HEALTHY LIVING
Sharing environmental education
Teach kids how to protect the Earth
(Family Features) Teaching kids about the environment from a early age starts lifelong habits and creates awareness about the way humans affect the Earth. Connecting those lessons to school is an easy way to reinforce how the whole family can make everyday changes that make a difference.
Lower lunchtime impact. Between brown bags, baggies and other packaging waste, school lunches generate a heap of trash. Instead, encourage kids to pick colorful reusable lunchboxes they can use again and again. Bento-style boxes add kid-friendly fun while keeping food separated so you can skip plastic baggies. Another earth-friendly suggestion for school lunch: instead of single-serve products, buy larger bulk packages you can use to fill reusable containers.
Manage transportation. Getting kids to and from school affects the environment in multiple ways, from energy consumption to pollution. You can reduce your family’s impact by having kids ride the bus or carpooling with others in your neighborhood. Avoid idling while at school pickup and drop off and advocate for your school district to use clean energy options, like propane, for its transportation fleet.
According to the Propane Education & Research Council, propane school buses offer multiple benefits for school districts and students alike. Not only do propane buses save school districts’ money, but they also reduce harmful emissions, giving students a healthier ride to school.
Find more information at BetterOurBuses.com .
Stop water waste. Over the past year, access to water fountains has been significantly limited to prevent the spread of germs. That means many school districts are more receptive to having kids bring water bottles from home. Sending your little learners off with reusable bottles offers a win-win that reduces reliance on plastic bottles and other single-serve beverage containers, while also encouraging kids to practice healthy habits by staying hydrated throughout the day.
Skip the supply splurge. While there’s something exciting about breaking open a brand new box of crayons or markers, it’s not really necessary to buy all new supplies year after year. Reusing what gets sent home at the end of the year saves money and prevents waste of still-functional supplies that would otherwise take up space in landfills.
Encourage resourceful recycling. Get kids excited about recycling by designing and decorating recycling bins using leftover materials around the house. When it’s fun and they’ve had a hand in creating the tools, kids are more likely to remember to put recycling in its place.
Include the whole family. Family time can be a precious commodity while school is in session, so make it meaningful when you can by bringing everyone together for a cause. Take the family to a local recycling center for an afternoon of volunteering or gather everyone for a pick-up day at a nearby park.
School is often the center of kids’ worlds, so bringing lessons about protecting the environment into the education setting is a natural way to introduce them to ideas for protecting the Earth and its resources.
A Better Option for Buses
When it comes to schools and education, paying more attention to earth-friendly practices isn’t limited to just your home. Switching to propane buses is one of the main ways school districts are updating their transportation plans to ensure every child has a safe, clean, healthy ride to school.
Energy Mix
Electric vehicles make sense for several uses, including the passenger cars parents use to drive their students to school, but propane has a fuel range and performance better suited for school transportation vehicles that travel long distances at a time.
Energy Equity
Generally, the more affordable energy is, the more equitable its distribution will be. The cost of a propane school bus and its refueling infrastructure is one of the most affordable options for school districts. Propane buses are nearly four times less expensive than electric buses.
Plus, school districts save money throughout the lifetime of propane buses. Propane school buses cost 30-50% less per mile to operate than diesel, according to the Propane Education & Research Council, and some districts are saving more than $1 per gallon, which can add up to thousands of dollars over a single school year. That’s money that can go back into classrooms.
Carbon Footprint
In most of the United States, propane school buses are a lower carbon option than electric school buses charged using the electric grid. New innovations in the industry have also led to a renewable propane option for school buses, which ensures low-carbon options well into the future. Because it’s produced from renewable raw materials, renewable propane is a lower carbon option than conventional propane and is cleaner than other energy sources.
Harmful Emissions
While diesel exhaust is classified by the World Health Organization as a carcinogen, propane buses don’t expose students to the same harmful emissions. Propane school bus engines lower greenhouse gases and other harmful emissions to near-zero levels, which improves air quality and eliminates concerns about breathing-related issues.
In fact, propane school buses significantly reduce the harmful emissions that are federally regulated due to their negative impact on human health and are a known trigger for issues like asthma, bronchitis and other respiratory problems.
HEALTHY LIVING
A lesson in kindness, inclusion and how kids eat differently
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(Feature Impact) The school year brings new classmates, routines and opportunities for children to learn about people whose experiences may be different from their own. They could include friends who use a wheelchair, carry an inhaler or even receive nutrition through a feeding tube.
Watch this video to learn more
For families who rely on tube feeding, it is an essential part of daily life but is often understood only by those who experience it. That limited awareness can leave children who are tube fed and their families feeling isolated or unseen, according to Gerard Minor, a pediatric gastroenterology and hepatology specialist.
Parents can use everyday questions as opportunities to help children understand there are many ways people receive nourishment. Teachers, classmates, caregivers and communities can also help make tube feeding part of the everyday conversation around childhood rather than something that separates children from it.
“Helping children understand those differences early can encourage curiosity, kindness and inclusion,” Minor said.
To help bring greater awareness, understanding and representation to children and families who experience tube feeding every day, Compleat, a leader in tube feeding formulas, launched “What Is Better Than How,” featuring “Sesame Street’s” Elmo and his signature warmth and curiosity. The original song celebrates the many ways people eat. Some people eat with a fork, some use a spoon and some use a tube, reinforcing a simple message: What matters is not how you eat. What matters is that you are nourished, loved and included.
To hear the song, create a personalized version and learn more about the campaign, visit Compleat.com/WhatIsBetterThanHow.

