Director’s Corner
Here we are already in April, which means that it is time to focus not only on ourselves, but on our kids and our families because April is Healthy Kids Month. This month I will provide information about how to have a fit family and raise healthy children by addressing their nutritional fitness, physical fitness, emotional fitness and finally their behavior fitness. Before we dive into this month’s newsletter though, I’d like you all to think about what it means to be 'fit'.
Being fit is something we all aspire to - both for ourselves and our children. But what does it mean to be fit? Does it mean walking a mile every day? Having salad for lunch? Staying thin enough to fit into last year's bathing suit?
Many people think that eating a balanced diet and getting regular exercise are the 2 most important behaviors that contribute to overall fitness and a healthy weight. But there is more involved. Consider a view where being fit is about being healthy. It's a balance between mind, body, spirit, and having everything 'in sync'.
Being fit is simply optimizing your body's ability to handle life and all of the things that you want to accomplish. The first step in creating a “Fit Family” is to develop a structure to work from to become healthier. If you do not first establish a baseline or starting point from which to work, it can become overwhelming to suddenly change things.
Consider evaluating and then developing a plan to improve these 4 key areas of life:
1. How you eat? (Nutritional Fitness)
2. How you move or exercise? (Physical Fitness)
3. How you respond to your emotions? (Emotional Fitness)
4. How you relax and rest? (Behavioral Fitness, which includes developing habits around healthy sleep and around healthy ways to relax)
Starting from this type of platform can give your family a structure to work from to become healthier. Breaking it down into 4 key areas of life will help provide a focus and a foundation to set goals and start making healthier choices.
It is also important to fully understand that being a successful “Fit Family”, requires attention to all aspects of healthy living. Inattention to any one of them can eventually lead to health problems such as: obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease and can cause a domino effect that negatively impacts the other areas.
Nutritional Fitness: Raising Food-Smart Kids
Creating an environment where your kids can make healthy nutritional choices is one of the most important steps you can take to ensure the health of your child.
By fostering a supportive environment, you and your family can develop a positive relationship with healthy food. You can lead them by your example.
Here are 3 tips for getting children to eat healthy food and form wise nutritional habits, offered by Melinda Sothern, PhD, co-author of Trim Kids and director of the childhood obesity prevention laboratory at Louisiana State University:
1. Do-it-Yourself Indoor Olympics
Compete in family indoor Olympic events with items around your house (clear away the breakables first!):
a. Bowling - Set up empty water bottles and knock ‘em down with a ball.
b. Hockey - Grab a squishy ball for a puck and brooms for sticks.
c. Volleyball - Stretch a piece of string or yarn between 2 chairs. Hit the balloon back and forth over the net while sitting, on your knees, and with your feet.
2. Get Bendy With Yoga
Help kids get a good stretch by striking some yoga poses. It promotes body awareness, balance, posture, and concentration. Try the modified lotus pose:
a. Sit in a cross-legged position
b. Put 1 foot on top of the opposite thigh.
c. Do the same with the other foot.
d. Or place feet in a way that is comfortable to keep knees touching the ground.
3. Get Up and Dance
When it’s nasty or dark outside, dance up a storm inside. Take turns having family members make up their own dances. Teach kids a line dance. Put on music and play “statues” where all the dancers must freeze like a statue whenever the music stops. Or just have an impromptu dance party with family or friends.
Sources:Get Kids in Action: “rainy day indoor activities.”
Behavioral Fitness: How Much Sleep Do Children Need?
The amount of sleep a child needs varies depending on the individual and certain factors, including the age of the child. Following are some general guidelines:
1-4 Weeks Old: 15 - 16 hours per day
Newborns typically sleep about 15 to 18 hours a day, but only in short periods of two to four hours. Premature babies may sleep longer and colicky ones shorter.
Since newborns do not yet have an internal biological clock, or circadian rhythm, their sleep patterns are not related to the daylight and nighttime cycles. In fact, they tend not to have much of a pattern at all.
1-4 Months Old: 14 - 15 hours per day
By 6 weeks of age your baby is beginning to settle down a bit, and you may notice more regular sleep patterns emerging. The longest periods of sleep run four to six hours and now tends to occur more regularly in the evening. Day-night confusion ends.
