A new report in the Archives of Internal Medicine explains that people who have been active in their leisure time are likely to have cells that are biologically younger than those who tend to be couch potatoes…all the more reason to get up, get moving, and get going.

“A sedentary lifestyle increases the propensity to aging-related disease and premature death,” the authors write. “Inactivity may diminish life expectancy not only by predisposing to aging-related diseases but also because it may influence the aging process itself.”

It appears that aerobic exercise not only jump starts your metabolism but also reaches down deep into the chromosomes of your white blood cells. What happens is that it slows down the aging of those cells, therefore slowing down the aging process overall.

This gives me the added motivation I needed to finally get into the groove and shake my booty. Physicians recommend that just 30 minutes a day will do the trick. Since exercise in itself leads to less aging related illnesses, why not take full advantage of this discovery and start walking faster, dancing more, biking longer, hiking harder and if you’ve been a laptop couch potato likethis grandmother, start out with a beginner’s aerobics class, which is also great fun, and share the experience with other newbies. Don’t be shy – we’ve all been there at one time or another…or still are…but not for long…

You can read further about the study and its findings at Psych Central News.

Also read: Nana’s New Year’s Resolution…same as last year…lose weight

In Nana’s Corner I can sit and play
It’s where I create an exciting world

In Nana’s Corner I read my books
It’s where I travel across the world

In Nana’s Corner I get lots of love
It’s where I come to feel safe in the world

by Nanas Corner, 2008

Attention grandparents raising grandchildren ages 12 and up! There’s a new TV show coming with a great concept. Within a few weeks time, beginning February 18 at 8 pm on NBC, each of 5 couples ages 18 – 20, will participate in a social experiment. The Baby Borrowers provides the young couples with the experience of parenting, even though it is on the fasttrack. The show has the couples caring for babies, toddlers, tweens, teens, and grandparents, too. This grandmother says, Thank you, NBC.

As a high school teacher who is also a parent and grandparent, I believe The Baby Borrowers TV show is finally a program that will actually help reinforce what parents, grandparents, and the high school health curriculum have been teaching for a long time. Teens often tune our words out, but seeing, hopefully, will be believing with the help of this show. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. This program should be required viewing. It should make a difference.

Unless they’ve lived with a baby in the house where they had to help with the care, most young people think becoming parents would be great. They are clueless as to the reality of what it entails. The Baby Borrowers gives them firsthand experiences of exhausting days and nights, disciplining, potty training, how it all affects the relationship, and more. Some of the show is sure to be humorous.

The Baby Borrowers premiers February 18 at 8 pm - make a point to watch it with your grandchildren. If you aren’t a grandparent raising grandchildren, you can still interact with them. Call your grandchildren when it is over and listen to their comments and concerns. This is a great opportunity for meaningful discussions and family quality time.
Don’t miss it!

Also read: Jamie Lynn Spears: Teen Pregnancy and Reality

Just for fun, take time to explore some free Valentine’s Day Activity Sites to help you plan your visits with your grandchilddren, whether side by side or computer to computer…

• BlackDog’s Valentine’s Day Fun and Games
• abc Teach Valentine’s Day Directory
• Kidsturncentral Valentine Fun
• Valentine Party Fun
• Child Fun
• Everything Valentine’s
• Make a Valentine Gift Coupon Book
• Valentine’s Fun Cards
• Paper Valentines for Kids
• Valentine’s Day Crafts
• 14 Ways to Show Love for Your Grandchild This Valentine’s Day
• A Great Grandparent - Grandchild - Valentine Gift

Create a memory…My grandmother, I remember, sent me a box full of candy hearts when I was about six or seven…the ones with the messages. I can still remember being so excited because I realized I could actually read them! You can plan together or surprise each other with activities you choose to do together or make and send to each other. If you mail your Valentine Surprises, then make sure you get to UPS or USPS in enough time. The week leading up to Valentine’s Day is very busy for them so it may take a little longer.

And as our almost two-year-old grandchild, Emily, says…”wuv woo” and her six-year-old sister, Kaitlin, says, “Have a Happy, Lovey, Valentine’s Day!”

What is the great gift for a grandparent? A digital photo keychain! It’s fantastic to have, lightweight, and it takes up a lot less space than those 4 x 6 photo albums in which we carry our grandchildren’s pictures.

