Raising Healthy Children for Life
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Health 4 Life: Food, Fitness, Family & Fun
Health 4 Life helps put the focus on raising healthy kids by providing education and resources for schools and families to encourage healthy choices, good nutrition and daily physically activity in a fun and enjoyable manner.
Health 4 Life is a simple concept that I have developed which can be used by parents, teachers, educators and schools to emphasize to everyone where our focus should be...on raising healthy families and raising health children.
Health 4 Life uses 4 terms as an easy way to remember the 4 items to emphasize when raising healthy children: 1.) Food 2.) Fitness 3.) Family & Friends 4.) Fun
Modified Photo Source: Stefan Kuemmel. Orange. Royalty Free Use.
Health 4 Life - A Focus on 4 Areas
1. Food
2. Fitness
3. Family & Friends
4. Fun
My Personal Goal - Raising Healthy Children
Teaching Others to Raise Healthy Children
- More and more kids are being diagnosed with adult diseases like high blood pressure and type II diabetes, but it doesn't have to be that way. The Alliance is working to ensure that all kids have healthy futures."
Robert Eckel, MD
Immediate Past President of the American Heart Association
Photo source: Modified Microsoft Image.
A Squidoo Lens on Keeping Your Heart Healthy
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Promote Heart Health and Prevent Heart Disease
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February is officially American Heart Month but you can learn about promoting heart health and preventing heart disease year 'round. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States. Stroke is the third leading...
Raising Healthy Children to Be Healthy 4 Life
Raising healthy kids can be made easier for parents, teachers, educators and schools by teaching them how to make healthy choices.
Learning how to make healthy choices will help them to develop healthy habits and lifestyle choices for a lifetime.
There are Four components of Healthy 4 Life:
- Food
Learn How to Make Healthy Food Choices. - Fitness
Be Physically Active Each Day. - Family & Friends
Get Friends and Family Involved so You will all Be Healthy 4 Life. - Fun
Being Fit and Eating Healthy Can be Fun.
More Articles on Being Healthy For Life
- How to Raise a Healthy Child: The Best GIFT to Give a Child is Health for Life
- Raising a healthy child can be made easier when parents focus on giving their child or children the GIFT of Health.
- How to Be Healthy for Life: Tips to Help You Live a Healthy Life
- Most people hope to live a long, healthy life. Let's look at some simple tips to help you be healthier for life.
Organizations Focused on Raising Healthy Children
- The Alliance for a Healthier Generation
- The Alliance for a Healthier Generation is a partnership between the American Heart Association and the William J. Clinton Foundation. Along with co-leader Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, the Alliance will work nationally to create awareness and real solutions for the childhood obesity epidemic.
- HealthierUS.gov home page
- The HealthierUS initiative is a national effort to improve people's lives, prevent and reduce the costs of disease, and promote community health and wellness. HealthierUS.gov provides credible, accurate information to help you choose to live a healthier life.
- Learn to Be Healthy
- LearntobeHealthy.org is an online health science education center designed to help parents and teachers communicate important health concepts to students though educational resources such as games, activities, and lesson plans.
- Smallstep Kids
- Smallstep for Kids encourages children to take small steps to learn about health and fitness from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.
- KidsHealth - the Web's most visited site about children's health
- Provides families, parents, kids and teens with accurate, up-to-date, and jargon-free health information they can use.
- Children's Health
- Children's Health section from the American Heart Association -- working to help kids and families live heart-healthy lives.
- American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation & Dance
- AAHPERD is a non-profit, educational organization whose mission is to promote and support creative and healthy lifestyles through high quality programs in health, physical education, recreation, dance and sport.
Food
Learn How to Make Healthy Food Choices
Young children need to learn how to make healthy food choices on their own, so even when they are away from home at school or with friends they will be making healthy choices...most of the time.Teaching children how to make healthy food choices can be made easier for parents and teachers by giving children a variety of healthy foods to choose from and then letting the child decide when and how much they will choose to eat.
One way of ensuring the children eat healthy foods is to only give them healthy foods as their choices...most of the time. Less healthier food choices can be part of a normal diet, in moderation. Children should be encouraged to eat their healthy foods first.
