“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!

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

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!

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.

Yes, we have some strong opinions.

Kids should be offered water when they are thirsty. Young children should not be given soda, punch and colorful “drinks.” Children shouldn’t have more than 4-6 ounces of 100% fruit juice a day — juice should be seen more as a treat, not as a easy replacement for the nutrition of whole fresh fruit.

Sugary and sweetened beverages like punches and sports drinks, have been linked to obesity and dental caries (cavities) in young children.  Sometimes children consume these cups of full sugar all day long, at home, at child care and elsewhere.

(We don’t recommend diluting “real” juice, because while it’s lower in calories than 100% juice… we know it’s bad for children’s teeth and can establish unhealthy habits early.)

Water is the best option for young children when they are thirsty.  It helps to cool their bodies when overheated, lubricates joints and muscles as they develop and grow …and with the addition of fluoride to tap water, can help prevent future dental problems. Drinking tap water is a healthier and inexpensive alternative to sugar-sweetened beverages.

Unfortunately, water is not always an easy or accessible choice. In some areas of Contra Costa County there are complaints that the tap water tastes unpleasant. Some families who have recently immigrated to the US and bring with them a longstanding distrust of the safety of tap water. These families most often purchase water from vending machines, outlets and stores… and sometimes artificially-sweetened drinks can be cheaper than bottled water. Argh.

We need to work together to overcome these barriers.

We want water to be accessible. Water fountains/dispensers aren’t available at every park, business, or school. They should be. The state of California has recently passed new legislation requiring all schools to provide fresh drinking water in their lunch areas, despite the cost. Hooray.

We encourage all our community partners to help create environments that promote water and reduce the availability of sugar-sweetened beverages. With our Pledge the Practice. Pass the Policy challenge,  organizations such as Weigh of Life, Bay Point First 5 and Monument Crisis Center have passed policies eliminating the consumption of sugary beverages at their agencies and pledge to only serve fresh water to young children in their care.

In partnership with First 5 Contra Costa, Healthy and Active Before 5 has been working on an innovative social marketing campaign for parents of children aged 0-5 to reduce childhood obesity. The project’s focus is to reduce the consumption of sugary sweetened beverages and promote the consumption of water.

The campaign will use a combination of educational messages about the negative effects of sugary sweetened beverages along with the promotion of fresh tap water.  ”Healthy” social marketing messages alone will not be enough change behavior,  so we will continue work with local policymakers and residents to increase the availability of drinking water in child care, corner stores and other “food environments” for families with young children.

Stay tuned for more information as the social marketing campaign develops. If you would like to reduce the consumption of sugary sweetened beverages and promote drinking water at your agency, visit our “Pledge the Practice. Pass the Policy.”  page and download a sample policy today!

For additional information check out the following article from California Food Policy Advocates: http://www.cfpa.net/water/

In photo from left to right: Kitty Lenhart – Child Care Council,  Jan Schiling – Weigh of Life, Jennifer Balogh – Healthy and Active Before 5, Sandra Scherer – Monument Crisis Center, Emily Justice – Center for Human Development, Tonya Love – Healthy and Active Before 5, Jacqueline Elliot- Michael Chavez Center,   Gwenn White- Contra Costa Health Services. Congratulations …thank you for your inspiring work!

Healthy and Active Before 5 Leadership Council, a countywide collaborative dedicated to preventing early childhood obesity, met last month to gather key agencies in Contra Costa County serving children aged 0-5, provide updates on the status of projects, and to engage partners in adopting a new Movement and Play policy.

Over 40 participants attended including representatives from Contra Costa Health Services, Kaiser Permanente, WIC, community health clinics, the County Office of Education and library, United Way, First 5 Contra Costa, and Supervisor Karen Mitchoff and John Gioia’s offices.

