Did you know that the childhood obesity rate has more than tripled in the last 30 years? 1 in 5 children today is considered obese and even more are considered overweight. It’s no coincidence that this increase in childhood obesity rates has occurred during the same time that the prevalence of television, video games and the internet has grown. Childhood obesity has been demonstrated to greatly increase the risk of

One key to helping prevent childhood obesity is by parents, educators, and after school programs collaborating and working together to help ensure that children stay active throughout the day. Here are some helpful guidelines for all parents and other adults to follow to promote and maintain a healthy lifestyle among children.

1. Be a positive role model. Studies show that being overweight yourself greatly increases the chance of your child having weight problems. Try to maintain an active lifestyle and demonstrate making healthy food choices in front of your child.
2. If possible, have family members walk more during the week and rely less on automobiles. If your child’s school is within walking distance, encourage him/her to walk to school a few times during the week when the weather permits. Take family walks as a form of leisure and exercise throughout the week.
3. Encourage your child to participate in sports, games, and other outdoor activities after school, since he/she has been mostly sitting for several hours during the day. This is also very important during the summertime, when many children decide sit in front of the television, computer, or smart phone all day.
4. Limit the amount of time your child watches television. Advertisements often target young consumers with images of unhealthy foods and studies show that most Americans tend to over-eat snacks while watching television.
5. Limit the amount of time your child spends playing video games or on the computer as well. These are also relatively sedentary activities that do not expend as many calories per hour as other activities.
6. Reward your child with a specific amount of television, video game, or computer time for every hour he/she spends being active. 20 to 30 minutes for every hour of being active is a good ratio to strive for.
7. If the weather or environment does not permit outdoor activities, encourage your child to read a book, draw, play an instrument, complete a puzzle, or anything else intellectually stimulating. These are also relatively sedentary activities but they are not on a couch and don’t lead as much to snacking. They also develop your child’s mind in ways that television will not.
8. Hold a themed family night once a week that does not require the television. Play board games or cards, go for a walk, play catch, camp out in the backyard.
9. Work with your child’s school to make sure physical education and/or recess are incorporated properly and regularly into the school day. Make sure that healthy food choices are offered during lunch time and that access to junk food in the cafeteria and vending machines is limited. If there is junk food in vending machines, ask the school to supplement them with healthy snacks and fruit.

10. Above all, ensure that your child is active for at least one full hour a day. Make sure they also get plenty of sleep, as this also reduces the chance of being overweight.

Strategies for Parents - Communiqué offers some great strategies for parents and teachers to help keep kids active. They discuss health risk factors such as asthma and heart disease as well as teach parents and teachers preventive measures. There are links provide to the Center for Disease control and other helpful organization. Parents and teachers can use this information to help kids get on the track to living a healthy lifestyle.

Kids Health - Kids Health is a website for kids and parents that discusses many different childhood issues. Kids can learn simple activities to do that will get them active and other ways to stay healthy. They can also learn about how the body works, feelings, and health problems. There are also sections dedicated to parents and teens.

Promoting Youth Physical Activity - The Center for Disease Control is a great resource for everyone. Parents and teachers can read about statistics, diseases, and healthy living. They will also find advice on promoting physical activity in youth and how to take action. This website offers so very helpful and valuable information which people of all ages will enjoy.

Active Families - Let’s Move is a website dedicated to helping families stay active. The let’s move outside link will help find places to go such as parks, play stations, and forests. They also provide information on family activities to enjoy while there. The website provides facts, health and nutrition information, physical activity information, and other great resources.

Family Fun - This website is sponsored by Pepperidge Farm Goldfish. What is great about this link is there is a list of family-fun activities which people of all ages will enjoy. These activities include games such as backyard bowling, blind fin bluff, fish out of water, leap fish, sardines and more. Some are a new spin on old favorites and some are new creative ideas.

Exercise Tips - This PDF document offers seven tips for families on eating healthy and getting exercise. Healthy eating tips include ways to make simple changes that can make a big difference including types of oil used in cooking and various foods. Exercise tips include setting examples and home gyms. There are fourteen quick tips total and it is good information to help parents and children get started towards a healthier lifestyle.

Outdoor Ideas - This is a PDF document is a good resource for adults. It offers information on ways to encourage children to get active and provides an activity action plan. There are also discussion questions which would be great for teachers. The great thing about this document is that it offers indoor and outdoor ideas for activities to keep kids moving.

Indoor Ideas - When it’s cold outside, children are inside a lot. Most people would think there were not a lot of activities that can be done inside to stay active, but this PDF document offers ten great ideas for indoor activities. Some of the activities include indoor facilities, malls, libraries and cleaning. There are many ways to stay active; it just takes a little imagination.

Motivating Kids - PBS is a great educational website for children in general but it is also a great tool for parents and teachers as well. They can learn how to motivate kids to get active, the elements of exercise, how to raise a fit preschool-aged child, and teaching children yoga. There is a lot of advice, activities for kids, and other wonderful information. There is also links to throwing children a PBS themed birthday party and links for parents and teachers about PBS children’s shows.

Video Games: Exercise for Kids? - This is a great article about video games for parents and teacher to read. It discusses the Wii and Kinect games and what parents should do before purchasing a game system. It also discusses what parents should look for when choosing games. Most importantly, it talks about not replacing active video games with outdoor activity and provide a link to an article on how to keep kids active.