Let's Move Child Care

This past week, I had the privilege of attending the National Association for Family Child Care Conference in Atlanta, GA, where the Let's Move Child Care campaign was promoted. For this post, I am pleased to share some of the highlights discussed at pre-conference professional development institute sessions as well as a special Sesame Workshop Roundtable to review materials and progress on the anti-obesity initiative.

The Let's Move! Child Care campaign is part of First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move initiative in collaboration with Nemours, Healthy Kids Healthy Futures, and Child Care Aware America (formerly NACCRRA). The Let's Move! website is FILLED with resources and tools to help children in your care increase their levels of activity throughout the day and make healthy meal and drink choices.

Spaghetti! A healthy choice!

Hot dogs and fries. Not such a healthy choice

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  Let's Move! Child Care Goals:

  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  1. Physical Activity

  Provide 1-2 hours of physical activity throughout the day, including outside play when possible.
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  2. Screen Time

  None under age 2. For 2 and up, work to limit to 30 minutes/week during child care. Aim for no more than 1-2 hours/day of quality screen time at home.
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  3. Food

  Try to serve fruits or vegetables at every meal. Eat meals family-style whenever possible. Avoid serving fried foods.
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  4. Beverages

  When you can, give water during meals and all day. Avoid sugary drinks. Two and up, serve low- or non-fat milk and 4-6 ounces max of 100% juice a day.
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  5. Infant Feeding

  Provide breast milk to infants of mothers who wish to breastfeed. Welcome mothers to nurse mid-day and support parents' decisions with infant feeding.

  
  

  
  

Features of the Let's Move! Child Care Website

Start Early

Make Nutrition Fun

Get Kids Moving

Be Inspired

Change Your World

Summer 2010

Summer 2011....35 pounds lighter.

The Nutrition and Moving tabs contains a list of facts about the topic, a set of activities with complete instructions, and a listing of additional web-based tools and resources and hot links to them. The other tabs contain facts and resources you may find useful in your work with children.

Sesame Workshop has produced a companion guide to their Healthy Habits for Life Resource Kit called "We've Got the Moves" featuring Grover. Both of these resources are available for use or download here.

I hope you will explore these resources, join the campaign, and master the 5 goals with the children in your care.

Blog entry by Dr. Ellaine B. Miller, PhD. Family Child Care Partnerships at Auburn University.www.humsci.auburn.edu/fccp