Photo Source: Meliha Gojak. Assorted Fruit. Royalty Free Use.
The Most Important Thing about Food
Children learn how to make healthy food choices by giving them a variety of healthy foods to choose from.
The child gets to decide when and how much they will choose to eat.
Food and Nutrition
- Healthier Eating: Getting Where You Need to Be
- A helpful brochure on "Healthier Eating: Getting Where You Need to Be" sponsored by the American Dietetics Association, American Academy of Family Practice, American Academy of Pediatrics, Association, National Medical Association and the National Dairy Council.
- Get Packin' - Tips For a Healthy Lunchbox
- Feeding Kids Get Packin' - Tips For a Healthy Lunchbox. A downloadable pdf file with helpful tips for packing a healthy lunch.
- USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center at Baylor College of Medicine
- The Children's Nutrition Research Center (CNRC) is dedicated to defining the nutrient needs of children, from conception through adolescence, and the needs of pregnant women and nursing mothers.
- MyPyramid.gov - United States Department of Agriculture
- MyPyramid Plan offers you a personal eating plan with the foods and amounts that are right for you. Click on the MyPyramid Plan box to get started. MyPyramid Tracker offers a detailed assessment of your
- Children & Nutrition
- This section contains links to American Heart Association Programs, Heart & Stroke Encyclopedia entries and Scientific Statements related to children and nutrition.
- Nutrition Fact Sheets
- These Nutrition Fact Sheets from the American Dietetic Association cover a wide range of topics, and age groups. These brief fact sheets provide nutrition facts along with healthy eating tips and recipes.
- Meals Matter
- Meals Matter is a non-commercial website developed and supported by the Dairy Council of California, a not-for-profit organization funded by California dairy processors and producers. Meals Matter is a free site.
- Making Healthy Food Choices - Nutrition & Recipes
- Here are a few tips from the American Diabetes Association on making healthful food choices for you and your entire family.
- Smart Snacking
- Healthy snacks are essential for busy teens. Read this article to find out how eating small, nutritious meals throughout the day can keep your energy level high and your mind alert.
- Whole Foods Market : Food for Kids : Simple No-Cook Healthy Snack Ideas
- A collection of healthy snack ideas from the Whole Foods Market.
- Healthy School Snacks - Center for Science in the Public Interest
- An excellent downloadable pdf article on Healthy School Snacks from Center for Science in the Public Interest. A good resource for parents bringing in snacks and planning parties for children.
Recommended Book to Get Young Children to Eat
Available on Amazon
Food Fights: Winning the Nutritional Challenges of Parenthood Armed with Insight, Humor, and a Bottle of Ketchup
Amazon Price: $10.17 (as of 07/12/2009) 
Books on Raising Healthy Children
Available on Amazon
Brown Bag Success: Making Healthy Lunches Your Kids Won't Trade
Amazon Price: $10.36 (as of 07/12/2009)
The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids' Favorite Meals
Amazon Price: $12.21 (as of 07/12/2009)
The Healthy Body Cookbook: Over 50 Fun Activities and Delicious Recipes for Kids
Amazon Price: $10.10 (as of 07/12/2009)
Quick Meals for Healthy Kids and Busy Parents: Wholesome Family Recipes in 30 Minutes or Less From Three Leading Child Nutrition Experts
Amazon Price: $10.85 (as of 07/12/2009)
Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food
Amazon Price: $18.96 (as of 07/12/2009)
Healthy Recipes Kids Love
Healthy Recipes Kids Love is a 100-page magazine cookbook designed to help families eat more healthfully. From selecting recipes that sound and look good to shopping together for the ingredients and cooking together, families can make eating at home easy and rewarding.
Retail Price is a reasonable $3.99.
- Healthy Recipes Kids Love
- American Heart Association's webpage for Healthy Recipes Kids Love.
- American Heart Association - American Stroke Association Online Retail Store
- You can order the Healthy Recipes Kids Love from American Heart Association's online store.
- Chicken Fingers with Dipping Sauces
- An online recipe example from Healthy Recipes Kids Love, by the American Heart Association.
- Fruit Parfaits
- An online recipe example from Healthy Recipes Kids Love, by the American Heart Association.
