Cafp Reflection Paper

My goal in the area of health is to prevent the spread of illness, keep the environment as clean as possible, and follow sound nutrition and fitness policies to help children and families live a healthy lifestyle. In group care, it can sometimes be hard to control the spread of germs and disease, so I follow proper hand washing, sanitation, diapering, and food preparation guidelines at all times. I also follow my center’s sick policy by informing families about communicable diseases, observing children closely, and sending sick children home right away. I also prepare my snack menu carefully by following the food pyramid, ensuring at least two food groups, and strictly limiting processed and sugary foods. I am also proactive about health in fitness in my classroom, as I teach children about making good choices and how to lead a fun and active lifestyle. We have sports, creative movement or outdoor play several times each day to stay active. We also inform families of our health and fitness goals so they can support the goal of a healthy active lifestyle.

Childhood obesity is a growing problem in America. "the percentage of obese children doubling from 6.5% in 1980, to 17.0% in 2006. Weight, nutrition, and physical activity are the main components to a child’s overall health.”(1) “When parents become too busy to cook meals in their homes, children learn poor eating habits and develop into unhealthy eaters.”(1) They will take what they learned at home and apply it to anywhere else that they eat. For example a child that drinks milk at dinner and sits with their family at dinner when asked what they want to drink when they are at a friend’s home will ask for milk because the child would associate milk with dinner. Children cannot make healthy choices of their own they need to be guided so

Since its inception, WIC has seen increases in enrollment and has responded by establishing 10,000 clinic sites including county health departments, hospitals, mobile clinics, community centers, schools, migrant health sites and Indian Service facilities (USDA, 2015). Almost 46,000 merchants across the U.S accepted WIC vouchers that provide nutritious foods for families in 2015, according to the USDA. WIC has established overall goals of providing “vouchers for supplemental nutritious foods, education and counseling at WIC clinics, and screenings/referrals to other health and welfare services” (USDA, 2015). In addition to these goals, WIC has joined the Healthy People 2020 federal initiative to achieve the major breastfeeding goals of

“The physical and emotional health of an entire generation and the economic health and security of our nation is at stake” a quote made by the First Lady, Michelle Obama, as she launches her comprehensive initiative to change the way children think about nutrition and physical fitness (“Learn the Facts,” 2010). Three decades ago, children lived active lives that kept them healthier. They walked to and from school, ate home cooked, reasonable portion meals with vegetables and played outdoors most of the time. Today, children ride the bus instead of walk, eat more fast food and snacks throughout the day because parents are busier, and watch more television or play video games rather than be active outside with peers (“Learn the Facts,” 2010). Young children are becoming overweight and obese along with being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes more frequently. They are making poor dietary choices, inadequate physical activity, and spending too much screen time all contributing to the obesity crisis. One of the effective solutions to reversing the trend of childhood obesity is to provide safe, affordable and accessible after-school health and physical fitness educational programs for all school ages across the nation.

Childhood obesity is a major cause for concern within the United States. This is mainly due to children not getting the require nutrition that they need. Although study show that there is a decrease in obesity in children, it still remains at an all-time high. Children are failing to eat as healthy as they should, and it has become an even bigger problem now that they aren’t getting the require amount of food in their diets. The USDA made a decision a couple of years ago to reduce the amount of food given to children while they are at school. This hurts them tremendously, because the majority of the food they eat comes from being at school all day. The other half lies on the parents when they go home and eat dinner. It is very important for children to eat healthy and eat the required amount of food according to various dietary guidelines. First Lady Michelle Obama has started a new campaign to help kids and parents combat obesity in children. One thing that the campaign has placed emphases on is getting healthier food within school. Although they are getting healthier foods in school they are beginning to change the proportion they are giving students. Through the First Lady’s Let’s Move campaign students should be giving healthier foods and also be allowed to have the correct proportion to help them maintain a healthy diet.

In this program our child care providers have a hands-on interaction with the children. They guide our early learners through child directed play. The child care staff provides different learning opportunities by supplying an array of activities based on the children’s interests. This program will allow the children an opportunity to become leaders in their learning, by exploring and discovering their play environment on their own, with peers and through guidance from the staff. Although we have many open-ended play opportunities, we will have a few structured activities for the children to participate in. We find it important to keep some structure within the daily schedule as this will allow the children the

"Daily outdoor play is an important part of children’s learning and is required by the EYFS. It offers many new learning experiences, and boosts mental and physical wellbeing and confidence. Free-flow play adds

Today the YMCA is as diverse and strong as it has ever been. With a focus on “Activating America,” addressing issues of childhood obesity and lifestyle-related chronic diseases in adults, the YMCA is prioritizing efforts to support its members as they focus on living healthy lifestyles. The YMCA today may not be able to be all things to all people, but it does have something for everyone.” The YMCA serves all population in different ways. From morning care, and even afternoon care that involves School aged adolescents arriving in the morning, where until the bus comes to take the young adolescence to their different schools, they get their morning perk while interacting with other school care kids to start their day off energetic, and install the students to be sharp,precise, and correct as they go throughout the day. Afternoon care

They aim to eliminate the childhood obesity epidemic by working with policy makers, clinical improvement professionals, and healthcare professionals to ensure every child has access to high-quality care through a medical home. Even as early as conception, parents, healthcare providers and leaders can take steps during prenatal care to keep children fit and on track for a healthy future. It is organizations like these that we need. More involvement will create a wide spread and influence more people to commit towards fighting against obesity validating its importance.

In 2008, more than 1 third of the children and youth in America were overweight or obese (Wolfenstetter, 2010). Involving your children in your work out routines, when you take your animals out for walks, or letting

CACFP program playing an important role to introduce children and adults to healthy food and healthy food activities. The CACFP website has a lot of good information about healthy food and healthy food activities for children.and adults. After visiting the CACFP website the two new concepts I did not know previously are following.

Childhood obesity has expanded tremendously within the past thirty years (CDC, 2015). It is not only a state, but also a nationwide issue. For many children, they depend on their school lunches to provide them the nutritious meals they cannot afford to have at home. As a community, we need to get our children into better shape. Not only will they become more astute, but they will also live healthier lifestyles, and have less health complications as they age. When you are overweight or obese, you are much more likely to develop health problems like heart disease, diabetes, or even a stroke. It is our responsibility as a community, state, and nation to offer nutritious meals and activities for our youth and future.

However, I aspire to change the game in eating for a suitably fitting lifestyle. I hope for kids to grow up eating supplementary vegetables, fruits and snacks rich in protein, carboyhdrates and fats that are cheap yet filling. Therefore, I want to first focus on familiarizing myself with what children choose to eat and why they desire to eat it. Through gathered data I hope to advise a plan for children to be in tip top shape. Throughout the community, I can publicise the

Nutrition and weight status is a vitally important issue as obesity is on the rise in the United States. One third of children in this country ages 2-19 are either overweight or obese and this potentially sets them up to develop diabetes and other comorbidities during their lifetime (U.S. Task Force, 2010). It is important to promote health by way of consumption of healthy foods, getting adequate exercise and maintaining a healthy body weight and body image. The Let’s Move initiative, founded by First Lady Michelle Obama, approaches the obesity epidemic at a grassroots level and encourages children to eat healthy, get active and take actions towards a healthy lifestyle ("Let’s Move," n.d.).

With the expansion in technology, children are hastily becoming more and more inactive. In the past century, kids would play outside from sunrise to sunset. Little did they realize, that playtime served