Encourage healthy eating habits for children.
With a majority of the United States' population overweight, habits need to be changed for the youngest citizens. Develop fun ways to challenge the children in your classroom or family to eat healthy. Create activities for children that encourage movement and help children to develop lifelong healthy habits.
Food Habits
Teach children what healthy foods are by cutting out pictures of foods. Categorize the food based on the United States Department of Agriculture's food pyramid. Help children learn the difference between the categories of food. Show children how they can eat small amounts of sweets and fatty food. Encourage moderation in children instead of denial of treats. Teach children design a menu for a dinner meal. After they have designed their meals, have the children cut out pictures of these food items and glue them onto a paper plate. Send home a food diary for children to complete for the week, so they can evaluate their current eating habits.
Movement
Build gross motor games into your daily schedule. Plan for children to have time to run, explore and climb. Provide parents with information to sign children up for community sports. Community sports help develop active children, but also help develop social health and interaction. Plan activities within the classroom that allow for movement of children. When working with younger children, teach movements to go along with poems and songs. Allow for daily recess time for your pupils. Encourage students who are sitting or talking at recess to walk or join a game.
Limitations
Teach children to limit their screen time while at home. Establish that screen time consists of computers, gaming systems and television. Give children a chart to mark for three days how much time they spend with these activities. Have the children bring these back in and share. Total up the time for the children or have older children total their time. Brainstorm with your pupils other activities they could do in place of the screen time. Remind your pupils, based on the activities, some screen time can help them to become better learners.
Dental Health
To begin teaching your pupils about dental health, invite a dentist into your classroom. Ask the local dentist if he can donate toothbrushes to your class. In the dentist's talk, ask him to demonstrate to students the proper way to brush and floss teeth. After the dentist's visit, have the children create their own books detailing have healthy teeth. Give the children a chance to share their writing with their peers. Give each pupil a large tooth sheet, and let each child design a poster promoting healthy dental habits. Display these posters in your classroom or outside on a bulletin board.
Tags: screen time, your pupils, Teach children, your classroom, children have