The key note speaker, Mike Miller (left) from Brown Miller Communications, spoke about how social marketing can be a powerful tool in shifting public norms and changing behaviors. He also updated the group about a new 3-year social marketing project between First 5 Contra Costa and HAB45 to help families with young children prevent childhood obesity and engage in healthy and active lifestyles.

Meeting participants also heard from 10 agencies who received mini-grants to implement policies related to serving healthy food and beverages or making accommodations for breastfeeding mothers. Grantees (pictured up top) shared anecdotes on implementing these practices in the workplace, which is part of HAB45′s “Pledge the Practice. Pass the Policy” initiative to help partner agencies model obesity prevention practices.

The remainder of the meeting was spent strategizing ways to encourage physical activity in the workplace – from fitting in physical activity breaks during long meetings, keeping track of the steps taken during the work day, or keeping children moving in waiting rooms.Prizes were handed out for meeting participants who logged the most activity during the meeting, using free pedometers provided by Kaiser Permanente.

HAB45 will draft its new “Movement and Play” policy to present to Leadership Council agencies for approval this fall.

The goal of the grant is to work with folks living in the Monument Corridor community to eat better and move more… every day.

The Concord Monument Corridor HEAL project brings together a wonderful coalition of partners, including Contra Costa Health Services, First 5 Contra Costa, and Contra Costa Child Care Council.

We will work together on four specific goals over the next 3 years:

1. Decrease calorie consumption, especially sugar-sweetened beverages

2. Increase consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables

3. Increase physical activity in community settings, such as parks and safe routes for walking and biking

4. Increase physical activity in “institutional” settings, such as child care, schools and workplaces.

We have a lot of work ahead of us. We couldn’t be more excited.

We know childhood obesity is a critical issue. Kaiser’s generous support will help us improve access to healthier choices in this community. We anticipate seeing improvements in breastfeeding rates, increased physical activity, improved child care, better community nutritional environments and a more active neighborhood as a result of this project.” (Diane Dooley MD, HAB45 Chair)

Official press release: http://www.cchealth.org/press_releases/pdf/2011_08_monument_corridor.pdf

- -

Note: Monument Corridor HEAL project is part of a regional initiative. Other communities receiving $1 million HEAL grants are in San Francisco, Fresno, Modesto, Richmond, Santa Rosa, and South Sacramento. For more information on the HEAL grant, visit: www.kp.org/newscenter

No one lives in a vacuum and, whether we like to admit it or not, our behaviors are shaped by a multitude of influencers. Social marketing embraces that reality, developing interventions aimed not only at the individual but more broadly at the people and environments that influence them.

Social marketing approaches are especially important when working with young children, since they have very limited ability to control their choices and environments. Instead, it’s important to impact the decisions of parents, family members, child care providers, pediatricians and others who influence their early behaviors. Not only does social marketing deliver impact, but it also provides the framework for sustainable behavior change.

Young children who are surrounded by positive, encouraging messages about nutrition are far more likely to develop lifelong healthy eating habits and behaviors that will withstand the barrage of marketing efforts they will face in coming years. What’s more, at this early age the limited core of influencers reduces the need for a far reaching and more expensive campaign that would be required for older children in order to reverse already ingrained poor habits. Among children under five, the environmental challenges are more easily controlled as well, since they are largely limited to home and day care settings, both of which have a vested interest in developing healthy children. That said, food and beverage corporations, anxious to capture the taste loyalties of early consumers,  have ramped up their own marketing efforts to this young audience, consequently, a social marketing campaign must also address the insidious marketing to very young children in television, product placements and computer games.

In the coming weeks we’ll work closely with the First 5 Contra Costa and the Healthy and Active Before 5 planning team to develop impactful messages that encourage adoption of healthier behaviors, as well as innovative strategies to support the dissemination and promotion of those messages to key audiences, influencers and policymakers.

