Preventing Childhood Obesity - CareforKids.com.au®

Preventing Childhood Obesity
How child care providers can help

In recognition of the important role played by child care service providers in the health of small children, a new report by the American Institute of Medicine on Early Childhood Obesity Prevention has made a number of direct recommendations about how child care providers can help deal with the burgeoning issue of childhood obesity.

The recommendations offer many practical suggestions for building and maintaining healthy habits in young children and some of the more interesting ones are described.

Recommendations
Child care providers and early childhood educators should provide infants, toddlers and preschool kids with opportunities to be physically active throughout the day.

For infants this could include:

Providing daily opportunities to move freely and explore their environment.
Engaging with infants on the ground.
Providing daily tummy time for infants younger than six months.

For toddlers and preschoolers this could include

Providing opportunities for light, moderate and vigorous physical activity for at least 15 minutes every hour.
Providing daily outdoor time for physical play.
Providing a range of developmentally appropriate structured and unstructured physical activity experiences.
Joining kids in physical activity.
Integrating physical activity into activities designed to promote cognitive and social development.
Providing an outdoor environment with a variety of portable play equipment, shade some natural elements, an open grassy area and plenty of space.
Providing opportunities for children with physical disabilities to be active.
Avoiding punishing children for being physically active and avoid withholding physical activity as a punishment.

Child care providers and early childhood educators should allow infants, toddlers and preschoolers to move freely by limiting the use of equipment that restricts infants' movement and by implementing appropriate strategies to ensure the amount of time toddlers and preschoolers spend sitting or standing still is limited.

Potential actions could include:

Using cribs, car seats and high chairs for their primary purpose only
Limiting the use of equipment such as strollers, swings and bouncer seats for holding infants while they are awake
Implementing activities for toddlers and preschoolers that limit sitting or standing to no more than 30 minutes at a time
Using strollers for toddlers and preschoolers only when absolutely necessary

Education professionals who train child care providers should teach ways to increase children's physical activity and decrease sedentary behaviour.

Child care providers and early childhood educators should practice responsive feeding.

Potential actions could include:

Holding infants in your arms or on your lap while feeding, allowing infants to self regulate their intake and introducing developmentally appropriate solid foods in age appropriate portions.
Providing meals and snacks for toddlers and preschoolers as part of the daily routine,
Requiring adults to sit and eat the same food as children
When serving children family style allowing them to serve themselves and when serving food in units (eg sandwiches) providing age appropriate portions and allowing the children to determine how much they eat.
Reinforcing kid's internal cues of hunger and fullness.

The report also made recommendations on how parents, health care providers and the community more widely can contribute to the health and well being of our youngest citizens.

For more information or to download a copy of the report visit www.iom.edu/obesity