In 2022, Nemours Children’s Health and Healthy Eating Research at Duke University presented the “Healthy Kids, Healthy Future: Advancing Equity in Early Childhood” webinar series. Through four webinars, this series explored how to leverage early care and education settings to achieve equitable health outcomes by highlighting opportunities and advances in: • Policy • Research •… Continue Reading Webinar Series: Advancing Equity in Early Childhood
Supporting Outdoor Learning Environments for South Carolina’s Youngest Residents With support from the Healthy Kids, Healthy Future Technical Assistance Program (HKHF TAP), the Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity Prevention at the South Carolina Department of Health and Environment Control (DHEC) offered high-quality training opportunities to increase early childhood professional’s understanding of the importance… Continue Reading Supporting Outdoor Learning Environments
Transforming Nutrition and Physical Activity Practices in Georgia Childcare Sites With support from the Healthy Kids, Healthy Future Technical Assistance Program (HKHF TAP), HealthMPowers, a nonprofit organization that promotes healthy habits to build a better future for all children, partnered with 40 Georgia ECE sites to transform their nutrition and physical activity practices, policies, and… Continue Reading Strong from the Start
While the Virginia Early Care and Education Learning Collaborative (ECELC) group was filled with stories of positive changes in healthy eating and active play, one story stood out as particularly heartwarming and a testament to collaboration. Valbona (Val) Bytyqi and Ann Marie Ries met at the very first ECELC session in Alexandria, Virginia. Both are… Continue Reading Valbona’s Family Child Care Success
Conway Cradle Care located in Conway, Arkansas, serves adolescent parents who are continuing their high school educations. Childcare is provided to enable teen parents to attend school, as well as a mentoring program to teach these young parents valuable parenting and life skills. Some of the young parents they serve were unfamiliar with choosing and/or… Continue Reading Teaching Adolescent Parents to Cook Healthy
In July 2019, results of the Nemours Children’s Health System’s National Early Care and Education Learning Collaboratives (ECELC) project were published in the journal Preventing Chronic Disease. The ECELC project, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), involved nearly 1,200 child care programs in 10 states. This collaborative is the largest of… Continue Reading ECELC Increases ECE Healthy Practices in 10 States
Maggie Gray, the Director of Brainy Tots Bilingual Preschool in Florissant, Missouri, discovered she and the children in her family child care program were eating the same fruits and vegetables each day. Although they were eating nutritious meals, Maggie felt the menus weren’t adventurous enough. After some reflection, Maggie decided to promote change in her… Continue Reading Purple Carrots at Brainy Tots Preschool
A March 2019 brief by Healthy Eating Research, a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, states that NAPSACC (i.e.: Nutrition And Physical Activity Self-Assessment for Child Care) has the “best evidence for impact” on obesity prevention in young children. Developed by the Children’s Healthy Weight Research Group at the UNC Center for Health… Continue Reading NAPSACC Earns Recognition
Even though early care and education (ECE) providers in the National Early Care and Education Learning Collaborative (ECELC) were learning about healthy goals, they found it challenging to make connections and build relationships with other providers in their respective areas. Providers felt they had limited time and resources. Through ECELC, providers in Faulkner and Mississippi… Continue Reading How ECE Providers Built Bridges in Arkansas
Obesity is a growing problem among toddlers, children and adolescents in the United States. Gaining weight and fat mass rapidly during the first six months of life is one risk factor that can lead to obesity in children. A University of Minnesota School of Public Health study, recently published in the journal Nutrients, examined the… Continue Reading Nursing and Eating Right Leads to Healthier Babies