Nicole Stivers,

Brown Miller Communications, Inc

]]> http://www.healthyandactivebefore5.org/2011/07/delivering-change-that-matters/feed/ 0 http://www.healthyandactivebefore5.org/2011/04/a-fantastic-opportunity/ http://www.healthyandactivebefore5.org/2011/04/a-fantastic-opportunity/#comments Wed, 27 Apr 2011 23:19:12 +0000 tonya http://www.healthyandactivebefore5.org/?p=130 Continue reading →]]> Wow, what would you do if you were offered a million dollars to create obesity prevention programs in your local community?

You can imagine the excitement of the B45 Executive Committee in February when Kaiser Permanente’s Healthy Eating Active Living program nominated us to participate in their HEAL Zones Initiative. Along with the Monument Community Partnership, our two groups have been working feverishly over the past 2 months to create a 3-year community action plan focused on Concord’s Monument Corridor.

The community action plan was submitted April 15, 2011 …and at this point, Kaiser and their amazingly talented evaluators are reviewing our work.  While we anticipate some suggested changes in the plan, it presently contains an impressive array of proposed strategies intended to reduce calorie consumption, increase fruits and vegetable consumption, and increase physical activity in both community and institutional settings.  Healthy and Active Before 5 proposed, and if approved, will guide the implementation of activities targeting children aged 0-5 years and their families.  Some of these lofty proposed projects impacting this age group include:

• Create a breastfeeding friendly community, including developing and implementing baby-friendly policies at local health centers, childcare programs, schools and businesses.
• Increase access to, and consumption of clean safe water in the Monument community.
• Increase the utilization of Federal Nutrition programs, such as WIC, CalFresh and the Child and Adult Care Food program
• Partner with local child care programs to improve the offering of healthy foods and beverages and increase active play for young children

All of these activities would be done in cooperation with the Monument Community Partnership, an organization that has had years of success working with local residents and inspiring advocacy and policy change to make a healthier community.  In writing our proposal, our work was guided by the Healthy and Active Before 5 action plan, as well as the successes of our “Pledge the Practice” initiative developed by and adopted by our Leadership Council. In almost all of the proposed activities, we used the resources and past experiences of Healthy and Active Before 5’s many partners, such as the Contra Costa Child Care Council, WIC, Contra Costa Health Services and First 5 Contra Costa.

In the end, we felt thankful to our local partners for inspiring examples of change within their organizations, and to Kaiser for giving us this opportunity. In the months ahead, we plan to work with our Leadership Council members to discover programs and interests that align with this Initiative. We see this project as a chance to pilot new programs that should reduce obesity rates for young children in this small geographic area.  If these projects work, who knows?  We hope to advance Healthy and Active Before 5’s mission to motivate healthy lifestyle changes throughout Contra Costa and make this a healthier place for all of our young children and families.

Diane Dooley, MD

Chair of Healthy & Active Before 5′s Executive Committee …and Pediatrician at Contra Costa Regional Medical Center

First 5′s Regional Parent Education Group is one such program that teaches participants valuable skills in community leadership and advocacy. As part of the program, First 5 staff train parent volunteers in project management, leadership, community engagement and public speaking.  Currently, 150 Contra Costa parents are involved in the program, many of them low-income residents and half of them speak Spanish as their primary language.

Recognizing the negative health impact of childhood obesity and the need for more opportunities for young children to engage in play, Regional Parent Groups started a special project partnering with local parks and recreational facilities to provide low cost physical activity classes such as dance, aerobics and soccer.

Check out a video of a First 5 soccer class in Richmond, CA:

Thanks First 5 Contra Costa for your work in helping our children to grow up healthy and happy!

To learn more about Regional Parent Groups read an article featured in First 5 Contra Costa’s online newsletter here.

Download Regional Parent Group brochures to get more information on meetings in your area:

• West County Regional Group Brochure, 2011 (pdf, 520 KB)
• East County Regional Group Brochure, 2011 (pdf, 500 KB)
• Central County Regional Group Brochure, 2011 (pdf, 573 KB)