Michelle Obama reaches out to caregivers of young children with healthy guidelines

Yesterday, Our First Lady Michelle Obama announced a new initiative to help day care providers provide a healthy environment for preschoolers in daycare settings.

She is really continuing her dedication to help all children develop healthy habits and with over  12 million children not yet in kindergarten are cared for in a childcare setting.  To guide these caregivers, Michelle Obama has created:

Let’s Move! Child Care

Here is a checklist on healthy nutrition, physical activity and screen time for both providers and parents. The five items include:

• Physical Activity: Provide 1-2 hours of physical activity throughout the day, including outside play when possible.
• Screen Time: No screen time for children under two years. For children age two and older, strive to limit screen time to no more than 30 minutes per week during child care, and work with parents and caregivers to ensure children have no more than 1-2 hours of quality screen time per day, the amount recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
• Food: Serve fruits or vegetables at every meal, eat meals family-style when possible, and no fried foods.
• Beverages: Provide access to water during meals and throughout the day, and do not serve sugary drinks. For children age two and older, serve low-fat (1%) or non-fat milk, and no more than one 4-6 ounce serving of 100% juice per day.
• Infant feeding: For mothers who want to continue breastfeeding, provide their milk to their infants and welcome them to breastfeed during the child care day; and support all new parents in their decisions about infant feeding.

NDICATOR FAM3.B: PERCENTAGE OF CHILDREN AGES 0–6 NOT YET IN KINDERGARTEN BY TYPE OF CARE ARRANGEMENT AND POVERTY STATUS, 2005

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Household Education Surveys Program.

Other resources:

New health and nutrition tools for caregivers

Fruit Food Groups Learning Sheet – Fun coloring page printable that teach kids about the fruit food group (Spanish version)

Grains Food Groups Learning Sheet – Fun coloring page printable that teach kids about the grains food group (Spanish version)

Meat & Beans Food Groups Learning Sheet – Fun coloring page printable that teach kids about the meat and beans food group (Spanish version)

Milk Food Groups Learning Sheet – Fun coloring page printable that teach kids about the milk food group (Spanish version)

Vegetable Food Groups Learning Sheet – Fun coloring page printable that teach kids about the vegetable food group (Spanish version)

High FIber Foods and a Healthy Heart Learning Sheet – Fun coloring page printable that teach kids about the high fiber foods (Spanish version)