4-12 Months Old: 14 - 15 hours per day
While up to 15 hours is ideal, most infants up to 11 months old get only about 12 hours sleep. Establishing healthy sleep habits is a primary goal during this period, as your baby is now much more social, and his sleep patterns are more adult-like. Babies typically have three naps and drop to two at around 6 months old, at which time (or earlier) they are physically capable of sleeping through the night. Establishing regular naps generally happens at the latter part of this time frame, as his biological rhythms mature. The midmorning nap usually starts at 9 a.m. and lasts about an hour. The early afternoon nap starts from 12 to 2 p.m. and lasts an hour or two. And the late afternoon nap may start from 3 to 5 p.m. and is variable in duration.
1-3 Years Old: 12 - 14 hours per day
As your child moves past the first year toward 18-21 months of age he will likely lose his morning nap and nap only once a day. While toddlers need up to 14 hours a day of sleep, they typically get only about 10. Most children from about 21 to 36 months of age still need one nap a day, which may range from one to three and a half hours long. They typically go to bed between 7 and 9 p.m. and wake up between 6 and 8 a.m.
3-6 Years Old: 10 - 12 hours per day
Children at this age typically go to bed between 7 and 9 p.m. and wake up around 6 and 8 a.m., just as they did when they were younger. At 3, most children are still napping while at 5, most are not. Naps gradually become shorter as well. New sleep problems do not usually develop after 3 years of age.
7-12 Years Old: 10 - 11 hours per day
At these ages, with social, school, and family activities, bedtimes gradually become later and later, with most 12-years-olds going to bed at about 9 p.m. There is still a wide range of bedtimes, from 7:30 to 10 p.m., as well as total sleep times, from 9 to 12 hours, although the average is only about 9 hours.
12-18 Years Old: 8 - 9 hours per day
Sleep needs remain just as vital to health and well-being for teenagers as when they were younger. It turns out that many teenagers actually may need more sleep than in previous years. Now, however, social pressures conspire against getting the proper amount and quality of sleep.
SOURCE: WebMD Feature: "How Much Sleep Do Children Need?
Choosing the Right Sport for Your Child
Try these strategies to help your child find a sport.
Challenge yourself to find out what parts of being active your child likes.
Then try to find an activity that channels there passion. "Look for something they can succeed at and have fun doing," says Michael Bergeron, PhD, director of the National Institute for Athletic Health and Performance and Center for Youth Sports and Health in Sioux Falls, S.D. If soccer doesn't work, try basketball, swimming, dance, or martial arts. "If they're not allowed to play during games and aren't feeling good about themselves, they are in the wrong sport or at the wrong level."
Match sports activities to your child's ability.
This can get more difficult the older kids get. "A lot of sports programs are designed to develop the elite kid. More and more attention is focused on the best athletes. Meanwhile, the average kids who aren't on the starting lineup may get left behind. This can take a toll on teen self-confidence. Many end up dropping out of sports in high school. Kids who aren't star athletes may feel more at home on a church, YMCA, or community center team. They may get more playing time and be more successful.
Get Kids Moving at Every Age!
It's never too late to get your child interested in moving. Here are a few simple tips to help your child build athletic self-confidence no matter his age.
Younger kids
1. Share your skills.
Young kids like to practice motor skills. So patiently teach them how to play catch, kick a ball, swing a bat, ride a bike, skate, or swim.
2. Shoo them outside.
Supervised outdoor time is very important. Spending time outdoors gives kids unstructured time to play and have fun.
School-age kids
1. Sign them up for kids' sports teams. "Expose children to a variety of activities and let them find the ones that are most fun for them."
2. Support, don't push. Show up for events to watch your child play -- not to live out your athletic dreams through your child. "You don't want to be one of those hardcore parents you seeing yelling at the refs." Instead, all you have to do is sit back, relax, visit with the other parents, and cheer your child on.
Older kids
1. Try a sports enhancement program.
"These programs help young athletes develop strength, speed, and agility."
2. Consider a no-cut team.
A growing trend for middle and high schools is to have a no-cut policy for kids' sports teams. On these teams, "any kid who wants to be there to practice and participate is in." Ask about them at your child's school. By working with your child to build his physical skills and add to his positive kids' sports experiences, you'll help him discover the joys of physical activity - and develop healthy habits to last a lifetime.
SOURCE: Web MD Feature “Finding Your Child's Inner Athlete - To get kids moving, building self-confidence is a key to success.”
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