May 2013

May is National Physical Fitness & Sports Month

In honor of National Physical Fitness & Sports Month, Child Care Aware of Kansas challenges your family to get at least 30 minutes of physical activity together each day. Physical activity increases your chances of living longer. It reduces the risk of high blood pressure and other health issues. By getting active, you will sleep better, strengthen your bones, and lower your risk of depression. For fun ways to get active with your family, heres an alphabetical list of ideas to try. A: Ask children to come up with different ways to make an ARCH with their body. B: Practice BALANCE skills with a balance beam or stepping stones. C: CRAWL through tunnels. Old sheets and moving boxes make great, portable tunnels. D: DART through a homemade obstacle course. Great fun for indoor or outside play! E: EXPLORE the great outdoors. Look for wildlife. Chase after butterflies and fireflies. F: Feel the rush of the wind as you FLAP your arms like theyre wings. G: Challenge children to GALLOP forwards and backwards, in different pathways and at different speeds. H: Read Who Hops? by Katie Davis, then let children HOP or move like the animals in the book. I: INFANTS need tummy time to strengthen muscles, improve balance and learn coordination. J: Place a series of lily pad hula hoops on the ground and encourage children to JUMP from one lily pad to the next. K: KICK balls of various sizes. L: Learn to be limber with a game of LIMBO! M: MARCH to the beat using homemade instruments or some John Phillips Sousa tunes. N: Teach children NUMBER concepts through physical activity. Encourage children to count steps, make groups with a certain number of children or keep track of the amount of physical activity they get each day. O: Always provide OPTIONS! Adapt games to meet the individual needs of children. And remember, kids are great at devising new ways to play with standard equipment. P: PROVIDE an environment in which children can PRACTICE skills independently. Avoid using competition as a motivator and promote success for all children by adjusting for individual skill levels. Q: After physical activity, be sure to provide two minutes of QUIET TIME and relaxation exercises. Emphasize slow breathing, relaxing muscles and releasing tension. R: Use RHYTHM STICKS or RIBBON WANDS to promote childrens expressive rhythmic movements. S: Develop endless catching games using inexpensive SCARVES. T: Encourage children to THROW balls or beanbags underhand or overhand at TARGETS placed on the wall. Use poster board, a cardboard box, or an old sheet to create unique targets. U: Help children learn how to USE various body parts by focusing on movements with the UPPER BODY. Use the alphabet to develop movement challenges that relate to upper body parts such as the arms, elbows, shoulders, hands, and head. V: Promote VOLLEYING skills by playing a game of Keep It Up with a balloon or punch ball with the rubber band removed. W: Have children act out various weather conditions by WALKING as if they were feeling each kind of weather. Suggest possible weather conditions like windy, walking in autumn leaves or playing in puddles after a rain. X: X marks the spot! Use tape, carpet squares or poly spots to create a personal space for each child to use. Encourage children to show you how they can put various body parts on their spot. Y: YOGA poses can help children develop their balance and coordination. Z: Encourage children to create ZIGZAG patterns with their bodies.

Get Moving!
No matter what shape you are in, together we can rise to the challenge to get more active during the month of May. Remember these tips as you get your family moving. Suggest activities you can do together. Try out some of the ideas on our A to Z list. Start small. If youre not used to being active, take it easy at first. Mix it up. Try different activities to keep it interesting. Make physical activity part of your regular routine. Give up a TV show to make time for physical activity. Recognize small efforts. Remember, some physical activity is better than none! Offer encouragement and praise. Point out positive choices. Ex. Im glad were walking to the park instead of driving. Choose healthy gifts. For birthdays or special rewards, choose gifts to encourage your child to be more active.

Adapted from: www.healthfinder.gov

To post questions and get more ideas, recipes and resources to keep your child happy, healthy and safe, join the Healthy Kansas Kids Group page on Facebook!

Make Your Home Asthma-Friendly

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, almost 20 million people in the United States have asthma. Nearly 9 million of them are children. To make your home asthma friendly, follow these ten steps from the Environmental Protection Agency: 1. Take it outside. One of the most common asthma triggers in the home is secondhand smoke. Until you can quit, smoke outside, not in your home or car. 2. Good night, little mite! Dust mites are also triggers for asthma. Cover mattresses and pillows with dust-proof zippered covers. 3. Play it safe. Watch for the Air Quality Index (AQI) during your local weather report. When AQI reports unhealthy levels, limit outdoor activities. 4. A little goes a long way. Reduce everyday dust build-up, by regularly dusting with a damp cloth and vacuuming carpet and fabric -covered furniture. 5. Stake your claim. Household pets can trigger asthma with skin flares, urine, and saliva. Keep pets outdoors, if possible. 6. Uninvite unwelcome guests. Cockroaches can trigger asthma. Dont invite them into your home by leaving food or garbage out. 7. Think before you spray. Instead of pesticide sprays, control pests using Integrated Pest Management methods. If sprays are necessary, always circulate fresh air into the room being treated and keep asthma sufferers out of that room for several hours after any spraying. 8. Break the mold. Mold is another asthma trigger. The key to controlling mold is controlling moisture. Wash and dry hard surfaces to prevent and remove mold. Replace moldy ceiling tiles and carpet. 9. Air it out. Reducing the moisture will control asthma triggers like mold, cockroaches, and dust mites. Use exhaust fans or open windows when cooking and showering. Fix leaky plumbing or other unwanted sources of water. 10. Plan before the attack. Work with your doctor or health care provider to develop a written asthma management plan for your child that includes information on your childs triggers and how to manage them. Share the plan with your child care provider or anyone that regularly cares for your child. For more information, visit: www.epa.gov

Source: United States Environmental Protection Agency, Indoor Environments Division.

NEW! Clip and Save feature makes it easy to clip out and save this healthy recipe before recycling your Healthy Kansas Kids newsletter.

Healthy Eats

Apple Banana Salad with Peanuts Dressing: 1/3 c. plain low-fat yogurt 2 T. mayonnaise 1 T. honey 2 t. paprika

Salad: 12 oz lettuce mix 2 ripe bananas 2 1/2 apples, sliced thin 3/4 c. unsalted dry roasted peanuts

Whisk together dressing ingredients. Slice bananas and apples. In a large salad bowl, toss mixed greens, banana and apple slices, peanuts and dressing. Serve immediately. Nutrition information per serving: 330 calories, 7 g fat, 8 g fiber, 26 g sugar, and 10 g protein. Serves: 4 Source: www.choosemyplate.gov

Healthy Kansas Kids, a Program of Child Care Aware of Kansas

www.ks.childcareaware.org

Funding for this project was provided in part by the United Methodist Health Ministry Fund, a philanthropy based in Hutchinson and the Kansas Health Foundation. The Kansas Health Foundation is a private philanthropy dedicated to improving the health of all Kansans. For more information about the Kansas Health Foundation, visit www.kansashealth.org.