Hollister
– Ten teaspoons. That’s how much sugar is in both a can of
Jumex, the popular juice from Mexico, and a small soda from your
favorite fast food restaurant.
Hollister – Ten teaspoons. That’s how much sugar is in both a can of Jumex, the popular juice from Mexico, and a small soda from your favorite fast food restaurant.
Michaela Johnson, a diabetes educator at Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital, held up 10 teaspoons of sugar as she explained this to a stunned group of parents. Parents of kindergarten students at R.O. Hardin are learning about how to make their children healthier through exercise and healthy eating, at health forums held throughout the year. The health forums are part of Fit for Kids, a diabetes education and prevention program that was launched for kindergartners at R.O. Hardin in the fall.
“The parents being educated is extremely important,” said Kristy Burchard, the program director of Fit for Kids. “When you think about choices, parents really control the choices. If they’re already drinking a lot of soda as a 5-year-old, imagine what they’re going to be like by the time they’re in high school.”
Fit For Kids was created through a grant from the Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley, and support from Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital Foundation. They are currently planning to expand to the program to Calaveras in the spring.
The $15,000 grant, which was awarded in October 2006, allowed Fit For Kids to provide three informational meetings for parents throughout the year and give yoga instruction to the kindergartners at R.O. Hardin every other Friday.
It is important to start teaching healthy habits at a young age, Burchard said. According to the California Department of Health Services, San Benito County has the highest rate of childhood obesity in the state of California. Programs like Fit For Kids aim at breaking the trend while they’re young.
“We’re hoping that if we start early, they’ll get in the habit. They’re such sponges,” Burchard said.
At the forum meetings, parents are provided with a cookbook full of healthy recipes and ideas for quick and healthy snacks, many of which the parents get to sample. Each meeting has a guest lecturer speaking about a particular health issue. At a meeting held last week, Johnson spoke about hidden sugars and portion control. The forum was given in Spanish to accommodate R.O. Hardin’s large Hispanic population.
Johnson said the purpose of the forum is to educate families, because lack of education on health issues is one primary reason for high childhood obesity and diabetes rates.
“Some of it is language barrier, some of it is lack of knowledge, and it may be an issue with economics,” Johnson said. “The economic barrier is the reason Fit for Kids teaches the children yoga – because the children can do yoga anywhere and it requires no equipment.”
Carole Lewis, a kindergarten teacher at R.O. Hardin, said the yoga classes have been a hit among her students. The instructors, who are volunteers, make the yoga accessible to the students by creating animal names for the different poses and imagery such as blowing up a balloon to teach breathing deeply.
The principal at R.O. Hardin, Linda Smith, said school officials have received positive feedback for the program from parents and teachers alike, and it is something they hope to continue.
The children seem to enjoy it too.
“They love it, they really look forward to it and are just enthralled,” Lewis said. “It really helps get them centered.”
Alice Joy covers education for the Free Lance. You can reach her at 637-5566 ext. 336 or at aj**@fr***********.com.
