program to educate and inform communities about healthy lifestyles and child development. The target group was young children, especially preschoolers, and was largely attended by about 250 educators, health professionals, community liaison people and outreach workers.

Using the child development wheel, Cardinal demonstrated the four main aspects, travelling clockwise around the circle from the east to incorporate the spiritual, emotional, physical and mental.

Associated with these, she added, are the pipe, drum, rattle and fan as well as love, understanding, security and respect. All are part of life's stages from child to youth, to adult, then Elder.

"If we neglect the child," said Cardinal, "it's like murder; they die, don't know how to love, shut down feelings."

If children are to be healthy, they must learn to feel, touch and connect. They also need to be uplifted." Part of that, she explained, "comes from encouraging words." That's healthy for them.

Nutrition is likewise a concern. Cardinal provided examples of the good and the bad in foods we eat. "Look at the ingredients," she said. Some have too much sugar; some coffee whiteners have aluminum in them.

Poor nutrition, according to Laurina Panas, a community nutritionist for Health Canada, First Nation and Inuit Health Branch, can lead to diabetes, or advance it. Diabetes is one of the most dominating health issues in the Native community.

Unhealthy lifestyles, she stated, are what contribute to diabetes or its complications. Apart from avoiding unhealthy foods, one must not smoke and drink alcohol moderately.

The key lies in education. "Education is power for prevention," she said. Although diabetes is hereditary for some people, those who have it can prevent complications by following healthy lifestyles.

To assist the communities, Panas showed the delegates how to create teaching tools that illustrate the effects of diabetes. She showed how arteries get clogged, how kidneys are damaged by high sugar in the blood that can also result in eye damage, and how poor circulation can make it difficult for cuts to heal.

To return home with practical teaching instruments, Panas taught delegates how to construct arteries from spaghetti and pipe insulation, use plumber's putty to clog them up, use ketchup and tomato juice for blood, and use plastic sieves with holes cut in them to show how sugar damages kidneys.

The response to this workshop was excellent and many shared their own stories of challenges they faced. Most were happy that they could take home the teaching tools and a manual on how to make them.

The communities can also request training workshops at no cost from nutritionists like Panas.

University of Alberta assistant professor Deanna Williamson spoke on how low-income families have problems accessing services and programs, and how follow-up is sometimes difficult because people in caregiver roles are not always up-to-date on circumstances.

Some barriers have to do with poverty and language, so delegates were given tips about how to make information understood and shared.

Workshops also focused on providing suggestions regarding pre-natal health and how people can lighten their food bills using coupons and club discount cards.