Help Your Child Enjoy the Benefits of Physical Activity
We know being physically active provides numerous benefits. To name just a few, it helps us maintain a healthy weight, build stronger bones, sleep better at night, and keep a positive mental attitude. Research has shown that an active child will become an active adult. As parents or caretakers, it’s our responsibility to make sure our children become and remain physically active. Here are some tips that can help us ensure children at all ages learn and enjoy the health benefits physical activity has to offer.
- Children under the age of 2 should be given the opportunity to play and move freely. No organized or formal physical activity is needed at this age. Allow them to learn about their bodies as they explore their environment.
- Children between the ages of 3 and 5 are not too young to understand why physical activity is good for them. Share the benefits of being physically fit and focus on age appropriate skills like jumping, kicking, tossing, and catching. Structured sports tend to limit a child’s ability to explore the various ways their bodies can move as they often use only a few specific skills. This limits the child’s opportunity to learn what his body is capable of doing and can ultimately create a less well-rounded child, physically. Rules may be too complicated to understand or follow resulting in frustration, and the concept of losing may bring unnecessary disappointment. Keep physical activity fun and developmentally appropriate through the preschool years.
- Children are naturally accident-prone as they learn to play and move their bodies. To keep your kids safe, simply guide them away from participating in unsafe activities. Refrain from warning them about hurting themselves. Let them experiment and have fun without consistently telling them to “be careful”. Chances are the constant warnings and reminders will be ignored so it won’t help anyway!
- Let your children play outdoors as often a possible, but when weather does not permit mark off a place in your home that will provide the space needed to actively play. Dance, stretch to the sky, hop on one foot – any movement is better than none!
- Children lack muscular endurance so they tire quickly. The good thing is, they also recover quickly! Be sure to include rest periods and offer water and healthy snacks between periods of play.
- Use the playtime snack as an opportunity to include an extra fruit or vegetable serving into their daily diet. Did you know children are more likely to try a new food as a snack time than at mealtime?
- Remember, snacks that contain high amounts of sugar and salt are typically empty calorie foods. These foods will contain no nutritional benefit and will not help your child quickly recover from fatigue.
- Stick to serving water or milk as snack time beverages. Sugary drinks will fill your child up, but will provide no nutritional value.
- Emphasize to your children that physical activity is playful and fun. Encourage them to explore and help guide them in discovering which activities are right for them.
- Remember, children imitate what they see you do. If they see you enjoying physical activity and healthy food, they will too!
To learn about the benefits of physical activity in childhood, click here.
Source: Things to Consider when Planning for Physical Activities in Child Care
-Virginia
Freezing fruits and vegetables for "plan-overs"
Let me tell you, I recently stumbled upon a few great resources for freezing fruits and vegetables.
Planning my meals has been a top priority, but with the abundance of local North Carolina produce here in the summer, it has become increasingly important to me to make the most out of my purchases.
Before I buy fruits or vegetables for the week at my local farmers’ market or the grocery store, I make a plan for what I’ll use for the week.
If the price is good, and the quality is what I want, I‘ll buy extra and make a plan to freeze it. I know I’ll end up using them in future recipes so it makes sense to me to make it part of my “plan-overs”.
One resource from Food and Health Communications, https://foodandhealth.com/freezer-magic-8-freezing-tips/, has given me a few pointers. Here are a couple I found especially important:
- Freeze ripe, high-quality fruits and vegetables. Freezing won’t magically fix any rot, lack of ripeness, or mold — it will just preserve those pesky problems. (Tip 1)
- Many vegetables need to be “blanched” or partially cooked before they are frozen. This will ensure good quality, color, and texture. (Tip 5)
- Freeze your produce in sealed bags or containers. Bags are the preferred method because you can see what is in them and they take up less space. It is important to fold or roll items in the bags so that you reduce the amount of air in the bags. The less air, the better! (Tip 6)
I’ve learned it is especially important to label and date whatever it is you freeze. Otherwise you might not know what it is. Also, remember to use it as part of your “plan-over” meals so you can avoid forgetting about them in the depths of the freezer (I might have done this a few times before!) Happy freezing!
Emily
Quick and Healthy Homemade Pizza
When my children were young, they always asked for pizza, so I decided that we would start making our own. Ours were not only healthier pizzas, but also more economical. This also gave us an opportunity to “cook” together, providing us with another fun family activity.
Here are some of my suggestions: Start with a whole grain English muffin, tortilla, or rice cake. Top with pizza or spaghetti sauce (the spaghetti sauce is actually lower in price). This is also a great way to use leftover spaghetti sauce, meats, and vegetables. Top the crust with ham, chicken, ground meat, or just go meatless. Add some broccoli, spinach, mushrooms, black olives, green peppers, and/or pineapple. Top with a low fat cheese, such as cheddar or mozzarella. You are now ready to bake your pizza.
Let the children get involved in making their own pizzas, under your supervision, if needed. Now sit down together and enjoy a very delicious lunch or snack. If you are not sure how to make your own mini pizzas, follow the recipe below:
Quick Pizza
Makes 2 servings
Ingredients:
2 slices whole-wheat bread or English muffin, halved
½ cup low-sodium spaghetti sauce
½ cup pineapple tidbits in own juice, drained
½ cup lean diced ham
¼ cup reduced fat mozzarella cheese, shredded
Directions:
1. Toast bread or English muffin until very lightly brown
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
3. Place toasted bread or English muffin on a baking sheet
4. Spread ½ of the spaghetti sauce onto each of the slices
5. Place ½ of the pineapple tidbits and ½ of the diced ham on top
6. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of cheese on each slice
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 4 to 6 minutes or until cheese melts
-Judy
NC EFNEP's Peach Pointers
North Carolina peaches are a great summertime fruit. They are most abundant and least expensive June through September. Learn how to select, store, and prepare them in this short video.
https://youtu.be/_37xcn1ImSM
For the recipes featured in the video, check the links below:
- Peach Salsa: http://www.great-salsa.com/peachsalsarecipes.html
- Grilled Chicken with Balsamic Peach Marinade: http://www.food.com/recipe/grilled-chicken-with-balsamic-peach-marinade-133801
- Spinach Salad with Peaches and Pecans: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/spinach-salad-with-peaches-and-pecans/kitchenview.aspx
Hit the beach, keep it safe
My favorite beach is Emerald Isle. I love having a picnic lunch while I am there. Here are some of the ways I keep my family safe:
1. My lunch usually isn’t anything fancy. It usually consists of finger foods such as cucumbers, cantaloupe, watermelon or carrots. I always include wraps such as tuna salad or egg salad, nothing that will melt, and I always carry partially frozen bottles of water with me.
2. I don’t want any ants, horse flies, sea gulls, bees and certainly no food poisoning to ruin 
my perfect day. So I always try to plan ahead when I am going to the beach, so that I don’t forget any essential items that I might need for a safe picnic such as a cooler with ice, clean utensils, storage bags or containers for leftovers, paper towels, table cloth and trash bags. Table cloths are much easier to wash than blankets.
3. I use disposable wet wipes or hand sanitizer to clean my hands before I touch food because running water is not available. I always plan some games for the children to play after they finish eating.
4. I don’t leave foods out in the sun. I position the cooler behind my beach chair in the shade. I serve the food quickly from the cooler and return it fast.
For more tips to keep your family safe visit foodsafety.gov
Writing this blog makes me want to pack my cooler now and head to the beach! See you there!
Susan