RHINELANDER, Wis. (WJFW) – YMCA’s across the country celebrated “Healthy Kids Day” on Saturday. The goal of the day is to teach kids and families about eating healthy and staying active.
“Every Spring – it’s usually late April – there is a nationwide celebration of making sure that we are investing in our kids in our communities to keep them strong and healthy,” Mission Advancement Director for YMCA of the Northwoods, Abbie Cline, said.
Around the country, each YMCA seeks to tailor this day to the needs of their own community.
“We also have a community resource fair for healthy families that is in our gymnasium,” Cline said. “We have an obstacle course and bounce house so we can get active down in the sports complex. We weren’t sure on the weather, so we wanted to make sure that we could have everything inside and kids could run about and be kids.”
Today – through a partnership between Novo Nordisk and Marshfield Clinic – the celebrity chef Doreen Colondres was on-hand to give some tips on meals that will be good for even the pickiest eaters in the family.
“We really wanted to focus on the ones that a family could easily make at the end of a long day and the kids will eat and it’s going to be healthy for them and good for their bodies,” Cline said. “And she did a wonderful job while she was presenting about it being easy. Not spending more than 20 minutes in your kitchen but still having great nutrients in your body.”
Cline also discussed why days like this are so vital in getting kids to buy in to living a healthy lifestyle – and the essential role that adults play in instilling those values and others that are important for kids growing up today.
“Whether it’s healthy eating habits, it’s staying active in fun and meaningful ways,” Cline said. “We’re being intentional about our screen time. We’re being intentional about how we address and focus on our mental health. All of it. We set that foundation as kids and we, as adults, are helping guide them and learn that.”
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