Healthy Kids
Healthy Kids- Ways to eat well and be active
Created by registered dietitian- help your kids eat well and be active
Runtime: 10:00
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The Most Important Thing about Fitness
To stay healthy children should be physically active for at least 60 minutes on most day.
Fitness
Be Physically Active Each Day.
Children need to be encourage to be physically active for at least 60 minutes each day. Being active helps with their growth and development, build strong bones and aids in maintaining a healthy weight.Parents and teachers can help children find activities that they enjoy doing and then encourage that activity. For some children it may be running, for others dancing or yoga and other children may playing a sport.
Find ways of including being active as part of what children and their families do each day. Exercise videos can be a good option to keep children moving on hot or raining days.
Photo Source: Curtis Fletcher. The Joy of Sport. Royalty Free Use.
Fitness and Activity
- Be Physically Active Each Day
- Regular physical activity is important for your overall health and well-being. HealthierUS.gov provides credible, accurate information to help you choose to be more physically active each day.
- Smallstep Kids
- Smallstep for Kids encourages children to take small steps to learn about health and fitness.
- Small Step - Adults and Teens
- This campaign launched to encourage people that getting healthy is not impossible, especially if you take it one "Small Step" at a time.
- What Moves U - Get Up & Get Movin'!
- The American Heart Association and the National Football League have launched the What Moves U campaign to encourage middle school students to become more physically active. The campaign includes school activation kits, curriculum plans, and an interactive fitness Web site for kids.
- Shape Up America!
- Shape Up America! is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization committed to raising awareness of obesity as a health issue and to providing responsible information on healthy weight management.
- Fitness Fun from Powerful Bones. Staying Strong
- Encouragement and ideas of weight-bearing physical activities to get girls started from Powerful Bones, Powerful Girls. Weight-bearing means your muscles (and bones!) are working against gravity - think jumping, running, lifting weights.
- Walk Score
- Walk Score helps people find walkable places around where they live. Walk Score calculates the walkability, how close something is, of an address by locating nearby stores, restaurants, schools, parks, etc. The site also provides information on "Why is walking important?"
- President's Challenge
- The President's Challenge is a program that encourages all Americans to make being act part of their everyday lives. The site includes everything schools & communities need to take the challenge .
- Get Moving for the Health and Fun of it!
- A downloadable pdf brochure with information and encouragement to help parents and children both to get moving and have more fun doing it. From the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion.
Videos to Encourage Children to Exercise
Available on Amazon
Denise Austin's Fit Kids
Amazon Price: $10.49 (as of 07/12/2009)
Bindi Kid Fitness with Steve Irwin & the Crocmen
Amazon Price: $31.49 (as of 07/12/2009)
Billy Blanks - Tae Bo Kicks
Amazon Price: $10.49 (as of 07/12/2009)
Gaiam Kids: Yogakids Fun Collection
Amazon Price: $13.49 (as of 07/12/2009)
Angel Bear Yoga
Amazon Price: $14.99 (as of 07/12/2009)
The Most Important Thing about Friends and Family
Children are more likely to participate in an activity if someone else is participating.
Getting friends and family involved is one good way of making sure that children will be healthy and active.
Friends and Family
Get Friends and Family Involved in Being Healthy 4 Life
Children are more likely to stick with an activity if there is someone else participating. Getting friends and family involved is a good way of ensuring that children will be healthy 4 life.Look for activities that children can participate with their friends such as school sports. Find ways where the entire family can play together such as walking, hiking, bicycling, ice skating and rollerbladding.
Learn how to make healthy food choices...together. Shop for healthy food in the stores, prepare health food recipes. Focusing on being healthy 4 life together will not only benefit the children, but it will also benefit their friends and parents.
Photo: Modified Microsoft Image.
Friends and Family
- Top Ten Ways to Help Children Develop Healthy Habits
- Top Ten ways family members can help children develop healthy habits from the American Heart Association.
- 20 Tips for Getting Your Family on Track
- 20 ideas for parents to use to help children become more active and live a healthier lifestyle.
- 15 More Tips for Family Fitness Fun
- Fifteen more ideas for parents to use to encourage children become more active and as a family.
