Nutrition and Living a Healthy Lifestyle in Early Childhood Education By: Kelsey Gage, Paige Turpin, Rachel Ethridge, Chelsea Wewers

Living a Healthy Lifestyle  The key to living a healthy lifestyle is to balance your diet and exercise.  Being healthy can also be fun!  It’s important to educate yourself and your children so you know how to live a healthy life.

Exercise Before you exercise be sure to stretch!  Exercise for at least 30 minutes three times a week.  Find something you like to do that keeps you moving.

Exercise  Exercise can help you and your child:  Feel better  Control weight  Reduce Blood Pressure  Reduce the risk of diabetes and certain types of cancer  Gain more self confidence and self-esteem

Ways to Exercise  Aerobic Exercise  Burns fat & involves increased breathing and elevated heart rate over an extended period of time.  Can be fun for both adults and children & includes the following activities:  Swimming  Running  Basketball  Soccer  Bicycling  Tennis

Nutrition  Eat breakfast!  Eat more fruits and vegetables  Leave them out for snack in between meals  Cook & season to add with lunch or dinner  Eat in moderation  There are no “good” or “bad” foods. Eat fruits, veggies, and sweets in appropriate portions. mgco

Nutrition  Talk with your family  Find out what they like & don’t like  Plan out your meals and snacks  Aim for a diet that is:  Low in salt and fat  High in fruits, vegetables and whole grains  Take a multi-vitamin  This will ensure you are meeting your nutrient needs  Find a kid friendly vitamin for your child 9sx8pg

Nutrition  Drink plenty of fluids  Water  Drink 8 glasses a day  Juice & V8  Stay away from too many caffeinated & sugary drinks S4CdRA

The primary reason for the abundance of unhealthy foods in schools is inadequate public funding of school meals and schools in general. Unfortunately, the sale of unhealthy foods, popular among students, is an essential source of revenue for many schools.

Today, most schools are dominated by foods that are high in sugar, fat, and salt. These items—pizza, burgers, French fries, cakes, snack foods, soda, and candy—are sold in cafeterias, vending machines, and school stores.

Until our schools serve more nutritious lunches for our kids we should consider sack lunches. Parents can ensure their children are receiving nutritious food by making it themselves. For healthy sack lunch ideas visit: Kids Eat brown-bag-lunches/Cached brown-bag-lunches/Cached Or Meals s-And-Resources/Meal-Planning- Articles/Kids-sack-lunch- ideas.aspx s-And-Resources/Meal-Planning- Articles/Kids-sack-lunch- ideas.aspx

Sleep  Sleep can help protect against health risks such as:  Obesity If you’re not getting the recommended hours of sleep each night it could slow down your metabolism May also increase your appetite, which could lead to weight gain  Heart disease  Depression  Stress

Sleep Average Sleep Needs AgeHours Newborns (0-2 months) Infants (3 months to 1 year) Toddlers (1 to 3 years) Preschoolers (3 to 5 years) School-aged children (5 to 12 years) Teens and preteens (12 to 18 years) Adults (18+)

Make It Fun for Kids  Encourage your children to want to live a healthy lifestyle by teaching them how it can be fun.  Let them choose an activity that they will enjoy.  Concentrate on your child’s successes rather than their failures.  Give them praise.

Make it Fun for Kids  Sign your child up for activities that keep them active!  Ballet  Basketball  Baseball  Gymnastics  Play and participate in outdoor activities with your child.  Basketball  Soccer  Jump Rope  Tag  Bicycling

References  Every Day Health Every Day Health  Help Guide Help Guide  Heart.org Heart.org  Life Optimizer Life Optimizer  Nutrition.com Nutrition.com   education.html education.html  states-in-america?page=9 states-in-america?page=9  much-unhealthy-food-in-schools/ much-unhealthy-food-in-schools/

References Continued        america?page=9 america?page=9