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Helping Kids Make Healthy Eating and Activity Choices
By Katie Calkin, ARMC Health Education
March 2004

One out of every five children in the U.S. is overweight. That is about 10 million kids! Below are some tips for how you can help your kids make healthy eating and activity choices.

Respect hunger
Help kids learn their bodies’ hunger and fullness signals. Remove the focus from cleaning plates or controlling portions. Teach kids by example to fuel their bodies and enjoy a variety of foods when they feel hungry, and to stop eating when they feel comfortably full. Help kids recognize when they may be eating for a reason other than hunger, such as boredom or sadness. Help them figure out how to entertain or comfort themselves in other ways.

Respect body size
Be mindful of not commenting negatively on your own body or your child’s body. Talk about what messages movies, TV, and magazines give about what is a beautiful body. Talk with your kids about how healthy bodies come in all different shapes and sizes.

Start the day with breakfast
Kids who skip breakfast have a harder time concentrating in school. They usually make up for the calories by eating more later in the day and may be so hungry that they aren’t as careful what they choose to eat. Breakfast doesn’t have to be a sit down meal – a peanut butter sandwich eaten on the way to school is a healthy breakfast. It is a good idea to have at least two food groups from the food pyramid for breakfast (for example, cereal and milk or grits and a banana).

Make the most of school lunches
Each week take a look at the school lunch menu with your child. Let them be in charge of the planning their meals, but help them identify some healthy choices for each day. Offer to pack a lunch some days or supplement the lunch menu they choose with some healthy foods from home. Don’t make any foods “forbidden.” Not every meal has to be balanced. The emphasis should be on making most of the food choices healthy. It is a good idea to have at least three food groups from the food pyramid for lunch.

Pack a punch with snacks
If there are “junk foods” that you don’t want your kids to eat for snacks, don’t keep them in the house. Make healthy snacking as easy as opening a bag of chips. Keep the refrigerator stocked with cut up vegetables and fruits and low fat dips that are easy to grab. Let younger kids make snacks such as peanut butter in celery with raisins on top. Allow older kids to have fun creating their own smoothies with fruit and yogurt.

Want to Learn More?
“My Choice”Teaches Tools
for Healthy Living

ARMC’s My Choice program teaches young people (10-14 year olds) tools for making healthy choices and teaches parents ways to support their children. In My Choice we learn about balanced nutrition, physical activity and exercise, healthy cooking, body image and self-esteem, and healthy choices eating out. Each class has an exercise session and we do special activities such as skating, strength training and water exercises.

In My Choice, the youth are “players” who earn points each week for their healthy behaviors such as drinking water, eating a healthy breakfast, eating fruits and vegetables, exercising, and limiting recreational TV and computer time. Over time, these practices become their new normal habits. Healthy behaviors are rewarded but unhealthy ones are not punished. This positive approach can help decrease the struggle that some families have over eating and activity habits.

My Choice is for parents, too. Support of the whole family is key for success. Parents, guardians, or grandparents who take the class become “coaches.” Coaches are responsible for providing healthy food options and opportunities to exercise. Coaches are encouraged to involve the whole family at home since eating healthy and exercising benefits all family members regardless of weight. Parents can learn how to better shop for their families on our grocery store tour. To find out more, call ARMC’s Health Education department at 475-5620.

Make dinner matter
Many evening meals are eaten on the run. Try to pick at least one night a week that is family night. Let the younger kids do things like wash and tear lettuce for salads. Let older kids be in charge of picking and making main dishes. Make this dinnertime special by setting the table, turning off the TV, and spending time catching up with each other.

Get the whole family moving
Everyone in the family needs regular exercise! Present exercise as fun family outings rather than as a chore. Take family walks, bike rides, or join a swimming pool together. Exercising together provides a great time for talking with kids too. Also encourage daily activities such as walking the dog, taking the stairs, or vacuuming a room. Set limits on TV and computer time.

Here’s what some kids
have said about My Choice:
“You learn a lot about how to eat healthy and getting good exercise and have fun at the same time.”

“I learned that it doesn’t matter what size you are, you’re special. And about the food pyramid and how to order a healthy good meal at a restaurant and how to make really GOOD foods.”

Here’s what some parents
have said about My Choice:
“I learned how to make healthy choices when cooking for my family. Reading labels is very important. It was very beneficial to our whole family.”

“Parents learned as much as the children. We, as parents, supported and shared with each other our concerns for our children. My child really loved the class because he always was hurrying me to get to class.”

Katie Calkin, MPH, CHES, is a Health Educator at Athens Regional Medical Center

 

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