POTPOURRI

Several things to share today. Perhaps most importantly:

In the process of researching a story today on Vitamin D, I ran across info on a government web site that indicates breastfed babies are at risk of Vitamin D deficiency, which can lead to "rickets" -- which is basically like osteoporosis (fragile bones) for kids.

Apparently of all its benefits, breast milk has very little Vitamin D, compared to what the government and the American Academy of Pediatrics say children need. AAP actually recommends Vit-D supplements for babies. Who knew? I never remember being told this by a pediatrician with any of my children.

Warning: before you go popping vitamins in your baby's mouth: ASK YOUR DOCTOR!

In other news:

I recently read a really interesting article in the Washington Post which I thought was well-written but failed to address the underlying problem. The Fairfax County, Virginia school board has decided to spent $60,000 to put cameras in its high schools to discourage students from stealing food! According to the article, the district lost $750,000 in 2001 from students pilfering extra cookies, another burger, etc. from the lunch line.

I'm no proponent of stealing by any means, but these are KIDS... stealing FOOD. Did anyone consider the fact that maybe they're HUNGRY? I mean, who wants to snag a chicken wrap and let it get all soggy in your backpack, just for the fun of it. I'm thinking most kids who swipe the food EAT IT! So what gives?

• Are teens not getting breakfast, leaving them super-hungry by lunch? If so, why no breakfast? Are their families unable to afford it? Have they not been convinced of the importance of good nutrition?


• Are teens snagging a snack for later, because they don't have enough money to buy something to eat after school, or because there's nothing available between noon lunch and the end of football practice at 5:30?


• Are portion sizes appropriate for growing teens? Are we giving them skimpy meals, leaving them with growling stomachs during 5th and 6th period? Does the district need to revisit its lunch servings and perhaps shell out more to keep these 17 and 18 year olds nourished?


• Are prices too high for kids who are hungry to buy a second sandwich?

I am NOT making an excuse for stealing. It's flat out wrong. But when people are stealing food, you've gotta assume it's because they're hungry, and deal with that issue.

MY latest school issue isn't nearly so weighty.

I've been on the hunt for a Princess backpack for my second-grader. OMG - I've been to 10 stores! There are plenty of backpacks, but they're too small or thin for the THREE INCH BINDER on my 7-year-old's school supply list! She's like a "baby tween" - old enough to need a big kid backpack -- but young enough to still want the cute (and tiny) character ones.

I finally settled on an American Princess backpack that she can pull if that huge binder gets too heavy in 3 months when it's full. Took me forever to find a once that's cute, sturdy and roomy. There's a butterfly on it - no Cinderella or Snow White - but it says princess, so I'm hoping she'll buy it.

If not, too bad - I am NOT going back out into that school shopping madness!!!