Tots to Tweens
We all want our children to grow up fit and healthy; encouraging
them to pick up good habits when they are young is a great way to
help kids stay healthy and active as they grow older.
What are the recommendations for children?
It is recommended that children and young people aim to do at
least 1 hour of moderate intensity physical activity every day
Active children and young people can have large appetites, and
it's important they eat food of high nutritional value in the form
of well balanced meals. Avoid too many snacks high in fat, sugar or
salt.
Helping your child be more active
Active parents have active children so exercising as a family is
a great way to set a good example to your kids.
Ideas for being more active with your children
Try to limit the amount of time they spend watching TV.
One time when it is ok for your toddlers to watch is when it is
an activity based show such as Mini Movers on Nick Jr. For more
details, visit www.nickjr.co.uk/minimovers.
Build activity into your daily routine by walking to and from
school or walking to the local shops.
Make use of local parks – Hackney has the largest expanse of
green space in the whole of inner London, so why not:
- Go for a walk or bike ride– play games to keep their interest.
Try I-spy or hide and seek.
- Play football or practice your ball skills by dribbling up and
back between two trees.
- Set up circuits where you do different activities at each
station for example – knee high running on the spot, star jumps,
skipping or anything else you can think of!
If it’s cold and wet, and you don’t want to go outside, then you
could:
- Put on some music and dance in your living room – you could
make up dances or learn the steps from music videos or films.
- Do relay races in the hall – try hopping, skipping and jumping
as well as running
- Play musical chairs or use music for hopping or jumping on the
spot.
- Go to the local leisure centre - Under 16s can swim for free at
GLL leisure centres in Hackney during the school holidays.
Kids and food
As well as being active, it is important that your child eats a
balanced diet. If you encourage them to make healthy choices when
they are young, then they are more likely to continue to make
healthy choices as they grow up.
Tips for getting your child eating a balanced diet:
- Introduce a wide range of foods into your child’s diet early –
encourage them to eat the same foods you do rather than cooking
separate meals
- Tailor portions sizes for your child, especially if eating out
- they won’t need as much as you do.
- Get your child to eat a proper breakfast –a good breakfast,
such as a wholegrain cereal, will help them to concentrate at
school and reduce the chance they will snack before lunch.
- Make sweets and crisps a treat – try just having one day a week
when they choose what snack they want.
- Make fruit more fun and easier to eat by cutting it up or
making fruit kebabs
- Stock up on healthy snacks on your weekly shop so they are
always to hand.
- Avoid deep fried foods
Check out our foodhall » for more
recipes that are great for helping your child eat more healthily.
You could even try cooking them together.
HAPPY in Hackney and HAPPY at Home
The 'HAPPY in Hackney' Programme is an Early Years Health
Promotion Programme promoting healthy environments and healthy
lifestyles in early years settings such as children centres and
nurseries. HAPPY stands for Healthy Activities and Practices with
Pre-school Years. The programme is designed, using the National
Healthy Schools framework.
The HAPPY@Home programme is an extension of the HAPPY in Hackney
programme involving parents/carers and their young babies/children
in a series of parent and child workshops. It was developed in
Hackney in 2006 as an under fives family learning programme for
healthy lifestyles and obesity prevention which aims to promote
physical activity, physical development and healthy eating.
For more information about these programmes click here.