Enhancing Healthy Eating and Physical Activity Policies in Early Childhood Settings

1. Program Policies …Enhancing Healthy Eating and Physical Activity in your Center Linda Handel, RDCD Grant Specialist Linda.handel@dpi.wi.gov

2. Congratulations on Building Lifelong Healthy Habits!!

3. “Early childhood settings, including both child care centers and informal care, present a tremendous opportunity to prevent obesity by making an impact at a pivotal phase in children’s lives.” -Solving the Problem of Childhood Obesity Within a Generation: a Report to the President from the Childhood Obesity Task Force. www.healthykidshealthyfutures.org

4. “Children learn healthy habits from the adults and caregivers in their lives. We have the opportunity to supply a generation with nutritious foods and healthy habits in an environment that is fun, safe and they trust us.” Jan Pelot, Wood County Head Start, WI Rapids

5. How Does this Fit into Existing Childhood Initiatives?

6. Promote Health & Wellness • Motivated Staff • Basic knowledge • Adventurous spirit • Willingness to try new things

7. Policies are a Great Place to Start! What policies have you developed? Have they become your standards?

8. Policies can Help • Create consistent messages • Provides clear guidelines • Provide a basis for evaluation and ID what areas needing improvement • Educate new staff/parents on current practices

9. Policies can Help • Guide decisions and choices • Communicate program’s benefits • Prevent problems and provide solutions

10. Program Policies are as Good as they are Implemented… • Why Nutrition and Physical Activity Policies -Statistics, Assessments • Who is on board… admin, staff, parents -Parent, staff surveys/interviews • Shared decision making. TEAM approach - Consensus and commitment

11. Program Policies are as Good as they are Implemented… • Benchmarks and Timelines -Steps, tasks, completion dates • Consistent Health Messages -Promoted to all and on a consistent basis • Ongoing evaluation -Reassess, measure progress with QIP

12. Model wellness policies reflect important best practices - Nutrition standards for assuring only healthy meals and snacks and beverages.- A recommended minimum for the amount of daily physical activity, recommended types of activities, and limitations on the amount of time spent watching TV or videos.- Plans for nutrition and physical activity education for children, teachers and parents.

13. www.healthykidshealthyfutures.org Physical Activity Screen Time Food Beverages Infant Feeding

14. Activity Break

15. Policy Development Review • Assessment • Review sample program policies • Consult with those affected (surveys) • Design policies supporting the change desired • Consensus • Communicate health messages • Evaluate

16. How do you hit a Target you can not see or do not have… Are you a wandering Generality or a Meaningful Specific?

17. Child Care Wellness Grant • Application period: June 9 – July 21, 4pm • Goal: To develop and implement policies promoting the health and nutrition improvement for children in child care institutions (CCIs). • Who can Apply: group child care centers, emergency shelters, at-risk sites and outside of school hours sites.

18. Resources • http://dpi.wi.gov/fns/cacfp1.html • http://teamnutrition.usda.gov/childcare.html • www.brightfutures.org/nutrition • http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/care/default.htm • http://www.healthykidshealthyfuture.org/welcome.html • http://health.mo.gov/living/dnhs_pdfs/ChildCareModelPolicies.pdf • http://www.letsmove.gov/

19. A Smile is a Curve that Set’s Everything Straight! -Phyllis Diller