Health

Exercise is a good thing.

No kidding huh? What I mean is that getting kids involved is good for their bodies and good for their minds and the side effects are GOOD!

Exercise produces endorphins that make you feel good, it burns calories and it wears you out - that's a good thing for everyone but especially intense kids. It gives them a positive place to put all that emotional energy.

Dervish is already in Soccer but he'd like to do more and I've been exploring some good physical activities for kids that not only helps them with energy levels, intense emotions, and intense personalities, but also promote self esteem and self discipline.

The Pie is not really a sports guy but he does need exercise. We found his niche in swimming.

Swimming is a great sport for those who are not of a competitive nature. Even though Pie is not competitive, he is in a competitive swimming program. It works for him because your skills are mostly measured against yourself. There may be a winner when they compete but your score is measured against your last score as well so you always end up with a goal.

The only downside of swimming is the perpetual dry skin. It seems amazing that being in water so much can cause dry skin but it can be a real problem for swimmers and it is for Pie. (I found this information at Bathtime Suds Report - Bath & Body Reviews)

Other than that - I think it's one of the perfect sports for someone that is easy going, even tempered and who would live in the water if he could only grow gills. (He has actually asked me on more than one occasion if he could sleep on an air matress in the pool!! No Kidding!) It's also perfect for those not so inclined for more agressive sports.

As for The Dervish and The Girl - well their intense nature might just find swimming of benefit but they are not so interested in it. That's probably a good thing because the Pie does really need to have something that's his and only his since the other two do tend to excel at a lot of things and sometimes seem to leave him in the dust - sounds like another blog topic!

Anyone who's been reading regularly might have noticed that I've been doing a few blog entries on health.

I have been on a health kick lately and have been thinking a lot about the mental, emotional and physical health of my intense kids and my entire family. I like to read about the latest trends in health, alternative medicine, parenting, exercise and fitness and in this quickie blog entry I wanted to recommend a great health directory for anyone else out there that wants to find good health sites.

They have a great selection of children's health sites and alternative health sites as well as parenting sites (I'm listed there ) childrens health sites, and nutrition. It's definately worth a visit if you're looking for health related sites.