A Holiday for Health

A Holiday for Health

Since 1960, the first Monday in October has been set aside to celebrate and focus on the health of children.  In the spirit of that, we decided to take a few moments to share our take on childhood health and how we can help the children in our lives be the best that they can be, both inside and out. 

Promote Activity 

According to information compiled by the Department of Health & Human Services, only one in three children is physically active each day.  Here are some things to remember when you decide to get your family up and moving:

• Make it fun—kids are much more likely to participate in things they enjoy, so be sure to suggest and choose activities that your child will be glad to do. Also, remember to make opportunities for activity convenient—make time to go to parks, family fun-runs, etc.  Finally, there are few things in life that motivate children to continue with something like praising them for what they accomplish, no matter how small the achievement!
• Make it fit—activities that are both age-appropriate and achievable are a must. Not all children have the same athletic ability and tackle football is likely not the best choice for a toddler, so when planning movement-oriented pastimes, consider the demographics of the participants before you make your final decision. 

Promote Awareness  T

hough there have been great strides in the effort to provide access to health care for families with young children, there are still over 20 million children who lack regular care due to many things, including a low concentration of healthcare professionals in their geographic region, little to no specialized care, lack of adequate transportation, and language barriers.  While you may not have a degree in the healthcare field, you can check sites like volunteermatch.org to see how you can best help locally with this need.

We have partnered with a local organization whose sole focus is the health and well-being of our community’s children: The Traverse Bay Children’s Advocacy Center.  We are proud to be a silver table sponsor for their upcoming annual fundraiser “Circle of Friends” luncheon to be held October 2nd.  For more information on the benefit and how the funds raised help the TBCAC, visit https://www.traversebaycac.org/event/circle-of-friends-2018.