Empowering Healthy Kids Blog

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Interesting article on designing neighbourhoods to promote active lifestyles.

NAB have announced Schools First Awards, designed to bring together students, teachers and communities to fund innovative projects:

Impact Awards

The Impact Awards are for those school–community partnerships that can demonstrate improved student outcomes as a result of their partnership.

There are up to 60 local awards of $50,000 each and eight State/Territory Awards of $100,000 each. A national prize of $500,000 to $1 million will be awarded to a truly exceptional school-community partnership that is able to demonstrate outstanding performance against the Award criteria and a compelling strategy for using the funds.

Schools wishing to apply for an Impact Award will need to demonstrate:

1. The partnership was set up to address an identified need or opportunity aimed at improving student outcomes
2. A plan was developed with each partner contributing to the plan.
3. A program was successfully implemented
4. Student outcomes were improved as a result of the partnership program
5. The partnership is sustainable and has become part of the culture and planning activities of each partner organisation.

Schools must also include information regarding proposed use of funding.

Seed Funding Awards

The Seed Funding Awards are for those schools that are either in the process of setting up a partnership or in the early stages of the partnership and are seeking funding to help the partnership develop further.

For the Seed Funding Awards there will be up to 20 Awards with a value of up to $25,000 each.

To be considered for a Seed Funding Award, a school must demonstrate:

1. The partnership is being set up to address an identified need or opportunity aimed at improving student outcomes
2. A plan is either being developed or will be developed with each partner contributing to the plan
3. A well-organised program will be implemented
4. The potential that student outcomes will be improved as a result of the partnership program
5. The partnership can be sustained and will become part of the culture and planning activities of each partner organisation.

Schools must also include information regarding proposed use of funding.

A new program launched in conjunction with MEND and the Victorian Government:

Kids-Life! is a Victorian Government Initiative to enrich the physical, social and emotional wellbeing of children. For the first time in Central West Gippsland, the project is offering free healthy lifestyle courses for children aged 5 to 12 years and their parents and/or carers. Once registered, families participate in either an individualised or group support program. The group sessions by are facilitated by qualified MEND (Mind, Exercise, Nutrition…Do it!) trainers, commencing mid July 2009.

In the MEND program families take part in fun 2-hour sessions, twice a week for 10 weeks.  Accurate health information provided by health professionals supports families to improve their eating and exercise habits, thereby improving children’s fitness, physical activity levels, nutrition and self-esteem. Thanks to funding from the Department of Human Services, three courses with 12 places worth up to $800 per child are being offered to families completely free of charge on a first come first served basis.

The MEND Program is an evidence based healthy lifestyle program for children above their ideal weight and their families. Rather than focusing on weight loss, the Program uses a practical interactive learning approach to teach children and parents weight management skills. This includes inspiring families to adopt a healthier lifestyle and enjoy preparing and eating healthy foods as well as reading food labels and healthy shopping on a budget.  There are also simple but exciting sessions which focus on making exercise fun again – especially for children who are not fans of traditional school sports.

Gambado is another indoor playground located the UK (Beckenham, Chelsea and Watford). I like their concept of “play and learn” to get kids to be active.

Check out a tour of their facilities here.

(Via reader Ian).

Just stumbled across this indoor playground, Kid Space Adventures, built especially to encourage children to be active while having lots fun.

It’s a massive complex with:

The Orb

One of the largest play structures in the UK. Inside there are 11 thrill slides, sky spirals, a black hole and much, much more! The Orb is also designed to allow the largest of human creatures to use the equipment. You can challenge your kids in the interactive rooms playing the Crystal Cave, or try and beat them around the timed gauntlets. All ages welcome.

Climb Zone

Have you got what it takes to reach the top? Standing 25ft high our climbing wall is a real challenge - not just for children but for parents too.

Thunderball City

Unique to Kidspace, it’s a 3 level arena with 8 softball guns, cannons, hoists, illuminated targets and tippers. Adults are also welcome but remember to duck when those balls start flying!

Kidspace Gym

Kidspace Gym offers a huge variety of classes and sports activities. Other general courses for younger children include parent and child music sessions (for those who don’t mind making fools of themselves) and additional workshops will be available in our school holidays.
Cart Track

Kids can race each other around our tricky track (5kph top speed). Just like the real thing with pit stops and lapped times - will your child have the skill to finish first on the podium?

