Pogo Park brings new life to Elm Playlot in Richmond

Posted on January 24, 2012 by tonya

“A children’s park gives an onlooker the impression of complete and absolute happiness prevailing in the atmosphere and environment.”

- – The importance of a Children’s Park (via Preserve Articles)

HAB45 Leadership Council member, Toody Maher (Pogo Park) is sprucing up the Elm Playlot to encourage movement and play and provide a safe and clean place for Richmond children to grow.

In November 2010, Pogo Park and the city of Richmond won a two-million dollar grant from the State to revitalize Elm Playlot. Plans for the park include a rock cave, tot lot with water and sand, a trike path, restrooms and a taco stand that serves healthy snacks to the community.

There will also be a special space for breastfeeding! Pogo Park is a brand new recipient of a Healthy and Active Before 5 “Pledge the Practice. Pass the Policy” mini-grant. Funds from the mini-grant will go towards a wide seat rocking chair, making a comfortable space for mothers to breastfeed.  Download a copy of Pogo Park’s new Movement and Play Policy (pdf – 93 kb).

Pogo Park has already started with some of their plans..

  • Placed a safety fence around the lot making it possible for kids to kick around a ball without worrying about it bouncing in the street.
  • With a grant from First 5 Contra Costa, they built a hillside slide where you can find children running up the hill and sliding down, over and over again..
  • A metal shipping container was restored and painted by a local muralist, that is now being used as an on-site office that stores play equipment. Team members are present at the park daily to make sure it stays clean and safe.

Coming soon: Elm Playlot “February Fest”… bring your children to play at the pop-up park and watch them dance on the outdoor stage. Target gift cards go the child with the most groovy moves! For more information about date and times contact  Toody Maher via website www.pogopark.org.

Congratulations to Toody and Pogo Park for your awesome work!

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Institute of Medicine Weighs in on Early Childhood Obesity Prevention

Posted on January 24, 2012 by admin
by Diane Dooley MD

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has had a long history of guiding national health policy in critically important health issues.  In 2010, they brought together experts in early childhood obesity to propose policies to prevent early childhood obesity.  As their report, Early Childhood Obesity Prevention Policies states,  “efforts to prevent childhood obesity must begin before children ever enter the school system.”

Using the best evidence available, they conclude that significant efforts should be made to assess risks for obesity in young children, increase physical activity, promote healthy eating and reducing marketing and screen time for young children.

In 2007, when Healthy and Active Before 5 was conceived, local experts used evidence available at that time to develop the Healthy and Active Before 5 Action Plan.  The recent Institute of Medicine report supports the validity of our action plan, however additional evidence gives us a few more thoughts to consider in future initiatives:

-       Childcare environments are critically important. The IOM report repeatedly emphasizes the importance of promoting healthy environments in child care settings, from the promotion of active play to adopting healthy eating practices to limiting sedentary activities.  Using the best evidence available, the committee concludes mandatory regulation through State and local laws and regulations as a necessary next step to protecting children in childcare. (Physical Activity pages 59-84, Healthy Eating pages 85-118)

-       Reduce the use of seats and strollers. Their recommendations support efforts to “decrease sedentary behavior in young children”.  They cite recent evidence that shows the harmful effects of prolonged use of strollers, car seats and restricted environments on both the healthy weight of a child, as well as the development of motor milestones. (Reduce Sedentary Behavior pages 70 – 73)

-       Pay attention to healthy sleep habits. The Committee draws our attention to the evolving evidence on the importance of getting at least 12 hours of sleep daily for children less than 2 years to prevent early childhood obesity. Although we don’t understand all of the evidence, they emphasize that restful sleep environments and sleep-promoting practices such as regular nap times should be considered healthy habits for all. (Sleep pages 135-148)

The executive committee for HAB45 will review this information, along with ongoing data about obesity rates at our upcoming planning retreat.  For more information on this report, you can read it on line at: http://www.iom.edu/Reports/2011/Early-Childhood-Obesity-Prevention-Policies.aspx

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Take young children outside to play!

Posted on January 20, 2012 by tonya

Unstructured outdoor play is essential for young children’s social, cognitive and physical development. Active play (without rules and instructions) can promote creativity, relieves stress and is a great way for to children have fun. Lots of free space outside promotes physical activity — encouraging young children to run, skip and jump! Playing with friends teaches how to share and take turns. Finally, what better way to learn about nature than to find a squiggly worm or allow a butterfly to land on your nose?

Physical activity is an important part of staying healthy. In our Healthy and Active Before 5  Action Plan,  we encourage access and availability of safe places to play for all young children.

Healthy and Active Before 5 with the help of Kaboom! is mapping safe outdoor play spaces for Contra Costa families.

Did you know that Kaboom! has a Map of Play on their website? It allows each of us to enter information about our local playgrounds. This user-generated database list will soon grow to include all our local parks and play spaces. Enter a zip code or city and a map shows you a play space near you, along with helpful information about slides, restrooms, courts and even water fountains. (There’s a mobile phone app too. Playgrounds! uses your smart phone’s GPS or a zip code to locate playgrounds near you.)

HAB45 staff and volunteers are visiting local parks, taking pictures and asking parents and child care providers for their park “ratings.” We hope to have a handy brochure ready to distribute to families in child care, local clinics and community centers, for folks who might not have access to the internet.

You can do your part by encouraging outdoor play for your kids or clients. Next time you visit a park, take a picture and upload comments to the Kaboom! website.  Need some tips? Download our Plan 2 Play Guidelines!

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Healthy Marketing with Parents’ Help.

Posted on September 1, 2011 by tonya

Healthy and Active Before 5 and First 5 Contra Costa are working on a 3 year social marketing campaign to reduce the consumption of sugary sweetened beverages and promote drinking tap water.

There is no single cause of childhood obesity. How do we choose where to put our resources and social marketing efforts? We asked Contra Costa parents to help us choose between…

  • Increasing Physical Activity
  • Extending the Length of Breastfeeding
  • Reducing Consumption of Sugary Sweetened Beverages

We conducted 3 regional parent focus groups this summer in order to focus our media campaign.  We asked English and Spanish speaking parents of young children to talk to us about their families’ habits and how we can support them in their efforts towards raising healthy children. Here’s what they told us…

We asked "How do you like to get your news?" ...34% said TV!

What can be done to support parents in increasing physical activity?

  • Tips and ideas on how to be physically active with children
  • Scholarships for programs and sports
  • Activity and facility fees based on income
  • Cleaning up parks and neighborhoods
  • Creating parent groups so that children can play together

How can we encourage and support families to breastfeed longer?

  • Provide classes to teach the benefits of breastfeeding and how to do it
  • Support and provide accommodations at the workplace
  • Include education and support for fathers and other family members
  • Have on call lactation consultants who can come for regular home visits

Reasons participants gave for children consuming sugary drinks include..

  • Sugary drinks are cheaper and more affordable than drinks with less sugar
  • Children like the taste
  • Sugary drinks are convenient and take less time to prepare than healthier drinks
  • Children drink what their parents drink
  • Lack of knowledge about the effects of sugary drinks
  • Overabundance of advertising

We are sharing our focus group findings with our community partners. You may download the reports and use them in your own program planning.

First 5_Focus Group Findings Summary (pdf 2.2 MB) 3 pages overview.

First 5 and HAB5_Round 1 Focus Group Report pdf (369 KB) Includes parent responses and demographic profile of participating parents.

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