Moms can play a big role in combating America’s childhood obesity epidemic, researchers contend. The key: kids are less likely to be obese if their mothers follow five healthy habits, according to the report from Harvard. The five habits are: eating a healthy diet; exercising regularly; maintaining a healthy body weight; not smoking; and drinking alcohol in moderation. Read more.
Childhood obesity is a serious problem facing our nation especially here in the Central Florida area. To avoid the health risks associated with childhood obesity, parents should focus on prevention and promotion of a healthy lifestyle. Balance is the key in helping your child and family maintain a healthy weight. A balance between calorie intake, physical activity and normal growth can reduce the rate of weight gain while allowing natural growth and development. These tips from the American Heart Association give us ideas on how to promote a healthy lifestyle within your own family.
1. Encourage healthy eating habits by:
2. Remove calorie-rich temptations. Try these substitutes:
3. Help kids stay active by:
4. Reduce sedentary time by:
In treating most overweight children, the main emphasis should be to prevent weight gain above what’s appropriate for expected increases in height. The importance of continuing healthy lifestyle changes should be emphasized to the entire family.
Do you have tips of your own? Leave them in the comment section below, post them on our Facebook or tweet them to us at@HealthyKids2Day.
Healthy sleep habits can make a big difference in the quality of life. Either having too much sleep or not enough seems to be a trending concern for parents. Kids and teens need enough sleep to help them grow, ward off sickness and to think clearly and remember things. The benefits of enough rest are evident in both mental and physical health. The recent release from an ongoing federally sponsored survey prompts us to take a closer look at what we know about this topic. Check out these five tips from Child Trends to help your kids get a better night of sleep.
1. Most children are getting adequate sleep
Though there is no scientific consensus on the specific amount of sleep children need, here are some general ranges. For infants, around 13 hours per day is average; a typical school-age child sleeps around 10 hours per night, and teens about nine.
2. Sleepiness can be a warning sign
Inadequate sleep (as indicated by daytime sleepiness) has negative effects on multiple areas of performance and well-being. Both the duration of sleep and its quality are associated with children’s health and behavior, including their school achievement, risk for injury, emotional well-being and overall health. There is good evidence that sleepiness, regardless of its origins, puts youth at risk for unintentional injuries and, for adolescents who are drivers, increases likelihood of motor vehicle crashes.
3. The relationship between short sleep duration and overweight is controversial
Multiple studies report significant associations between children that are overweight tend to sleep less, and vise versa for children younger than five. A number of researchers recommend that we look seriously at improving sleep as a strategy for preventing obesity.
4. Use of electronic media, particularly in the bedroom, can lead to poor quality of sleep
There may be multiple factors underlying this relationship: the stimulating nature of some media, the displacement by electronic media of time for physical activity, and others. Try cutting out that TV close to bedtime!
5. Adolescents may benefit from later start school-times
In adolescence, normal shifts in their biological clock result in a later-to-bed, later-to-rise pattern. Between 20 and 60 percent of adolescents report daytime sleepiness. Preliminary evidence shows that later starting times are associated with students’ improved attendance, discipline, alertness, mood and health.
Do you have tips of your own? Leave them in the comment section below, post them on our Facebook or tweet them to us at@HealthyKids2Day.
On January 23rd, thirteen directors and teachers of 3-5 year-olds gathered at the Winter Park Community Center to take part in a special training program provided by GeoMotion in partnership with Nemours Florida Prevention Initiative. Through the use of short videos, GeoMotion is a movement-based product that encourages learning and academic achievement of various subject areas while providing physical activity in the classroom. Five child care sites including Winter Park Day Nursery, Welbourne Nursery and Kindergarten, Aloma Kids Academy, The Learning Tree and Terrific Kids Child Development Center participated in this training as part of a pilot program for their participated in the Nemours Healthy Habits for Life: A Child Care Obesity Prevention Initiative. Each of these sites got moving with the videos and Learnercise mats for themselves before taking it back to incorporate more physical activity in their classrooms.
This year Aloma Early Child Learning Center has been involved in several Nemours programs including one funded locally by WPHF, which focuses on healthy eating and healthy activities. From the middle of January to the middle of February we encouraged families to choose healthy habits each day. This could be eating vegetables or fruit for snack or adding vegetables to a meal or doing a healthy activity with the family such as riding bikes together, or playing outside games together. Each time families did an activity or practiced a healthy eating habit they would capture it on a footprint. A total of 208 footprints were displayed down our hallways to show all the healthy choices everyone has been making at home and in the classroom. Visit the Aloma Early Childhood Learning Center Facebook page to see our Bike Parade on February 20th celebrating our “Step Up to Healthy Habits” campaign.
