Early Childhood

Infants and toddlers develop cognitively, socially, emotionally and physically every day.  The early care and education setting is an ideal environment to cultivate healthy eating and daily physical activity to promote a healthy weight and positive habits that prevent childhood obesity.   Research and evidence-based findings link eating nutritious food, daily age-appropriate physical activities and limited screen time to maintaining a healthy weight.  Research over the past decade has consistently shown that children who eat well and engage in structured and unstructured  physical activity can prevent rapid weight gain, improve fitness including mental health, bone development, cardiovascular health and social skills. 

In the first two years of children’s life, brain development undergoes dramatic and critical growth.  It is important that children are provided with social interactions and interactive activities such as talking, playing, singing and reading together rather than sitting in front of a screen.  Currently, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no screen viewing for children under two years of age and limiting screen time to one to two hours per 24-hour period of quality programming for children two and older.  By limiting sedentary activities through providing adequate amounts of structured and unstructured physical activity and limiting screen time, early care and education professionals have the ability to promote healthy habits for a lifetime.

Resources:

Top Ten Tips for Screen Smart Parents (pdf)

Physical Activity and Screen Time Resource Sheet (pdf)

Preventing Childhood Obesity in Early Care and Education Programs (pdf)

Screen Time Resources:

AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS: Children, Adolescents, and Television (pdf)

Media Violence in Children’s Lives: A position statement of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (pdf)

Technology and Young Children—Ages 3 through 8: A position statement of the
National Association for the Education of Young Children (pdf)

NAEYC Early Childhood Program Standards and Accreditation Criteria for Technology (pdf)

Physical Activity Resources:

A Statement of Physical Activity Guidelines for Children From Birth to Age 5, 2nd Edition: NASPE (pdf)

Model Physical Activity Standards for Child-Care Providers
(For Infants Through Preschool-Age Children)
Developed by the National Policy & Legal Analysis Network to
Prevent Childhood Obesity (NPLAN) (pdf)

NAEYC Early Childhood Program Standards and Accreditation Criteria for Physical Development (pdf)