Healthy Family Home

At the Y, we are for healthy living. We believe it begins at home. The relationship between adult and child can be the primary source of health in a young person's life and a powerful motivator for adults to build more health into their own lives.

The Pillars of a Healthy Family Home

Healthy Family Home is a resource full of helpful information, tips and tools to support adults and families in their efforts to practice the art and science of healthy living. We invite you to join the growing communities of families working and playing their way toward a healthier tomorrow.

Every family can be a healthy family. By focusing your family's efforts to live healthier around the Y's pillars of a healthy family home and taking small steps using the information and tools we provide, your family will soon be feeling stronger and living healthier.

EAT HEALTHY

At the Y, we believe that small steps lead to big changes. With a balanced approach, even the busiest families can discover ways to eat healthier and feel better. Explore these healthy habits, tips and tools designed to help you family improve your approach to the foods you eat and drink.

A KEY HEALTHY HABIT

Choose Your Drinks With Care.

A simple way to improve your family's overall health is to explore your approach to fluids by cutting out the drinks with added sugar and adding more water, 100% fruit juice and low-fat milk to your family's diet. If your family is currently used to drinking sugar-sweetened beverages, begin working gradually to replace them with healthier options.

http://www.ymca.net/healthy-family-home/eat-healthy.html

PLAY EVERYDAY

Play may be the best way to prevent childhood obesity. By putting more play into your family's day, you will soon find yourself getting the activity that will have your family feeling energized and strong. Explore these healthy habits, tips and tools designed to get your family having fun while moving and playing.

A KEY HEALTHY HABIT

Families at Play for an Hour a Day

Playful movement is one of the keys to a healthy family home. It doesn't matter what you choose to do. Just think of all the many choices you have from walking to gardening to vacuuming the carpet, let alone the fun you can have with your kids swimming in a pool, going for a hike, shooting some hoops, or taking a favorite pet for a walk. To get 60 minutes of moderate activity throughout your day just add ten minutes here and fifteen minutes there.

http://www.ymca.net/healthy-family-home/play-every-day.html

GET TOGETHER

Strong relationships are one of the cornerstones of health and well-being, and few relationships are as important as those between adults and children. The time and attention that you invest now will help your children learn, grow and thrive. Explore these healthy habits, tips and tools designed to help your family make the most of your time together.

A KEY HEALTHY HABIT

Give the Special Gift of Time

Special one-to-one time helps develop and strengthen the important adult-child relationships in a health family home. Children need adult time and attention like they need healthy food and playful activity. When it is missing, kids will find other ways to ask for adult time and attention often resulting in negative behavior and stress on the relationship. Most of the time it takes some planning, but the thoughtful gift of your time is one of the things that will help your child learn, grow and thrive.

http://www.ymca.net/healthy-family-home/get-together.html

GO OUTSIDE

Good things happen when we unplug and go outside to play together. Kids and adults benefit from contact with nature as well as unstructured play and exploration. Explore these healthy habits, tips and tools designed to help your family explore together.

A KEY HEALTHY HABIT

Protect the Right to Play

More children than ever are involved in scheduled, structured activities. Children benefit greatly from unstructured play as well. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, free play helps children grow and develop toward important intellectual, emotional, and social milestones along their developmental journey toward healthy teen and adult years.

http://www.ymca.net/healthy-family-home/go-outside.html

SLEEP WELL

Sleep is an essential part of healthy living. So many good things happen when our minds and bodies are resting. Explore these healthy habits, tips and tools designed to help your family reassess its approach to getting the rest that we all need.

A KEY HEALTHY HABIT

The More the Better

Based on their ages, children need different amounts of sleep. Doctors recommend between 10 and 12 hours per day for kids between the ages of 5 and 12. When children do not get enough sleep it can cause moodiness and impact their ability to learn in school. Additionally, recent studies have found links between sleep and obesity in children. It may seem strange, but the more hours that kids sleep the less likely they are to become obese.

http://www.ymca.net/healthy-family-home/sleep-well.html

TEN SIGNS OF A HEALTHY FAMILY HOME

1. Water is the beverage of choice, supplemented by 100% fruit juice and low-fat milk.
2. Fruits or vegetables are served at every meal including some fresh fruit or veggie options daily.
3. Snack time includes foods that contain whole grains and protein instead of saturated and trans fats.
4. Kids and adults are moving and playful for at least an hour per day, outside and together whenever possible.
5. Kids and adults are breaking a sweat at least three times per week for 20 minutes or more.
6. Kids are provided with frequent opportunities to play outdoors in ways that are unstructured and exploratory. Play experiences in nature take place often.
7. The family dines together at least once every day, with kids involved in meal preparation and clean-up.
8. Kids all receive daily one-on-one time with an adult.
9. Television and video game time is limited to two hours per day.
10. Kids and adults keep to a regular schedule that helps everyone get enough sleep. For the kids, that means 10-112 hours per night and 7-8 for the adults.