Sensory Town (under 4 zone)

A futuristic themed area designed for toddlers, with multi-sensory gizmos hidden in every corner for them to explore and play with. You’ll have to drag your child away! Under 4’s only - no older kids allowed. Sensory Town can hold up to 50 toddlers so there’s plenty of space.

Sky Trail

Over 3m above the restaurant is the Kidspace Sky Trail. Good balance is essential to tackle the 9 different elements including precarious planks, rickety bridges and lateral climbs. Don’t worry, your kids will be harnessed before taking the leap. Height restrictions apply - children over 1.2 metres only!

Aeroball Trampolines

How high can you go? During quieter periods we’ll bring out the trampolines.  Challenge your kids to a game of junior Aeroball by jumping as high as you can over the central net and score by putting the ball in the basket hoops. Ages 3 to12

The Centre

No, it’s not quite a spa, but it is a relaxing, exciting, secure, and comfortable air-conditioned environment. As a parent, the Centre has been designed for your peace of mind. There are flatscreen monitors to keep an eye on the children whilst you read your emails or surf the web at our computer pods. And there are monitored zones to separate the age groups where our staff will take the strain away, by entertaining and organising shows for the kids.

Via ClickPress:

ThinQFitness, the digital TV content company, and The Department of Health’s Change4Life movement, today announce a partnership to combat child obesity with a series of online videos, encouraging families to get together and exercise to avoid obesity and poor health.

As part of the Change4Life campaign to “eat well, move more and live longer,” ThinQFitness is providing a series of online family fitness videos to support the Change4Life messaging. Available online at http://www.thinqfitness.com/, the videos are aimed initially at helping families get kids “up and about’ and doing their “60 active minutes”. Further free videos will become available on the site over the coming weeks, and will address the complete Change4Life message around healthy eating and physical activity.

Researchers from the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC) are looking at ways to combat child obesity:

Donna Spruijt-Metz, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Preventive Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine, will present an overview of the KNOWME NETWORKS study — a program to develop a Mobile Body Area Network that monitors obesity indicators in minority youth.

The network, developed in conjunction with the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, will use a set of wearable wireless sensors that measure physical activity, stress, location in time and space, body fat and a number of other factors. Data will be immediately transmitted to a secure server for storage and analyses. The KNOWME device will be calibrated for the specific user, and researchers will be able to “ping” a participant who remains sedentary for too long, Spruijt-Metz says.

Her presentation includes findings of a study led by colleague Michael I. Goran, Ph.D., professor of preventive medicine, physiology and biophysics and pediatrics, and director of the USC Childhood Obesity Research Center at the Keck School of Medicine. The study looks at the impact of a computer-based education program on promoting physical activity in fourth-grade students.

Two Los Angeles County schools used interactive CD-ROMS for an eight-week long health curriculum, while two control schools received educational CD-ROMS not related to health. Researchers found that the program had a significant impact on obesity reduction in girls, but not in boys.

The results reflect the fact that girls and boys have very different activity levels and attitudes about activity, and that interventions will need to be tailored more specifically, Spruijt-Metz says. However, she believes the study also indicates that technology is an important tool in preventing obesity in youth.

“Technology gives us more objective and reliable measures than self-reporting,” she says. “It is particularly appealing because it offers immediate feedback and will allow interventionists and health professionals to respond directly to the child’s behavior as part of the intervention.”

Provided schools are given a choice on using this new technology then I think this is a good idea. It has the same ambitions as my Zippeddy project.

This is an interesting programme for kids in Suffolk Country, UK. The Suffolk Challenge aims to get Suffolk kids to be the healthiest in the nation by 2012, by having them register for the Activity Challenge.

More kids info available here too.

Get Movin’, a YMCA initiative, starts today:

Get Movin’ is a free summer program aimed at motivating families to Get Movin’ and improve their health by adopting a more active, healthy lifestyle through physical and recreational activities. 

Their also includes 20 Ways to Get Movin’:

1. Go for a walk

2. Do sit-ups in front of the television

3. Join an athletic team

4. Work in the yard

5. Ride your bike

6. Wash the car(s)

7. Exercise with friends

8. Go swimming

9. Go for a run on the beach

10. Play Frisbee at the park

11. Go to the beach and fly a kite

12. Jump rope

13. Play at the playground

14. Shoot hoops

15. Play tag

16. Play catch

17. Go for a hike

18. Lift weights

19. Play soccer

20. Walk or jog at a track