Kids’ Health: Fitness & Nutrition Resource Guide

Fitness & Nutrition Resource Guide Images of Vegetables

It’s never too soon in life to start learning how to make healthy decisions. Most kids have lots of energy just because they are young and strong. To keep up that energy, kids need to learn healthy habits that they’ll stick to throughout life. Kids who learn what a balanced diet is and what it looks like in day-to-day life are likely to make good food choices in college and beyond! The same goes for fitness. When kids learn to make movement and physical activity part of their daily lives while they are young, they will likely continue to incorporate physical activity into their daily schedules as adults.

Nutrition

One good trick to make sure you’re eating all the vitamins and minerals needed to be healthy and strong is to eat the rainbow! Eating the rainbow is when someone purposefully eats fruits and vegetables of every color. Other great tips include drinking lots of water instead of juice or soda. Like all people, kids need a balance of carbohydrates, protein, and healthy fats. It’s a good idea for kids to try new foods so that they can find new healthy dishes they enjoy. Eating the rainbow is a fun way to do that.

Fitness

Getting in exercise can be as simple as running around the playground before hopping on the swings. Not all kids love P.E. classes or organized sports. That’s okay! Movement and physical activity includes playground time, walking the dog, and even dancing around the kitchen. The important thing is to keep moving and to keep trying new things. A kid who doesn’t enjoy basketball might love tennis, and another who hates soccer might enjoy rock climbing!

Activities, Worksheets, and Additional Resources

There are a lot of ways for teachers, parents, and kids to learn about how to eat well and get enough movement into their days. Some families might really enjoy apps designed to offer new workouts that are appropriate and safe for the entire family. One great way to make sure the whole family stays well-nourished is by meal planning. Meal planning is when it’s decided before anyone goes to the store what every meal and snack will look like over the course of the next week. One reason why parents love meal planning is that it helps make sure that the bag of sweet potatoes bought to make oven-baked fries doesn’t go bad when the fries only use half the sweet potatoes! Meal planning lets the person doing the cooking figure out what other dish to make to use up the rest of the sweet potatoes. It’s a great idea to get kids involved in meal planning. Kids are more likely to eat healthy foods and try new things when they are involved in picking the recipes and cooking the food. Letting kids learn to cook offers them a valuable life skill. Kids who help cook are also more adventurous eaters because they are more likely to want to try a dish they helped make.