New Resources for Parents of Overweight Children- Childhood Obesity Awareness Month

This post shares some helpful information, resources and tools for parents concerned about their child's weight from our website, and latest news about the organizations and initiatives to help support parents and prevent childhood obesity. Plus, information and tools for teachers, youth centers and community health centers.

We are coming to the end of September and National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month. You can learn more about National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month at the 'Healthier Kids Brighter Futures website'.

For Parents:

If you think your child is overweight, it may be difficult to discuss. You don’t want your child to feel self-conscious. Focusing on healthy habits, avoiding or minimizing low nutrient foods and increasing physical activity is a good place to start. Read: Why not to put your Child on a Fad Diet.  By focusing on healthy habits and not your child's weight you can set up a positive partnership with your child and help them learn to make healthier choices.

The annual physical is a good opportunity for you to work with your pediatrician to discuss ways for your child to be healthier and they can  do a check on their BMI. (Spanish)

Childhood obesity affects many aspects of a child life today and in the future. There is no easy answer. But one thing is clear, prevention is the long term solution. It starts with arming children with the knowledge about nutrition at a young age. It starts with all of us making a commitment to building a new generation of nutrition minded children.

Our website offers a free online learning platform for kids and families to learn about nutrition in English and Spanish.

We've grown to over 50,000 parents members and over 5000 organizations and schools are using our interactive tools, games and printables to teach kids the facts and skills to make healthier choices!

"Every positive change, no matter how small, is a step to creating a healthier child. Together we can give children the knowledge, facts and skills to develop healthy habits for a lifetime!" Maggie LaBarbera RN, Founder of Nourish Interactive

Here's some resources and organizations to learn more about helping overweight children

From the American Dietetic Association: How to Achieve and Maintain a Healthy Weight for Children

Tool to Find a Registered Dietitian

Prevent Obesity Website offers support for advocates, communities, organizations and individuals to get involved- "using technology to bring together a greater number of people who seek to improve the health of our children, families and communities."

New: NAACP Childhood Obesity Manual and a short survey to share about the situation your community

Reverse Childhood Obesity- by the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation

5 Way to Get your Family Moving by WebMD

Let's Move -Tips for Parents First Lady Michelle Obama's campaign to help end Childhood Obesity.

'Guide for parents - helping your overweight child' from our website Nourish Interactive:

What A Parent Can Do Now To Help Their Child?

• Set up a pediatric physical for your child.
• Review his or her BMI-for-age with your pediatrician.
• To help you prepare for your child's next visit you can print this Age-Specific Pediatric Visit Sheet Take it to the pediatric visit to help guide your discussion.
• Begin to set some goals to change habits as a family.

It is not easy to change our eating preferences and activity level as adults and it can be just as challenging for kids. That is why it is best to set one or two healthy goals to work on for a couple of months. Then as those new habits become second nature, move to the next goal.

If you are working with a nutritionist or dietitian, she/he will be able to help you understand what habits need to be modified and set some goals. Read more about the health implications of obesity

Setting healthy goals as a family

Print free kid-friendly Family/Child Healthy Goals Contracts and Tracking Sheets

Learn about our online healthy nutrition games that teach children about the food groups, making healthy choices and the importance of balancing calories and physical activity. The games are free and available in English or Spanish.

Our featured game is 7 levels, parents or teachers may want to review our teaching guide for Chef Solus and the Food Pyramid Adventure Game. 

Play free GAME DEMO - the Grains Food Group.  (To play the 7 levels of the featured video game and get progress reports a parent or other adult can sign up for a free membership)

Sign up for our free monthly newsletter "Nourish Healthy Kids"

Helping Your Child Develop Healthier Food and Physical Activity Habits

It is important that your child does not feel singled out from the family’s routine. It is important to take steps as a family to improve eating habits and exercise. A balanced healthy meal starts with eating healthy foods from the five different food groups. The USDA has created the Food Pyramid that divides food into groups and helps the family learn about healthy foods and how to create a balanced diet with foods from all the food groups.

Healthy eating is something that the whole family can benefit from.

Here are some general helpful guidelines to help you get started:

Promote Eating Healthy Foods:

• Teach your child about nutrition, the earlier the better.
• Clean out the cupboards and throw out the empty calorie foods or put them away where they are not visible. This helps limit temptation.
• Eat meals together as a family whenever possible.
• Watch portion sizes, teach children to start with a smaller portion, they can have seconds if they are still hungry.
• Avoid watching television while eating. Get more tips on how to avoid minimize screen time.
• Limit “empty calorie” foods to once in a while not everyday
• Ensure that breakfast is part of your family’s daily routine.
• Try to serve at least five servings of fruits and non-starchy vegetables each day.
• Have healthy snacks like fruit, low-fat cheese and whole grain crackers available during snack time.
• Encourage plenty of water.

Learn more about the USDA Food Pyramid and the five main food groups.

Tips for Portion Control

Read Easy Healthy Tips For The Whole Family.

Promote Physical Activity to Kids:

• Be a good example and show your child how much fun it is to be active.
• Be sensitive to their preferences, not all children like sports. There are many other activities they can do, the key is for them to have fun!
• Try to do something active as a family a few times a week.
• Encourage your child to be active at least three times a week and then gradually build towards daily activity.
• Walk with your child whenever possible to school, to the store, to the library, at the mall and around the block after dinner.
• Teach your child to take the stairs instead of the elevator.
• Plan fun family activities that involve exercise, such as bicycling, dancing, hiking and swimming
• Limit television, computer and video game time to an average of two hours or less per day.

Print a list of physical activity ideas for kids. Print a Physical Activity Tracker - encourage and track 60 minutes of daily physical activity a day.

Teach Your Family to Read Food Labels:

Picking healthy foods means reading food labels on food packages. The information is all there but sometimes it can be a little confusing to read. Don’t worry, there are some simple tips we can teach you that will help you choose healthier foods. The key is to make it a habit for the whole family. This is the best way for kids to realize which foods to choose to keep their body healthy.

Teaching your child to look for foods low in fat (less than 30%) and low in sugar (less than 12 gms per serving) can help them reduce their overall calories.

Parents, take the Food Label Quiz - an interactive tool and quiz about food label facts.

Learn more about reading Food Labels.

Printable pages to teach kids how to read food labels

Food Label Game for kids

We believe that nutrition can be fun and is most important for kids to learn about when they are young.

Helping them learn healthy habits means teaching them what is healthy choices and why it is important. We are here to provide children a positive and fun experience to help them make healthier choices and form positive associations with healthy foods.

The key is to begin now. The older children become the more challenging it is to change behaviors. Working together as a family while the child is still forming habits and food preferences will help everyone feel healthier and be healthier.

Maggie LaBarbera, RN, MBA Registered Nurse- founder of Nourish Interactive

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