Energy Balance: Make it a New Summer Ritual
After nine months working hard in school, children look forward to a more relaxed schedule over the summer. For parents, it can be one long period of negotiating. From bed time to keeping up with the summer reading schedule, kids find a way to wear you down!
As members of the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation (HWCF), we encourage healthy summer activities like those you’ll find free as part of their free Together Counts™ program .
We partner with Together Counts because of our shared commitment to helping kids say YES to a healthy lifestyle – and that includes saying NO to underage drinking.
At TogetherCounts.com you’ll find creative ways to get kids thinking about healthy habits over the summer months. Activities designed to continue the learning at home are developed by the experts at Discovery Education. This month there’s a fun one called “H is for Healthy Habits” and the entire family can get involved by doing an audit of their energy balance for a typical day. Kids especially like “playing teacher” over the summer months. This hands-on project helps them identify the entire family’s habits and complete a chart checking the energy balance and routines for each member in the morning, afternoon and evening. It provides opportunities for discussion about nutritious foods and the importance of being active each day. Thousands of children use the energy balance curriculum in schools, and the learning can continue at home.
But wait, there’s more! Once your family knows if they are in balance throughout the day, they can move on to part two of the activity and implement small changes where needed. The whole family can benefit by committing to one or two new “family” habits such as committing to eat a nutritious breakfast each morning or taking a walk after dinner. Finally, print and sign the “Proclamation of Energy Balance” included in the activity packet and post it on the fridge as a reminder throughout the summer.
Join the energy balance conversation by following the Together Counts program on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/togethercounts
