Healthy Kids Day Kicks Off Summer

The YMCA of Greater Seattle hosts its annual Healthy Kids Day, presented by QFC, on April 30, encouraging families to take a moment to help kids be kids and set them up for a summer of success. The event will feature activities such as water safety information, healthy cooking demonstrations, camp arts & crafts, sports challenges, fun games, and more to motivate and teach families how to develop and maintain healthy routines at home.  

“At the Y, we believe in the potential of all children and each day we work to help kids find that potential within themselves,” said Courtney Whitaker, Y AVP of Youth Development. “Healthy Kids Day is a fun, free community-wide event to kick off summer and remind us all how important it is for kids to stay active physically and mentally throughout the summer.”  

Celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2022, Healthy Kids Day is a national initiative to improve health and well-being for kids and families, by getting more kids moving and learning, creating healthy habits that they’ll continue while they’re away from the classroom. When kids are out of school, they can face hurdles that prevent them from reaching their full potential. Research shows that without access to out-of-school learning activities, kids fall behind academically. Kids also gain weight twice as fast during summer than during the school year. With all that’s going on in the world right now, Healthy Kids Day is a reminder to families that we can help ensure all children have access to what they need to reach their full potential, even during out-of-school time. 

“QFC is proud to support YMCA Healthy Kids Day. We appreciate the work being done by our local Ys to help ensure all children have access to healthy food and all they need to reach their full potential,” said QFC spokesperson Tiffany Sanders. 

Keeping Kids Healthy All Summer Long  

In celebration of Healthy Kids Day, the Y offers the following tips to help families develop halthy habits this summer that can have a lifetime effect: 

• High Five the Fruits and Veggies – Make sure kids get at least five servings of fruits and veggies each day, the minimum number nutritionists recommend for healthy childhood development. And to keep kids’ taste buds evolving, have everyone in the family try at least one bite of a new fruit or vegetable at least once a month.  
• Read Together – The summer is a great time to enjoy books with summer program participants—and 30 minutes a day goes a long way! Take trips to the local library or create a family reading challenge to see who can log the most minutes of reading. Encourage youth to create their own stories as well.  
• Get Moving – Activities that require movement also help kids flex their mental muscles. Use materials in unique ways: ask youth to build models, manipulate tools or develop their own theatrical scenes.  
• Play Together – Play may be the best way to prevent childhood obesity. By putting more play into your family’s day, you will soon find yourself getting the activity that will have your family feeling energized and strong.  
• Make Sleep a Priority – Doctors recommend 10-12 hours of sleep a day for children ages 5-12 and 7-8 hours per night for adults. Sleep plays a critical role in maintaining our healthy immune system, metabolism, mood, memory, and learning. 

The YMCA of Greater Seattle’s Healthy Kids Day, presented by QFC, takes place at 11 Ys across King County from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm, and features fun, active play, and educational activities.