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By Leika Suzumura, R.D., PCC Nutrition Educator

For many parents, the topic of sports nutrition can get complicated quickly, and with marketing layered on top of that, flat out confusing. Here’s a breakdown of what children participating in sports should be eating in order to keep them energized.

Carbohydrates

The main nutrient that fuels our body is carbohydrates. The more “whole” the carbohydrate is, such as brown rice or whole wheat pasta, the longer the fuel will last.

Carbohydrates can be found in:

•  All types of grains such as rice, wheat, oats, quinoa, as well as products made from those grains including pasta, bread and crackers

•  Starchy vegetables such as potatoes, peas, beans and corn

•  All fruits and their juice

•  Milk and yogurt (although cheese is much lower in carbs and higher in fat)

Protein

Protein is needed for growing and healing, but the idea that children, and especially young men, need to eat loads of protein “to build muscle” is false. Eating 2 to 3 servings of protein is adequate for kids ages 6 to 12, totaling about 6 ounces in a day.

Foods with high protein include:

•  Beans/legumes

•  Animal meats: beef, poultry, pork, lamb, seafood

•  Eggs

•  Nuts and seeds

•  Dairy products

An easy way to remember the correct serving size for protein: the size of the palm of your hand. Keep in mind the palm of your child’s hand is much smaller than yours; their needs reflect their size!

Most of us expect our little boys to like trucks and action figures and our little girls to like dolls and princess costumes. But what happens when our sons want to be princesses, too? Linda Morgan, editor of ParentMap, and author of the book Beyond Smart, gives advice in this video for how parents should react.

In honor of Black History Month,we are giving away a Scholastic Treasure DVD set, MARCH ON, with 13 compelling stories of African-American heritage, covering Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Martin Luther King, Jr. and more.

To enter to win, simply leave a comment on this post with a favorite MLK, Jr., quote. Include your email in Disqus (not publicly) so that we can contact you!

Additional entries will be given for the following (leave an extra comment for each action to let us know):

1. Like ParentMap on Facebook.
2. Like Scholastic/New Kideo on Facebook.
3. Follow ParentMap on Twitter.
4. Become a ParentMap e-news subscriber.
5. Share this post on Facebook.
6. Tweet this post on Twitter.

Giveaway ends on Monday, February 25 at 9 a.m. We will leave a comment reply for the winners later that day.

Make sure to check back to see if you've won if you haven't already heard from us by email!

Thanks to all who entered in this inspiring giveaway! It is now closed.

I was the last of six kids. My dad didn't have much time for me. There was his job, of course, teaching history at the local high school. There was the time he had to spend doing household stuff (mowing the lawn, retrieving Frisbees from the roof). There was the time he spent with my mom (what did they do when I went to bed? My guess: dishes). There was my sister, and my brother, and my other brother, and a couple of other brothers, and then me.

We didn't have a lot of quality time together, my dad and me. What we did have was sports.

He liked them (he was the sports editor of his college paper back in the day). I liked them. I watched my hero, Dale Murphy, a member of the Atlanta Braves baseball team, with my dad. I played soccer on the city leagues. He drove me to games on sloppy fields. We had Shipley Olympics yearly with all of us kids in our front yard (how many hops on one foot can you do? Who can circle the block on their bike the fastest? Lawn darts).

I would sit next to him at Capital High School football games on Friday nights in the press box (he was the announcer; I would do the downs and yardage on the scoreboard). I was a Junior Mariner. We’d watch horrible games in the horrible Kingdome. It was great, cheering on Spike Owen, getting Al Cowens’ autograph, eating a hotdog.

My father and I showed each other we loved each other by tracking the sweat on the field and sharing of box scores over the morning paper.

“Baseball’s boring,” my daughter says. “You just stand around in the dirt.”

“Okay. Maybe there’s another sport you’ll like. How about soccer?” I ask.

She shrugs her shoulders.

“Maybe basketball? The hoops are low. It’s fun!” I played basketball growing up. I was a terrible point guard. I loved it, though.

“Nah ... Let me show you this origami swan I can make!” She pulls out a clean square of emerald paper.

It’s rare to find a preschool show that both children and parents alike can get down with. But Yo Gabba Gabba!, which premiered on Nickelodeon in 2007, does just that.

See for yourself at the Yo Gabba Gabba! LIVE!: Get the Sillies Out! tour, which arrives in Seattle on March 1 and 2 at the Paramount Theatre. With pops of color, characters that play off of the budding imaginations of toddlers and preschoolers, plus hot stars and musical acts, not only are the kids enjoying this 21st century phenomenon, but so are their moms and dads.

Whenever you attend a Yo Gabba Gabba! Live! performance, you can expect a nonstop party in the aisles, with both children and parents dancing and singing along to songs from the show's four seasons. The "Get the Sillies Out Tour," the third Yo Gabba Gabba! live tour, will feature musical guest Mike Park at every show; and Biz Markie will join the cast for Biz’s "Beat of the Day."

Caring for aging parents while raising your own family is not easy, but it’s becoming a reality for more and more parents. Malia Jacobson gives tips for surviving and thriving in “the sandwich generation.”