Family - Melrose Family YMCA

Celebrate Healthy Kids and Families with the Melrose YMCA

Healthy Kids Day '07

Our 2008 Healthy Kids Day was a resounding success. We thank you for your participation and look forward to seeing you all here once again for the 2009 Healthy Kids Day.

Photos from the 2008 event are online at http://www.melroseymca.org/pictures/healthykids

New Year's Resolutions For Families
by Richard Whitworth, President of the Melrose YMCA

In the coming weeks, millions of Americans will tackle the annual ritual of making New Year's resolutions. Eat better, exercise more, lose weight, quit smoking - these are some of the perennial favorites. Some will succeed, some will stumble and others, come March, will join the ranks of those vowing to try again next year. What is the secret to New Year's resolution success? Not going it alone!

So this year, the Melrose Family YMCA is encouraging families to put a new twist on the old custom and make resolutions for 2007 together as a family. We have worked for more than 116 years to build strong families and everyday we see firsthand the power of a supportive community and family in achieving goals.

The need is as strong today as ever before. Families are under increasing stress and struggle to balance work, family and health and to find supportive communities. Children struggle to develop the positive values, self-esteem and healthy habits for a healthy, productive adulthood. Studies confirm again and again the vital role that interaction and connectedness play in the long term health and well-being of individual family members.

The Melrose Family YMCA offers the following tips for family New Year's resolutions:

Track progress in a fun, interactive and visual way. Put resolutions in writing and display them on the refrigerator where every family member will see them regularly. Be creative: make resolution posters and charts mapping progress.
Celebrate with positive, healthy rewards. Honor each small success with positive, fun and healthy rewards that meet the needs of the entire family. Schedule regular check-ins such as a monthly family dinner discussion, and celebrate your achievements both big and small.
Prepare for setbacks. Setbacks aren't failure; they are times to call in the troops for reinforcement. A bout with the flu might get the whole family off track for a week or two, so schedule a family meeting to get restarted.
Work together as a team to overcome barriers. If a family member is having trouble meeting a goal, brainstorm together to develop a new strategy. For example, if Mom is having trouble finding the time for exercise, the kids can offer to do the dishes a few nights a week so she can take a 30 minute walk.

At the YMCA, we encourage all families to make family connectedness the foundation for their 2007 New Year's resolutions.

Our best wishes for a happy and healthy New Year!

This article by Richard Whitworth also appeared in the Melrose Free Press "Sitting In" column, December 28, 2006

Family Fitness Tips

Many youth are not active enough for healthy growth and development. Research suggests that a lack of physical activity is dangerous to their health and can be a major contributor to weight gain. Parents can change their family's lifestyle, building in more exercise and teaching wiser food choices. And they can do it as a family, gaining not only health benefits, but also the emotional benefits of doing things together in a society in which work, school and extracurricular activities can often make it hard for families to be together. By following the suggestions below, you can help make physical activity a part of your family's routine and create a pattern of healthful living that may stay with your kids for the rest of their lives.

Build in exercise wherever you can. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Park farther out from the shopping center. See how many short trips from home (less than 1 mile) can be made by walking.
Practice what you preach. Kids learn by example, so exercise regularly and make wise food choices yourself. Have your kids swim, play soccer or take gymnastics when you're working out at the Y.
Kids should get a total of 60 minutes of physical activity a day. They used to get that in school in gym and recess, but many schools have cut back on these.As a family, try rollerblading, skateboarding and, depending on where you live, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and ice-skating. Other good options for the whole family are basketball, soccer, softball, swimming, skating, jumping rope, karate and Tae Kwan Do.
Use pedometers to keep track of everyone's steps each day. Kids love watching the numbers keep going up. The goal is 10,000 steps a day.
Keep your body hydrated and efficient by drinking water. Replace soda with water by keeping cold bottles of water in the refrigerator.
Set up a healthy diet for your family. A diet low in sugar and fat is critical. Aim for five servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Use the U.S. Department of Agriculture's new dietary guidelines, including the special food pyramid for kids, found at http://www.mypyramid.gov/.

Reprinted from the YMCA of the USA Member News, April 2006

Good sportsmanship occurs when teammates, opponents, coaches, officials and parents treat each other with respect. Kids learn the basics of sportsmanship from the adults in their lives, especially their parents and their coaches. Kids who see adults behaving in a sportsmanlike way gradually come to understand that the real winners in sports are those who know how to persevere and to behave with dignity-whether they win or lose a game.

Here are some suggestions for encouraging sportsmanship in your kids:

Unless you're coaching your child's team, you need to remember that you're the parent. Shout words of encouragement, not directions, from the sidelines - there is a difference!
Keep your comments positive. Don't badmouth coaches, players or game officials. If you have a serious concern about the way games or practices are being conducted, or if you're upset about other parents' behavior, discuss it privately with the coach or with a league official.
After a competition, it's important not to dwell on who won or lost. Instead, try asking, "How did you feel you did during the game?" If your child feels weak at a particular skill, like throwing or catching, offer to work on it together before the next game.
Applaud good plays no matter who makes them.
Set a good example with your courteous behavior toward the parents of kids on the other team. Congratulate them when their kids win.
Remember that it's your kids, not you, who are playing. Don't push them into a sport because it's what you enjoyed. As kids get older, let them choose what sports they want to play and decide the level of commitment they want to make.
Keep your perspective. It's just a game. Even if the team loses every game of the season, it's unlikely to ruin your child's life or chances of success.
Look for examples of good sportsmanship in professional athletes and point them out to your kids. Talk about the bad examples, too, and why they upset you.
Finally, don't forget to have fun. Even if your child isn't the star, enjoy the game while you're thinking of all the benefits your child is gaining - new skills, new friends and attitudes that can help all through life.

Source: www.kidshealth.org. Reprinted from the YMCA of the USA Member News, July 2007