I gave one to a teacher friend of mine who recently became a first time grandmother. We exchange presents every year and this year I was stumped on what to give her. Then, one day, I was looking at her photo albums of her grandchild and her other daughter’s wedding when it struck me. I had been in Circuit City and for the first time I saw a small digital frame and thought that would be great. Then I started researching the prices…way more than the amount we spend on each other. I came across digital photo keychains that weren’t as expensive. But, which one to buy? I didn’t know anything about them. I read the reviews and decided to go with the Innovage brand.

I actually bought three digital photo keychains! I had one sent to my sister-in-law in Florida who has a large number of grandchildren and a couple of great-grandchildren. The other two were sent to my address. One was for my friend and…one was going to be for my sister who has 2 grandchildren up in New Hampshire…but then I got a little selfish and decided I wasn’t going to give it away. I was going to keep it for myself…and I’m so glad I did!

The digital photo keychain I chose holds about 60 pictures and can be set on slide show when you want to show off the grandchildren…and children…and the dog…and grandpa…and all the others you want to keep close to you for good thoughts.

The advantages of keeping your grandchildren’s pictures on a digital photo keychain is that the pictures don’t get ripped or wrinkled from handling them, or get lost, or take up a lot of room in your bag. It seems I always leave them in my other bag and don’t have them when I want to show off the grandchildren. The downside is the directions aren’t as easy as they appear. My adivce is to follow them, then disconnect the cable from the computer and reattach it - then it will work without a problem. Also, if you don’t have a digital camera, have your grandchildren’s digital pictures sent to your computer and then download them to the digital keychain.

I just had a great thought! This would be a great gift for grandchildren - especially distant grandchildren - too. Most children today carry keys with them, especially the older grandchildren. They can have your pictures with them all the time. So when they need that warm fuzzy that they can get only from a loving grandparent, all they need to do is turn on their photo slide show! The digital photo keychain will be a great Valentine’s Day gift for a loved one, a friend, or grandparent…and a grandchild! Enjoy!

PS: The Innovage and the Sharper Image digital photo keychains are the same. My daughter and son-in-law each received the Sharper Image ones for Christmas from our grandchildren’s other grandparents. When I had trouble with the directions, I called my daughter and she read me the same directions. Maybe since she’s younger, it was easier for her to figure out!

January is a busy time for both teachers and high school students in New Jersey since it is the end of the first semester. Teachers are giving tests, preparing exams, and finalizing grades. Students should be turning in assignments and preparing for their exams.

As a teacher and grandparent, it was my intention to give advice on how grandparents can help teens prepare for exams. As you’ll see, I ended up on a completely different subject. I started with discussing the correlation between the ease of finding information on the internet and the steady decline of academic skills. Then one sentence led to another and I found myself on the topic of blogging and the development of important skills necessary for life long learning…hard to follow? Read on…

Bloggers often share their philosophical observations, opinions on social issues, and link favorite sites, often those that support a point being made. That means people are not only expanding their knowledge but also communicating through reading, thinking, and writing.

Each year I do see a decline in the amount of effort put forth by the average high school student. This isn’t just my opinion, it’s also that of other teachers with whom I’ve discussed it. There appears to be a connection between the increase in the amount of information on the internet and the decrease of their academic preparation and engagement.

The students have admitted to me that they look for the quickest and easiest way to do an assignment, often finding what they need online. Just as music, movies, games, and friends are readily available, so is information. There was a time when students met at the library to work on their assignments because that was where they needed to be to do the research. Now they meet online. Whereas students once needed to rely on their own skills to plan, research, evaluate and synthesize information then develop their own thesis and conclusion, now they just have to log on and someone somewhere has already done it for them…whether based on facts or sheer creativity…it’s out there in cyberspace.

What does this have to do with blogging? Blogging could be offered to students as a Language Arts elective to motivate them to improve their skills. Why? Let me explain.

First of all, teens are doing it at home… My Space…Facebook…and some, if they get the chance, are sneeking on at school. Since they are doing it, why not develop their skills around an activity they enjoy…without taking the enjoyment out.

Second, adults are doing it at work. Blogging is used as a communication tool within companies and schools, keeping colleagues informed and connected. It is also used as a marketing tool so that customers or clients can stay informed with new products, services, and upcoming events.

And, as many of us do, we enjoy blogging as a past-time, some even have the added benefit of earning an income from doing it. Not only is blogging a form of entertainment for the grandparents and grandchildren alike, it is the new Information Age skill. So my advice - after exams are over - let them safely blog…encourage them to choose a topic of interest…sign up with blogger.com, or another free blogging site where their peers hangout, and go from there…there’s lots of information on blogging out there!