Information for Parents
Healthly living begins at home. That's why GoKids Boston serves as a resource for families as well as the youth who benefit from its offerings.
- Families receive free day passes to the Beacon Fitness Center so that they can enjoy the opportunity to work out while their children are participating in GoKids Boston.
Scholarship assistance is available for families with financial need.
Parents! Want more information on fun and healthy eating? If so make sure you check out the following links with information in both English and Spanish from the Harvard School of Public Health Prevention Research Center.
- Fruits and vegetables: Eat 5 or more servings for health
- Activate Your Family!
- Dietary Fats: The good, the bad, and the ugly
- Eat more whole grains, less added sugar for good health
- Snacks—A Bridge Between Meals
- Take control of TV (and other screen time)
- Quenchers! Hints to keep happy, healthy kids hydrated!
Following is a table of useful links and websites.
General Nutrition and Health |
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| The Harvard Prevention Research Center on Nutrition and Physical Activity works with community partners to design programs that aim to reduce overweight and chronic disease risk among children and youth. | www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource | ||
Food & Fun |
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| KidsHealth website, created by the The Nemours Foundation's Center for Children's Health Media, provides families with doctor-approved information that they can understand and use for nutrition and fitness advice for young adults and children. | www.kidshealth.org | ||
| Action for Healthy Kids offers state-by-state information and tips on how families can make positive changes to lead healthier lives. | www.actionforhealthykids.org | ||
| National Nutrition Month, sponsored by the American Dietetic Association, offers up-to-date nutrition resources as well as tips for parents and educators. | www.eatright.org | ||
| The newly redesigned Food Guide Pyramid and created an interactive web site that provides specific information on each component. | www.mypyramid.gov | ||
| This link will lead you to a food guide pyramid poster on serving sizes: | www.fns.usda.gov... | ||
Fruits and Vegetables |
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| The Produce for Better Health Foundation gives tips for eating a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables as well as additional nutritional information and activity pages for children. | www.5aday.com | ||
| This website from Dole is a "5-a-day" website that has different sections for educators as well as children: | www.dole5aday.com | ||
Fat |
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| Read this website about how to eliminate trans fat from your food from "Trans free America", a campaign by the Center for Science in the Public Interest. | www.transfreeamerica.org | ||
Nutrition Policy |
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| The School Nutrition Association is a professional organization that offers tips for healthy nutrition in schools, as well as recipes and educational resources for parents and educators. | www.schoolnutrition.org | ||
| The Food Research and Action Center works to influence public policies in improving hunger and undernutrition. It provides resources for help in connecting to federal food programs, such as those that help fund nutrition snacks in after school programs. | www.frac.org | ||
Children and Teens |
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| The “Powerful Bones, Powerful Girls” campaign teaches young girls and women how to get enough calcium for strong bones. | www.cdc.gov/powerfulbones/ | ||
| The Center for Science in the Public Interest produces “Smart Mouth”, an informative site created for older children, teens, and young adults to learn interesting facts about food as well as the entire the food industry. It includes a meter scale that allows you to see how many calories and fat you consume in various meals throughout the day. | www.cspinet.org/smartmouth/index1.html | ||
| Nutrition Explorations, part of the National Dairy Council, is an interactive website with activities and cool recipes for kids as well as healthy eating information. | www.nutritionexplorations.org/kids/main.asp | ||
| The International Food Information Council (IFIC) Foundation developed the Kidnetic web site to engage children and encourage healthy habits. This site also includes a separate section for parents, and encourages communication between parents and teens with an interactive email program. | www.kidnetic.com | ||
Parents |
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| The USDA/Agricultural Research Children’s Nutrition Research Center and provides up-to-date resources on children’s nutrition and health. | www.kidsnutrition.org | ||
| The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provide materials for parents and educators and is especially geared for 9-13 year olds. | www.cdc.gov/youthcampaign/ | ||
Materials |
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| Download free coloring and activity pages plus other ideas for teaching children about fruits and vegetables at this website: | www.pbhfoundation.org/educators/teachers/activities/ | ||
| This site from Neat Solutions offers parents/educators free nutrition lesson plans, as well as a list of nutrition education resources. | www.NeatSolutions.com | ||
| Human Kinetics has two CDs which play short tracks of fun music to move by, and work well for obstacle course stations or circuit training. | www.humankinetics.com/products/showproduct.cfm?isbn=0736044493 | ||
| Additional fruit and vegetable activities and games from Yummy Designs, Inc are available for purchase here: | www.yummydesigns.com/games.htm | ||
Community Connections |
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| Action for Healthy Kids is a non-profit organization that works with schools to improve children’s nutrition and increase physical activity with the mission to reduce childhood obesity. | www.actionforhealthykids.org | ||
| School Food Service Directors can partner with local programs through this website. As well as offer tips on meal or snack preparation, or help with taste tests and other promotions around food and nutrition. To connect to your state child nutrition organization, or school meals organization, with the USDA Team Nutrition program, go to: | |||
| Connect with farmer’s markets in your area by visiting this website: | www.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets/map.htm | ||
