Tag: child care active play

Posted on

Supporting Dads in Child Care: Let’s Play!

Father and toddler girl with doll

Supporting young children in child care includes helping to strengthen parent-child relationships. Many families who enroll their children in child care may be young, inexperienced parents. First-time fathers in particular may need extra encouragement as they establish relationships with their young children, and that’s a role child care providers are well suited for, yet often overlook.

Supporting father involvement with children may be especially important for child care programs that include military families. These families face the possible absence of …

Posted on

Helping Children in Child Care Be Physically Active

2 girls running

Eating healthy is only one way child care providers can help children maintain a healthy weight. Physical activity is also important. According to Shape America, children need 60 minutes of unstructured active play,and 60 minutes of structured physical activity each day. Here are some tips child care providers can use to help all children get a healthy amount of physical activity each day.

  • Plan regular times for unstructured active play. Young children need plenty of time to run, jump,
…
Posted on

Active Play in Child Care

Boy on slide

Regular physical activity is important for everyone, but it is especially important for young children. Child care providers can be positive role models as they work with the children in their care. The routines and habits that are started early in life will be easier to continue as the children grow. Children who have opportunities for active play several times a day will find it easier to come back and focus on small motor and cognitive tasks.

Why do children

…
Posted on

Keeping Children Active Indoors

Ring around the rosie

Child care providers often dread those days when the weather is bad and the children can’t get outdoors to play. But children need to have active times every day to use up energy, learn new things, and be healthy. Luckily, active play can happen indoors as well as outdoors. With a little imagination and creativity, child care providers can come up with activities that use large muscles and burn energy, but can be done indoors. Here are some ideas to …

Posted on

Developmentally Appropriate Ways to Teach Fitness to Young Children in Child Care

Skip-It

It seems like young children in a child care program are always in motion. You’d think that most children are active enough to keep themselves fit, but recent research tells us that today’s children are actually not getting enough physical activity. Childhood inactivity can lead to obesity and diabetes. Attitudes toward physical fitness are formed in childhood, and if obesity and inactivity continue into adulthood, there is a serious risk of heart disease and high blood pressure. When kids have …

Proudly powered by WordPress