Preschool Fitness Day

Preschool Fitness Day is the Last Friday of January

One of the best ways to promote a healthy lifestyle is start teaching it to people when they are young. This holiday is all about engaging preschoolers in physical activities and healthy eating. If you're a parent, today is a great day to research ways to keep your toddler active. If you're a teacher, do some group activities with your class and try to educate parents about how they can keep their kids active at home and make easy, healthy meals.

History of Preschool Fitness Day

Preschool Fitness Day is the brainchild of The KID-FIT, an organization focused on the health and fitness of preschoolers. The group established the event as a means to stress the importance of a healthy lifestyle for young children. They wish to inform parents and educators on the importance of daily exercise and proper nutrition. Childhood obesity and diabetes are a top-of-the-line concern, and The KID-FIT hopes to use Pre-school Fitness Day to curb behaviors and lines of thought that feed into unhealthy habits. On Preschool Fitness Day, parents are encouraged to bring their little ones to a pre-school hosted wellness event. The children will participate in fun activities and learn about eating nutritional foods. The holiday caters to interactive, engaged education.

More on Preschool Fitness

The CDC (Center for Disease Control) reported in a 2015-16 survey that one-third of U.S. children ages 2-19 were obese or overweight. The CDC’s updated webpage from 2019 puts the obesity numbers for children and adolescents ages 2-19 at 18.5%, or 13.7 million persons. The rate of obesity for 2 to 5 year-olds is 13.9%, 18.4% for 6 to 11 year-olds, and 20.6% for adolescents 12 to 19 years old. The CDC recommends 60 minutes of physical activity for children/adolescents between the ages of 6 to 17. Children benefit from regular physical activity with improved cardiorespiratory fitness, stronger bones and muscles, stable weight, and reduction of depression and anxiety symptoms. Regular exercise can also help reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis, and high blood pressure. Children should engage in at least 60-minutes of vigorous, body strengthening activities.

How to Observe Preschool Fitness Day

Visit The KID-FIT National Preschool Fitness Day page to read up on any of their many activities and ideas suggestions.
 
Types of activities you and the kiddies can do at home include, but are not limited to, walking, running, and jumping rope. If the weather’s nice, take a ride out to the park. Check with your local preschool to see if they’re hosting any events for Preschool Fitness Day.
 
Discover as much as you can to better ensure the well being of your young ones. Their health is dependent on what we know and do for them. The best practice is good practice. Sharpen yours today!