The following guest post is from Heather Smith, a former nanny. Passionate about thought, leadership and writing, Heather regularly contributes to various career, social media, public relations, branding, and parenting blogs/websites. She also provides value to hire a nanny by giving advice on site design as well as the features and functionality to provide more and more value to nannies and families across the U.S. and Canada. She can be available at H.smith7295 [at] gmail.com.

The truly defining characteristic of a classic book is how well it stands the test of time. Over the years there will be hundreds of thousands of children’s books written that will be read, loved, and then forgotten in lieu of the next hit book.

It takes a truly great book whose message spans the ages to be passed on from generation to generation, all because people fall in love with everything about it. These five books are books have withstood this test and deserve a place on your children’s book shelves:

Where the Wild Things Are

Children have loved this book since it first debuted in 1963, and continue to love it today. While it appeals to the younger generation because of its magical references and mythical monsters that jump across the pages, it also has an inherently deeper message as it explores the depth of anger and a young boy’s reaction to it. It’s a book that has transcended the years because of its universal message, and will hopefully continue to intrigue younger audiences as the years pass.

The Story of Ferdinand

When it first hit the shelves in 1936 this book was viewed as quite the controversy because people thought it was a pacifist book. However the underlying message that it sends is one that applies in every decade despite what social or political controversy is plaguing us. The storyline follows a young bull who is more interested in flowers than bull-fighting, no matter how hard others try to make him conform. It’s a good reminder that everyone is different, and our individuality should be celebrated not moderated

 Where the Sidewalk Ends

A bit different than the traditional stories, Where the Sidewalk Ends is a collection of poetry that was written in 1974. The poems tackle deep-seated childhood issues in addition to being purely fanciful, giving a nice mix of sage advice and fluffy nonsense. In addition, entertaining cartoon drawings accompany the poetry, making it a fun picture book for children to flip through

The Little Prince

Originally written in French as Le Petit Prince, this book has become one of the most popular books ever written.

Much like the other books on this list, while the storyline appeals to the younger generations it also drives home a message towards much deeper issues about all aspects of life. The book follows an adventure between a young boy and a young prince, and is an enthralling read for people of all ages.

 Alice in Wonderland

This story has been adapted so many times in so many different ways that reading the original is a must. Written in 1865, it depicts a young girl’s adventures in Wonderland after she falls down the rabbit hole. There have been many interpretations of the overall message of the book, but one thing is certain: it’s a wonderful book that will have everyone entertained.

Only a handful of books can make the jump from generation to generation, and these books have solidly done so. Each sends a unique and powerful message, and just as many of us loved these stories growing up, so will our kids, and likely their kids as well.

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recently came out with a “Get Your Plate in Shape” Campaign for 2012 National Nutrition Month.

Here are their tips from the campaign to shape your plate:

• Think about what you are putting on your plate.
• Make half your plate fruits and vegetables.
• Choose “reduced sodium” or “no salt added” canned vegetables.
• Make at least half your grains whole grains.
• Switch to fat free or low fat dairy products.
• Eat a variety of proteins such as sea food, nuts, beans, lean meat, poultry and eggs
• Cut back on sodium, solid fats and sugary drinks.
• Enjoy your foods but eat less.
• Be conscious of calories.
• Use a smaller, plate bowl and glass.
• When eating out, choose lower calorie options.
• Write down what you eat and keep track of what you eat.

For more eating tips, go to www.eatright.org

In addition to watching what you put on your plate, the Academy offers the following exercise guidelines:

• Children and teens need to get 60 or more minutes a day of physical activities.
• Adults need two hours and thirty minutes a week of activity that requires moderate effort such as brisk walking.

From time to time our readers write and offer to share their knowledge and ideas in a guest post.

Today’s post is from Flashlight Press, an independent publisher of children’s picture books.

Flashlight Press is sharing free printable activities for each of their book titles. Just go to their URL at:

http://www.flashlightpress.com/Activity_Guides.html >

 An invitation…If you want to share with readers by submitting a guest post, please know that:

• We accept posts about a particular subject of interest to parents or teachers of children 3-7 years of age
• We accept a post that gives access to a free product , such as the downloads above, if suitable for the same age group

We do not accept straight advertising, sales or promotional materials, etc. If someone has a new book out and wants to include that in their brief bio accompanying the article, that is acceptable .

A guest post needs to be between 500 and 750 words. We reserve the right not to publish posts that we feel are not appropriate for our readers due to content.

If you are interested in submitting a guest post for this blog or the children’s blog, please send it to jeanc@candostreet.com.

I look forward to hearing from you!

In a recent health tip from National Institutes of Health nutritionist Janet de Jesus talks about eating plans rather than short-term diets.

Ms. de Jesus weighs in on the problems associated with short-term diets, stating that, “People often make goals to go on diets, but they are often short lived.” She prefers eating plans to make long term lifestyle changes.

Ms. de Jesus says.“Changing the way you eat and also increasing your physical activity is really worth it for your health. Give it a try and don’t get too frustrated. We all stumble. Keep it up throughout the year.”

De Jesus recommends two stellar eating plans from  the National Institutes of Health – DASH and TLC.

These eating plans were designed to promote blood pressure and blood cholesterol control, but experts rank them as very good ways to have complete, balanced nutrition with the right calorie counts.

U.S. News and World Report ranked them as the number-one and number-two eating plans.

Unlike some other eating plans, they’re free.

For a comprehensive overview of the DASH Eating Plan go to http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/dash/

For more information on the TLC Eating Plan go to http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/cgi-bin/chd/step2intro.cgi

The Center’s for Disease Control(CDC) wants you to know that there’s too much sodium in many common foods.

The CDC Vital Signs program is a call to action each month concerning a single, important public health topic. For American Heart Month, the February edition of CDC Vital Signs focuses on the amount of sodium in Americans’ diets and what we can do to reduce it.

About 90% of Americans eat more sodium than is recommended for a healthy diet.

Too much sodium increases a person’s risk for high blood pressure. High blood pressure often leads to heart disease, stroke, and other vascular diseases.

Key Messages

• About 90% of Americans aged 2 years and older eat too much sodium.
• Reducing the sodium Americans eat by 1200 mg per day on average could save $20 billion a year in medical costs.

• Most of the sodium we eat comes from processed foods and foods prepared in restaurants.

• 44% of the sodium we eat comes from 10 types of foods.
• Different brands of the same foods may have different sodium levels. For example, sodium in chicken noodle soup can vary by as much as 840 milligrams (mg) per serving so be sure to read the labels on foods.
• Over 800,000 people die each year from heart disease, stroke and other vascular diseases, costing the nation $273 billion health care dollars in 2010.

What to Do About It:

• Check the sodium content listed on  he nutrition label on everything you buy.
• Check the menu information as to sodium content in the restaurants where you eat before you make your selection
• Don’t salt your food at the table