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HEALTHY LIVING
Dry eye: An overlooked perimenopause, menopause symptom
(Feature Impact) Dry eye is one of the most overlooked symptoms of perimenopause, the phase of fluctuating hormones leading up to a woman’s final period, and menopause, the point in a woman’s life when she’s gone a year without a period.
In fact, 79% of women1 recognize hot flashes as a symptom of menopause, but only 14% recognize dry eye as a menopause-related symptom, according to the 2026 Bausch + Lomb (Peri)Menopausal Survey. What’s more, 78% of women1 were surprised to learn that dry eye is a symptom of perimenopause or menopause.
“Dry eye is still widely overlooked as a symptom of menopause, and many women think it’s just a minor nuisance, but the truth is it can significantly affect your daily life,” said Neda Gioia, OD, CNS, IFMCP, FOWNS, founder, Integrative Vision. “Early symptoms are often misunderstood or self-treated but it’s very important for women who experience symptoms to see an eye doctor and get an accurate diagnosis and treatment.”
During perimenopause and menopause, declining hormone levels can impact tear production, tear quality and tear evaporation, contributing to dry eye symptoms including redness, fluctuating vision and a gritty or tired feeling in the eyes, all of which can impact day-to-day comfort and quality of life. If left untreated, dry eyes may worsen over time, potentially impacting eye health and vision. Among peri-, menopausal and post-menopausal women who experienced dry eye, 80% said the symptom came as a surprise.
Respondents reported their dry eye symptoms caused difficulty reading (58%), difficulty using screens (53%), difficulty driving (26%) and reduced productivity (17%), underscoring the often-overlooked impact dry eyes can have on everyday life.1
However, there are a variety of products and treatment approaches available to help manage dry eye symptoms. For example, Bausch + Lomb offers a range of options designed to address the main causes of dry eye.
A doctor-recommended, clinically proven once-daily soft gel supplement that targets the key root causes of dry eyes, Blink NutriTears supports healthy tear production and provides lasting, continuous relief.* § As part of a comprehensive approach to dry eye management, the supplement can be used with Blink Triple Care Preservative Free Lubricant Eye Drops, which are designed to directly address tear evaporation, one of the leading causes of dry eye, and provide instant and long-lasting symptom relief.
An eye care professional can help determine the approach that’s right for each individual. To learn more about dry eye and products to help combat it, visit JustBlink.com.
| *These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. |
12026 Bausch & Lomb (Peri)Menopause Survey via Suzy, n=402; Women ages 30–80+ who are perimenopausal, menopausal, or post-menopausal
§Based on a clinical study

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HEALTHY LIVING
Life insurance is on the to-do list right after cleaning out the garage!
(Sheeka Sanahori) Being an adult comes with a never-ending list of responsibilities: Cook dinner. Scrub the bathroom. File taxes. The tasks grow even longer when sharing a household with a partner, building a family, or taking care of others. No matter how you define “adulting,” getting life insurance tends to be one part of the to-do list that keeps getting set on a procrastination loop.
New survey data backs that up: there are plenty of other tasks adults would rather focus on first.
The Adulting Task Americans Keep Avoiding
According to the 2026 Life Happens Life Insurance Survey, a financial literacy nonprofit organization, 39% of U.S. adults would rather clean out their email inbox than figure out their life insurance needs. Another 31% would rather clean out the garage or basement. One in five U.S. adults would be willing to sit on hold with customer service for three hours before life insurance planning. Even though many adults have it somewhere on their list, nearly half (46%) say they’ll either deal with it later or not at all.

They Know It Matters
Nearly a third of adults have already figured out a life insurance plan, and they feel good about their decision. Others are feeling more conflicted: 14% have a policy, but they’re not sure if they have enough. Another 12% say they either don’t know where to start or they think it’ll be too expensive.
It’s no wonder people are putting it off: Navigating a new-to-them form of financial planning can come with a lot of complicated emotions. Four in 10 feel either overwhelmed, anxious, or some combination of both. Sixteen percent of U.S. adults feel guilty for putting it off, but when the outcome is more procrastination, that feeling lingers.

Why Later Keeps Winning
If you’ve ever faced an important decision without having enough information to make an informed choice, you know how stressful it can be. While the generations have different takes on making major decisions with a gut feeling or “pure vibes,” most of the time, people want to feel like they’re making an informed choice. Forty-five percent of U.S. adults say cost concerns, confusion or procrastination are the main reasons they have delayed or would delay looking into life insurance. For more than one in five, the plan is to seriously look at it when they feel more financially stable. For 12%, they say they’ll do it when they’re older.

Men tend to feel more confident about their life insurance decisions to date; 53% of men vs. 41% of women feel confident their family would be financially protected.
The First Step Feels Bigger Than It Is
Learning more about life insurance, how it’s priced and how it works could help get many consumers out of their procrastination loop. A quarter of people say they’d make a decision if they learned it was easier to get than they previously thought. Thirty percent would make the purchase if they learned it was more affordable than they believed it to be. Others need an experienced professional to talk to or an online calculator tool to give them guidance.
Methodology: Life Happens commissioned Atomik Research to conduct an online survey of 2,000 adults, including 700 Gen Z respondents, 700 millennials, and 600 Gen X respondents throughout the United States. The margin of error for the overall sample is +/- 2 percentage points and +/- 4 percentage points for each generational sample, with a confidence level of 95 percent. Fieldwork took place between July 14 and July 20, 2026. Atomik Research, part of 4media group, is a creative market research agency.
Photo courtesy of Shutterstock (couple using computer)
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