HELPING CHILDREN TO MAINTAIN A
HEALTHY WEIGHT FOR LIFE
With obesity reaching epidemic proportions, wise parents are concerned about preventing excess weight in their children and themselves. The excess weight can lead to diabetes and heart disease at a young age.
You don't need to be obsessed with counting every calorie your child eats. In fact, that approach could backfire and lead to binge eating later. Instead, focus on these four areas:
1. Provide healthy, balanced meals with whole foods, especially proteins, vegetables, fruits and whole grains. Avoid sweetened drinks and sugary baked goods. Offer your family a wide variety of healthy foods in delicious meals and smart snacks.
2. Spend at least an hour a day in physical activities with your family. Take walks, go to the park, play games, or follow along with a dance video. Spontaneous play—with lots of running, jumping, and climbing—is great fun as well as being good for the body.
3. Restrict time in front of the television set. So much sitting is bad for the heart, circulation, metabolism, muscles, nerves and bones. The human body was made to move, and children need lots of activity to develop properly. To make things worse, all those TV ads for junk foods create a false appetite for salt, sweets and fats.
4. Reinforce to your children and grandchildren that food is fuel for the body. Use my website as a learning tool. Children will understand that fruit gives them energy and protein is great for strength and healthy hair, and that we need vegetables to avoid illness. They will know that we need complex carbohydrates for our brains to function well and that we need all nutrients in moderation to grow up and be healthy and strong. Good nutrition is key and if we can instill this in our children at an early age, we have a better chance at optimum health and lowering the risk of obesity.
HEALTHY LESSONS FOR CHILDREN
Activities for families, teachers, and caregivers
Fun activities help children develop the health habits that will last a lifetime. Here are some concepts and activities to help families and children make healthier choices. We also offer lesson plans to give teachers a jump-start on classroom activities. Our workbook and activity templates can be used in many situations, from the home to the classroom to the doctor's waiting room.
Make nutrition, exercise and health part of your daily living and your conversations with children. Be positive about healthy choices. Set a good example with healthy family meals and regular physical activities. Make nutrition and exercise FUN. Children learn what they live.
DOWNLOAD THESE LESSON PLANS AND ACTIVITY PAGES:
Grade K
• Food Collage Lesson Plan grade K
• Food Collage Worksheet grade K
Grade 1
• Food Grab Bag
• Sun Safety
• My Fruit Diary
Grade 2
• Healthy Habits Worksheet
• Health Goals Worksheet
Grade 3
• World Wall Lesson Plan grade 3
• Three R's Lesson Plan grade 3
• Three R's Worksheet grade 3
Grade 4
• Health Log Lesson Plan
• Health Log Follow-Up Worksheet
• Food List
• Food Groups Worksheet
• Food Groups Quiz
• Daily Log Worksheet 1
• Daily Log Worksheet 2
Grade 5
• Nutrition Facts Lesson Plan
• Nutrition Facts Example Sheet
• Nutrition Facts Worksheet 1
Heather Kahn, education consultant for ChrisSare4Kids.com, has a multiple-subject clear Crosscultural, Language, and Academic Development (CLAD) credential with a multicultural emphasis. She has been a teacher with the Los Angeles Unified School District. Heather has a strong affinity for the sciences and holds a Bachelor of Arts in biology. A proud mother of two sons, she has used many of her teaching strategies, lesson plans, and activities featured on ChrisSare4Kids.com at home and hopes to inspire a healthy lifestyle and eco-awareness with her children and other families. She believes that learning should be fun and has constructed her lesson plans with this goal in mind.
