Let's Move! Child Care

On June 8th, the First Lady, Michelle Obama, announced Let’s Move! Child Care, a new initiative that will support child care providers in their efforts to help children develop healthy habits early in life. ‪Through the new Let’s Move! Child Care website, www.healthykidshealthyfuture.org, child care providers can access free online tools and resources pertaining to nutrition, physical activity and screen time.

The guidelines and resources available through Let's Move!  Child Care can help your child care program meet or exceed physical activity standards set forth by Missouri's Section for Child Care Regulation Division of Regulation and Licensure, as well as the standards of major child care accreditation systems.

Here's a small sample of the information available on the website: 

Let's Move!  Child Care Goals:

1. Physical Activity: Provide 1-2 hours of physical activity throughout the day, including outside play when possible.

2. Screen Time: No screen time for children under 2 years. For children age 2 and older, strive to limit screen time to no more than 30 minutes per week during child care, and work with parents and caregivers to ensure children have no more than 1-2 hours of quality screen time per day (as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics).

3. Food: Serve fruits or vegetables at every meal, eat meals family-style whenever possible, and don't serve fried foods.

4. Beverages: Provide access to water during meals and throughout the day, and don't serve sugar-sweetened drinks. For children age 2 and older, serve low-fat (1%) or non-fat milk, and no more than one 4- to 6-ounce serving of 100% juice per day.

5. Infant Feeding: For mothers who want to continue breastfeeding, provide their milk to their infants and welcome them to breastfeed during the child care day. Support all new parents in their decisions about infant feeding.

The website also includes a checklist that can be used to assess how much activity children in your child care program get daily.