- Another 15 Tips for Family Fitness Fun
- Another 15 more ideas for parents to use to help children become more active and live a healthier lifestyle.
- Small Step - Healthy Lifestyles for the Whole Family
- "Help Your Child Grow Up Healthy and Strong" is a downloadable informational guide for parents that addresses the growing number of unhealthy kids in America today.
- Education World: Family Fitness Night a Popular School-Wide Event
- Family Fitness Night is a concept developed by one teacher trying to figure out a fun way to get families involved and making people aware of local resources for physical activities.
- 99 Tips for Family Fitness Fun
- 99 Tips for Family Fitness Fun provides suggestions of ways for the family to spend more time together being active and being fit.
- Tips for Families - From MyPyarmid.gov
- A downloadable pdf file with a 2-sided MyPyramid for Kids mini-poster with the MyPyramid for Kids graphic on one side and eating and physical activity tips on the other side.
- Family Hiking: Health And Fitness Tips, Safety, Packing and Nature Crafts
- An article on family hiking as a way of getting children to learn more about the great outdoors and develop a lifelong passion for exploring nature.
A Squidoo Lens on Raising a Healthier Generation
Inspiring Young People to Develop Lifelong, Healthy Habits
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The Alliance for a Healthier Generation
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The mission of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation is to eliminate childhood obesity and to inspire all young people in the United States to develop lifelong, healthy habits. The goals of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation are two-fold 1...
Be a Player. Get up and play an hour a day.
A YouTube Public Service Announcement featuring the Cast of Shrek
The Most Important Thing about Fun
Being healthy can be fun.
Look for fun activities and games as ways to get everyone in the family up, out and moving.
Fun
Being Healthy Can Be Fun
Being healthy can be fun. Parents and teachers can look for fun activities and games as ways to get children up, out and moving.Fly a kite, play in a playground, play with a parachute, go rollerblading or skating, swim in the ocean or a lake, take the dog for a walk or go horseback riding.
The organizations and resources listed below offer a whole host of suggestions for ways of making being healthy fun.
Photo: Modified Microsoft Image.
Fun
Being Fit and Eating Healthy Can be Fun
- YMCA Healthy Kids Day
- YMCA Healthy Kids Day is a free, fun-filled day of activities designed to promote healthy kids and families in spirit, mind and body.
- The Fitness Partner Connection Jumpsite
- The Fitness Partner Connection Jumpsite is a powerhouse full of fitness, health and nutrition information.
- Jump Rope for Heart
- Jump Rope For Heart is national programs jointly sponsored by the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) and the American Heart Association (AHA).
- Hoops For Heart
- Hoops For Heart is national programs jointly sponsored by the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) and the American Heart Association (AHA).
- Alliance for a Healthier Generation
- Be Dared to Take the Go Healthy Challenge! Get your kids to take the pledge with the Go Healthy Challenge, part of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation. They can meet Hugo at this fun, interactive site that teaches about good health, good nutrition and good fitness.
- Making Fitness Fun: Make Exercise a Natural Part of Your Child's Life
- Tips from fitness experts to encourage your child and get him or her moving from the Revolution Health Group.
- Smallstep Kids - Fun Student Activities
- Fun Student Activities for teachers and educators from the new Smallsteps education program. Includes a "Can Your Food Do That?" Poster and a Smallsteps Activities Book, as part of a valuable program for classes to help young students build a healthy foundation for life.
Health 4 Life Minimercial, Squidmercial
On YouTube
Health 4 Life
A 10 second Squidmercial promoting one of my favorite lenses on Squidoo.com. The Health 4 Life lens helps put the focus on raising healthy families and children by providing education and resources for parents, schools and families to encourage healthy choices, good nutrition and daily physically activity in a fun and enjoyable manner.
Runtime: 0:09
288 views
0 Comments:
Information about the Squidmercial
First User-Generated Video Project
- We're making a Squidmercial!
- Main page with information about the first ever Squidmercial.
Ready to Take the Go Healthy Challenge?
Challenge Your Family to Go Healthy!The Go Healthy Challenge is an on-air, online and community-based movement that empowers kids to take the lead in making their lives, schools and communities healthier.
