KATHY MITCHELL AND MARCY SUGAR \ Annie's Mailbox Parents can lead the way to healthier eating

Dear Annie: As a recently retired physical educator and health teacher, I had a unique opportunity to watch children eat and play during the day. I have been witness to the increasing weight problems our children are facing. Here are a few helpful hints to help parents lead the way to healthier eating:
UParents, not the children, buy the food. Purchase only healthy food, and they will eat only healthy food. Believe me, they'll adjust and so will you.
UMany vegetables are now sold prepackaged or cut up and ready to throw in a sandwich bag. Carrots, broccoli and cherry tomatoes all are tasty treats. Grapes, bananas, oranges and apples also make great, easy snacks.
UDairy products are good sources of calcium and protein. Try yogurt in tubes and string cheese sticks. And kids love those cheese-and-cracker packs.
UCut out the high-fat foods like potato chips and chocolate-covered snacks. They fill up the kids with empty calories, and an hour later, they are hungry again.
UCereal is a popular and healthy snack. Balance it with cheese for protein or fruit that provides vitamins and fiber.
UBoth peanut butter and yogurt make great dips for fruit. Try apples and celery with peanut butter, and cantaloupe and strawberries with yogurt.
UServe a full and nutritious breakfast. It makes a tremendous difference in your child's ability to concentrate and learn during school hours.
UImprove your child's fitness by improving your own. Walk, hike, shoot hoops, ride bikes, climb mountain paths, play tennis, ski, jump rope, swim, kick a soccer ball, rake leaves, or do an exercise video. Be sure to include the kids.
UNever, ever, ever call your child fat. Accept children as they are. Talk instead about healthy living, teach them good eating habits, provide healthy food, and engage in family fitness activities.
USupport stronger physical education programs and health curriculums in your schools. Sincerely, A Retired Teacher in Eliot, Maine
Dear Teacher: Your guidelines are excellent, and we hope parents will clip them out and keep them handy when they go to the grocery store. Thank you.
Dear Annie: I have a good friend, "Clara," whom I have known for 15 years. She is a nice person, but she is always late. Not just a few minutes, but hours.
Clara is not the type of person who plans well, and she likes to take her time getting ready to go out. I have told her I think it is rude to be so tardy, especially when she doesn't call to say she is running behind, but my comments only upset her.
This could ruin a friendship because I am getting tired of wasting my time waiting for her to arrive. Is there anything I can do? Frustrated in Riverside, Calif.
Dear Riverside: Clara is rude, and she isn't likely to change. You can simply leave if she doesn't show up within a reasonable period of time. But if you want to salvage the friendship, tell her the time to meet is an hour earlier than it actually is. Then she is more likely to arrive when you do.
Dear Annie: This is for "Wondering Parents," who asked about charging their adult son rent to live at home.
We charged our daughter a monthly rent (we started low and gradually increased it to save her from sticker shock). We then deposited her rent money into a separate savings account. After a few months, we happily let her know that she had "saved" enough money to move into her own apartment. Problem solved and relationship still intact. Been There
Dear Been There: What a generous and loving solution. Thanks for sharing.
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