Healthy Habit for LIfe
Adults influence the development of children’s healthy habits beginning in their earliest years, from the variety of foods they try, to ideas about to how to keep their bodies active and healthy. Sesame Workshop’s Healthy Habits for Life initiative offers simple strategies to help parents and caregivers instill healthy behaviors in children and ensure that they grow into strong adults.
By the time a child is between two and four years old, her eating habits are largely shaped. If she reaches the age of five without learning about healthy eating, the chances of her developing poor nutritional habits and attitudes are significantly increased. According to Dr. Jeanette Betancourt, Sesame Workshop’s vice president of outreach and educational practices, the key messages about healthy living are not easily available to children.
“This may be the first generation that may actually have a shorter lifespan than their parents, all due to issues around obesity or facts about nutrition and the amount of physical activity,” Betancourt says.
