08/26/2008
Bare Essentials of Obesity Prevention
There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.
Nelson Mandela
In his article, "Michelangelo and the Prevention of Childhood Obesity", in the May 2008 issue of Exchange, Martin Maimon outlines "bare essentials of obesity prevention in child care":
- Build in at least one hour of planned physical activity on a daily basis — with structured (15-20 minute sessions) and unstructured activities.
- French fries don’t count as a vegetable. Teach kids, and the adults in their lives, about different food groups, and provide fruit and vegetable choices.
- Cultivate a relationship with a health care professional that can be an advisor on health-related issues and content for your program (local pediatrician, family doctor, nurse health consultant, nutritionist, health educator).
- Develop and refine a health policy that calls attention to the fact that health is critical to successful early learning. Among other important topics, it should highlight your chosen strategy for modeling healthy behaviors (e.g., physical activity and nutrition).
- Portion size — remember as we grow our stomach is roughly the size of our fist. This gives a rough guide of how much food it takes to fill our stomach. Eating too much is not good for our body. Consider family-style meal service where children serve themselves and determine their own portion size.
In her new
Exchange book,
The Top Ten Preschool Parenting Problems and What to Do about Them!, parenting expert Roslyn Duffy offers parents practical advice for dealing with these common challenges (and more!)...
- Whining
- Not Listening
- Meltdowns
- Negotiation and Manipulation
- Morning Hassles, Mealtime Mischief, Bedtime Blues
- Sibling Fights
- Clean-Up and Chores
- Bathroom Battles
- Hitting, kicking, pinching, spitting, biting...
- Bad Language
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Learn more about EZ-CARE2’s cutting-edge technology, like our new biometric fingerprint reader for door entry. Get a free trial version of EZ-CARE2 Center Management Software!
For more information about Exchange's magazine, books, and other products pertaining to ECE, go to www.ccie.com.
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