Goals for the Challenge
The goal for this Go Healthy Challenge is to engage at least 2 million kids to take the Go Healthy PledgeTM to eat better and exercise more.
What is the Go Healthy Challenge?
The Go Healthy Challenge is
- * Energizing kids and families to take the Go Healthy Challenge as a way to take charge of their health.
* Providing tangible tools and support to kids who need to make and sustain changes to eat better and exercise more.
* Empowering local Go Healthy Champions who can make a real difference in the health of schools and communities.
Other Squidoo Lenses on Going Healthy
Encouraging Healthy Eating and Increasing Activity
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We're All Winners
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“We’re All Winners” is an educational fitness activity designed to let young children have fun, learn a bit about being safe in the sun and then participate in a non-racing, solo running activity. The main goal of the event is to cr...
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The Alliance for a Healthier Generation
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The mission of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation is to eliminate childhood obesity and to inspire all young people in the United States to develop lifelong, healthy habits. The goals of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation are two-fold 1...
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Steptember - A Celebration of Being Active and Healthy Eating
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September is America On the Move's national month long celebration highlighting the benefits of active living and healthy eating. American on the Move is encouraging everyone to move more and eat healthier during the month of September. Take the Ste...
A Squidoo Lens on Making Healthy Resolutions
New Years may be over, but the need to make healthy resolutions still continues.-
Healthy New Year Resolutions
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Making a New Year's Resolution for your health, may be one of the most important things that you do in 2009, but you don't have to just make a resolution for the New Year. You can decide at any time to make resolutions to live a healthier life, reso...
A Featured Lens on Healthy Parents...Healthy Kids!
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Healthy Parents... Healthy Kids!
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This is the most important myth regarding child health at the moment. Time and time again, programs and interventions designed to improve the health of children fail. The reason is certainly multifactorial, but one critical factor is the health of pa...
Reader Feedback on Healthy 4 Life
Your place for comments, messages, suggestions, ideas and feedback
What do you think about raising children to be healthy 4 life?
Be sure to share your comments, rank the site, pass on the word about the site (email) and leave a message (Reader Feedback).
Child_Health wrote...
Nice lens! You've got a great collection of tips and resources here. I'd love it if you'd drop by my lens and say hello when you have the chance.
Posted March 15, 2009
totalhealth wrote...
awesome lens and great idea.
raising a healthy family needs not only eating right but also in terms of emotional and psychological aspects.
Posted January 16, 2009
Zackfaire wrote...
very nice lens. more people should take a look at this lens. i give it some stars. 5 to be exact. parents should encourage their kids to have a healthy lifestyle. with today's exorbitant medical bills and the financial crisis, it's hard to get sick. so staying healthy makes for happy people.
http://www.siakoi.com/health/just-keep-walking.html
Posted September 16, 2008
triathlontraining wrote...
Wonderful lens! Thank you for all the great tips to get/keep kids active.
Posted April 14, 2008
Tinnitus23 wrote...
Cool lens! Health is wealth as they say.. come and visit my lens on tinnitus and learn how to avoid having this ear problem.
Posted February 13, 2008
Toresa wrote...
Great lens. Children now-a-days need more positive encouragement 5*4U
I've just added a new lens called Audiobook Advertising,http://www.squidoo.com
/audiobookads with health & fitness products upcoming.
I'd love to get your opinion...
Posted January 09, 2008
KiroKids wrote...
As an Australian chiropractor primarily looking after childrens' health, I applaud your site and the depth of useful material on it. I will refer my own patients to its many resources. Keep up the great work.
Posted December 02, 2007
sdasd wrote
Hi Comfortdoc , Great Lens. I have also created a lens in same niche . Hope u like it here’s a brief intro:
click here
Posted November 23, 2007
Benefitting Room to Read
This lens benefits Room to Read, one of my favorite Children's Literacy Projects. A Squidoo Lens on Room to Read
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Room To Read
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Room to Read partners with local communities throughout the developing world to establish schools, libraries, and other educational infrastructure. We seek to intervene early in the lives of children in the belief that education is a lifelong gift th...
by Comfortdoc
Kirsti A. Dyer MD, MS, FT is a respected physician, an expert in
life challenges, loss, grief and bereavement, professional health
educator, professor...
