YMCA Healthy Kids Day 2010
Healthy Kids Day will be back this year on Saturday, April 17th from 10:00
a.m. to 1:00 p.m. This free, fun, event is a YMCA outeach effort to share
information and resources about raising healthy, active kids.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Karma Krause
Salem Family YMCA
503-581-9623
kkrause@youry.org
When: 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Where: 685 Court St. NE, Salem
Cost: Free!
THE SALEM FAMILY YMCA ENCOURAGES FAMILIES TO PUT PLAY IN THEIR DAY ON YMCA HEALTHY KIDS® DAY, APRIL 17
Salem, OR, April 1, 2010 - As part of a nationwide effort to encourage kids to get moving, the Salem Family YMCA will host YMCA Healthy Kids Day, the nation's largest health day for kids and families. YMCA Healthy Kids Day is filled with fun, engaging and creative activities that foster healthy living, and is a part of the YMCA's larger efforts to help more kids and families become physically active. All activities are free and open to the public.
YMCA Healthy Kids Day at the Salem Family YMCA will provide resources to help educate grown-ups about making healthy choices for their families every day. There will be activities such as a bouncy house, registration for the Awesome 3000, bowling with Town & Country Lanes, camping information from Oregon State Parks and Recreation, and interactive demonstrations of YMCA dance, Zumba, martial arts and more.
Experts recommend that kids engage in at least 60 minutes of physical activity, including active play, each day. Studies show that kids who consistently engage in play are happier and healthier, and develop and enhance a variety of skills including motor skills, social skills, problem solving, and creativity. Kids who get 60 minutes of physical play also tend to have higher self-esteem and perform better academically.
To make more time for physical activity, the Salem Family YMCA offers simple ways to put more play in kids' day, and to get the family moving more, too!
- Make physical activity a regular part of family playtime - the more active kids are the more likely they are to continue being physically active later in life.
- Allow kids to have unstructured playtime. All play is not created equal - kids need different types of play, including indoor and outdoor, active and inactive.
- Reintroduce your child to the basics of active play: play hopscotch or basketball, jump rope, or enjoy games such as Red Light, Green Light and Simon Says.
- Limit screen time and use of electronic media to allow more time for play.
"The goal of encouraging kids to play more is to build a lifetime of love for physical activity," said Karma Krause, membership and marketing director. "Play should not seem like a chore - it is an activity that is fun and brings joy, and allows a kid to just be a kid."
YMCA Healthy Kids Day is supported by the following participants, who will be on site that day offering ideas for families to play together:
A.C. Gilbert's Discovery Village
Awesome 3000
Child Care Information Service
Carol Gleason, CPR & Health Specialist
Head Start
Heppner Chiropractic Clinic
Humane Society of the Willamette Valley
Oregon Marine Board
Oregon Parks and Recreation Department
Organic Fresh Fingers
Reading for All
Red Cross
Safety Town
Salem Hospital Community Health Education Center (CHEC)
Salem/Keizer Student Services
Salem Public Library
Marion County Sheriff's Department
Sodexo
Town & Country Bowl
Salem-Keizer Volcanoes Baseball
Wings of Wonder
YMCA Healthy Kids Day is also supported nationally by Northwestern Mutual Foundation and Tropicana.
More than 700,000 kids and families are expected to participate in YMCA Healthy Kids Day events at nearly 1,500 YMCAs nationwide. For more information about YMCA Healthy Kids Day, call Karma Krause at (503) 581-9622 or visit www.youry.org.
About YMCAs: The nation's 2,687 YMCAs serve 21 million people each year, including more than 9 million children under the age of 18. YMCAs respond to critical social needs by drawing on their collective strength as one of America's largest not-for-profit community service organizations. Through a variety of programs and services focused on the holistic development of children and youth, family strengthening, and health and well-being for all, YMCAs unite men, women and children of all ages, faiths, backgrounds, abilities and income levels. From urban areas to small towns, YMCAs have proudly served America's communities for nearly 160 years by building healthy spirit, mind and body for all. Visit www.ymca.net to find your local YMCA.
