Step Into Spring
As we head into Spring and find ourselves enjoying the outdoors, it is a great opportunity to keep our family’s connected and our children engaged. The Spring season brings us warmer and longer days and we need to take advantage of it! Beginning Sunday March 10, we will spring forward by setting our clocks one hour ahead. Daylight savings means we will see daylight longer into the day, with more daylight comes more time to engage in outdoor activities with our little ones. To keep our children engaged and interested in the outdoors we can take our babies on long stroller rides around parks and our neighborhoods and talk –taking time to point out what you see. For our active and curious toddlers, we can go on a nature scavenger hunt – encouraging them to look for bugs, leaves and rocks that are unique.
A great way to stay connected with the development of our children is to track their experiences. By tracking what our children eat, when they play and when they read, we are better prepared to stay on track with our child’s healthy development and milestones.
Childhood obesity continues to be a concern for our children
The latest reports from the Centers for Disease Control indicate that 1 in every 5 school-age child and young people (6 to 19 years old) are obese. A vital part to encouraging and teaching healthy eating habits, that prevent childhood obesity in children, is being aware of and tracking what they are putting in their body throughout the day. Another crucial part in helping your child have a healthy development is to support the development of their gross motor skills by setting aside enough time during the day that is solely for active playtime. Devoting 30 minutes to 1 hour of playtime a day, and tracking it, will put your child on the path to lead a healthy and active lifestyle. As we know reading is also an essential skill and the more parents encourage and read with their children, the more comfortable a child will be reading on their own. Encouraging reading is also beneficial to children as they will develop a bigger vocabulary and general knowledge.
I understand this may seem like a handful, but as always First 5 San Diego is here to support you, your children and your families. First 5 San Diego is very excited to launch our very own mobile app! It is available now and its main function is to help caregivers track food, playtime and reading. Our app is here to support you and to be a resource for you during the moments you need a little guidance. I hope that you will take the time to download the app and take advantage of what it has to offer.
Best,
Alethea Arguilez
Executive Director