This year Aloma Early Child Learning Center has been involved in several Nemours programs including one funded locally by WPHF, which focuses on healthy eating and healthy activities. From the middle of January to the middle of February we encouraged families to choose healthy habits each day. This could be eating vegetables or fruit for snack or adding vegetables to a meal or doing a healthy activity with the family such as riding bikes together, or playing outside games together. Each time families did an activity or practiced a healthy eating habit they would capture it on a footprint. A total of 208 footprints were displayed down our hallways to show all the healthy choices everyone has been making at home and in the classroom. Visit the Aloma Early Childhood Learning Center Facebook page to see our Bike Parade on February 20th celebrating our “Step Up to Healthy Habits” campaign.
In today’s ultra-sensitive media environment, our kids are being bombarded with an image of what their bodies should look like that are not necessarily healthy for their self image. This can affect both girls and boys. Talking to our kids about their bodies is one of the hardest things parents can do — but the constant bombardment of messages about desirable weight and appearance makes this discussion crucial. Additionally, talking to our kids about what beauty means of the opposite sex is equally as important so they don’t judge one another to unrealistic standards. Common Sense Media has put together a list of tips to help address this issue with your kids.
Tips for parents of all kids
In today’s ultra-sensitive media environment, our kids are being bombarded with an image of what their bodies should look like that are not necessarily healthy for their self image. This can affect both girls and boys. Talking to our kids about their bodies is one of the hardest things parents can do — but the constant bombardment of messages about desirable weight and appearance makes this discussion crucial. Additionally, talking to our kids about what beauty means of the opposite sex is equally as important so they don’t judge one another to unrealistic standards. Common Sense Media has put together a list of tips to help address this issue with your kids.
Tips for parents of all kids
Most people spend about one-third of their lives asleep, and it is important they do. It has a big impact on the health of the body and the brain. The Nemours Florida Prevention Initiative recently published the book, “Sleep and Your Child: A Guide for Families” and in it notes “research suggests that not enough sleep in children can have a negative impact on their health, growth, behavior and cognitive development (thinking).” Here is how sleep impacts the body, according to the guide:
Brain Development
Behavioral and Emotional Health
Immune System
Physical Growth and Development
The guide also provides guidelines on sleep required by children, but notes requirements vary by child. For children from birth to six months—the recommendation is about 16 to 20 total hours a day; six months to a year—about 11 hours at night, plus two daytime naps totaling three to four hours; for ages one to three—10 to 13 hours, plus an afternoon nap of one to three hours; for ages three to five—10 to 12 hours at night, plus an afternoon nap. (Most preschoolers give this up by age five); and for ages five-12—10 to 12 hours at night.
After school each Wednesday, some 40 students at Lakemont Elementary School shed their shoes and socks, grab a mat and get ready for yoga.
They are members of Lakemont’s Yoga Club, coordinated by Jon Siegel, Lakemont’s Healthy School Team Leader, with assistance from instructors with Red Sun Yoga.
Siegel and his Healthy School Team first brought yoga classes to Lakemont at the beginning of the 2012-2013 school year with support from the Winter Park Health Foundation. Classes were provided for all students and faculty. These classes were incorporated into the school day.
The idea for Yoga Club came out of a suggestion from parents during a Healthy School Team meeting.
Participating students meet each at about 2 p.m. They get a full yoga class with all the positions, stretches and oms one would expect from an adult class. On a typical day the Yoga Club can have between 40 and 50 students. Students pay only $2 per class to participate.
The most important things in yoga are breathing, poses and meditation/relaxing.
Mr. Siegel, who also is the school’s P.E. teacher, said yoga has made the students more attentive in class and relaxed. It has improved student’s ability to get along with one another, and even helped one student with anger issues, he added.
Instructor Margo Tafuri said this about the benefits and importance of teaching younger children yoga. “[Yoga gives kids an] overall sense of well-being, a way to self regulate their emotions, emotional intelligence and things like that. The obvious physical health benefits – they’re stronger more flexible and make healthier choices.”
The faculty meets for yoga on Monday’s after school. There are usually between 10 and 15 faculty members that participate on a regular basis.
The yoga classes have been received so well that Mr. Siegel is planning on continuing them next year for both faculty and students. Other schools have contacted Mr. Siegel to see how they can start a yoga club as well.
The Healthy Kids Running Series is a five (5) week running program in the spring and fall for kids from Pre-K to 8th grade. Each Race Series takes place once a week and offers age appropriate running events including the 50 yard dash, the 1/4 mile, the 1/2 mile and the one mile run. Kids compete each week of the Series for a chance to earn points and at the end of the Series the top boy and girl with the most points in their respective age division receive a trophy. It doesn’t matter how fast or slow you run because all participants receive a medal and gift bag for their achievements courtesy of our sponsors!
The registration fee of $35 covers the entire five (5) week series.
For more information and to register, click here
If you have any questions about this race, click here
