[August 21, 2014] |
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The Y Gets Kids and Families Ready for Back-to-School
NEW YORK --(Business Wire)--
As the dog days of summer begin to fade into memory and a new academic
year beckons, the YMCA
of Greater New York reminds the City's children and families that
staying fit and eating healthy is an important part of any
back-to-school curriculum.
"The end of summer and the start of back-to-school season shouldn't mean
a decrease in exercise or healthy eating habits for New York families
and their children," said Lori
Rose Benson, Vice President of Healthy Lifestyles. "The key is
involving kids and helping them understand at an early age that they
have an important personal stake in their health and fitness choices."
In advance of Monday, September 8 the Y is happy to provide some fun and
informative tips for making this school year a healthy and happy one:
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No Excuses: The single most important tip and the one that
informs all the others: families must not allow busy lifestyles and
the stresses of juggling home, school, and professional
responsibilities to keep them from eating healthy food and making
smart fitness choices. Take a breath, make a schedule, set shared
goals, and stick to them.
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Family Dinner Night: Even if both parents are working or it's a
busy single-parent household, families should make a commitment to
eating at least one home-cooked dinner together each week. Shared
meals foster conversation and better communication between family
members and help instill a sense of appreciation for what goes into
preparing healthy food.
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Draft a Family Healthy Living Contract: Organize a regular
meeting to discuss family members' favorite foods, the kind of
exercise everyone is doing, and other health choices being made each
day. Determine the good, the bad, and the sugary, and come to
agreements around issues such as appropriate frequency of favorite
snacks. Have children lead these meetings sometimes to encourage a
greater snse of responsibility and leadership.
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Calendarize Your Goals: Whether it's cutting out between-meal
snacking, walking to school or work instead of taking the train or
bus, being able to do ten pull-ups, or losing a few pounds, the act of
setting nutrition and fitness goals helps bring them closer to
realization. Make objectives fun by setting a monthly family health
calendar and establishing positive incentives (e.g., a field
trip or special activity or an extra hour of educational television or
computer time).
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The Transparent Lunchbox: Involve your child in his or her
school lunch preparation, talking through the week's worth of meal
options and the pros and cons of certain food choices. Farmers markets
have become increasingly popular around the city and provide wonderful
opportunities to encourage healthier lunch choices made with local,
fresh, organic foods. Similar care should be taken with after school
snack preparation, especially if there are gaps in child supervision
between the end of the school day and parents returning from work.
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Avoid Holiday Overeating: Halloween. Thanksgiving. Christmas
and Chanukah. With the fall comes a parade of holidays, each offering
myriad opportunities to overindulge. Have a discussion with your child
prior to Halloween about what healthy snacks the family might offer
trick-or-treaters and what's a reasonable amount of holiday treats
children can expect to enjoy.
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Veggie of the Month Club: Expand the menu beyond canned corn
and french fries! If your child is resistant to sampling new greens,
try exposing him or her to different vegetables each month (e.g.,
kale, broccoli rabe, bok choy, brussel sprouts, leeks, turnips,
squashes). Use membership in the "Vegetable of the Month Club" as a
reason to visit farmers markets, explore different boroughs, and try
different cuisines.
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Take a Tech Time-Out: Establish "no-tech zones" where parents
and children are not allowed to use digital phones, tablets, or other
mobile devices. These areas might include the kitchen table during
meal-time and bedrooms at night. Consider instituting small penalties
such as taking on additional household chores for multiple offenders!
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Get Outside: Create opportunities for exercising together as a
family by playing team sports, building simple outdoor obstacle
courses, walking together to school and/or local errands, and getting
involved in physical volunteer efforts such as school and park
clean-ups and/or working in community gardens.
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Join the YMCA of Greater New York: While all families are
challenged to eat right, get enough physical activity, and find enough
time to spend together as a family, the YMCA of Greater New York is
here to help parents meet these challenges. Take advantage of the Y's
fall membership campaign beginning on September 4 and enroll in the
Y's amazing array of after
school programs.
To learn more about how families can get ready to face the school year
together, visit www.ymcanyc.org.
About the YMCA of Greater New York
The YMCA of Greater New York is, and always will be, dedicated to
building healthy, confident, connected and secure children, adults,
families and communities. With a focus on youth development, healthy
living and social responsibility, the Y nurtures the potential of every
youth and teen, improves New York City's health and well-being and
provides opportunities to give back and support neighbors. In scores of
neighborhoods across the five boroughs and its camp upstate, the Y makes
accessible the support and opportunities that empower more than 500,000
New Yorkers to learn, grow and thrive. Visit www.ymcanyc.org.
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20140821005121/en/
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