Healthy Kids (and Family) Initiative at the Rye Y

It was a time for beginnings and endings Sunday at the .

When the Rye Derby ended yesterday, the racing trilogy also marked the ending of the Y’s first ever Healthy Kids Initiative Week– a series of week-long training sessions that spilled over into the Y parking lot for a festive finale.

The larger “Initiative” has only just begun and is already extending into neighboring Sound Shore communities as part of the Rye Y’s outreach program intended to help combat the national obesity crisis locally.

“It’s the first time the Y’s Healthy Kids Initiative Week has also been an integral part of the run-up to the Rye Derby,” said Ed Phillip, the Y’s Chief Operating Officer.

While the Rye Y’s planning for next year’s Derby begins almost as soon as this year’s Derby ends, this is the first year that the Healthy Kids Initiative has been part of the lead-in for the Derby under the leadership of Laura Tiedge, Y’s Senior Director of Healthy Lifestyles, and Scott Umbell, Senior Program Director, according to Phillip.

They devised, among other things, a daily program of healthy activities for kids and their families; each activity to be checked off and returned to the Y on or before Rye Derby Day.

The results will be tallied and each family will be entered into a raffle for a Y prize to be announced.

The program included a Healthy Kids (& Family) Activity Check List designed to carry over throughout the year.The list included the following activities: walk to school, jump rope for five minutes, play catch, play in the backyard, go rollerblading, play in the neighborhood playground, swim at the Y, go for walk after dinner, participate in Open Gym times at the Y, cook a healthy meal, go for a family jog, participate in a Y Fitness Zone workout, do 30 jumping jacks a day, go for a family bike ride, walk a dog, participate in the Derby Fun Run on May 1.

Indeed, there were possibilities galore to get added exercise in at the conclusion of the Derby because the Y parking lot was turned into what amounted to a giant carnival area filled with assorted rides, from slides to ball throwing events, BBQ to ice cream, face-painting to nutrition hints.

The Y also distributed a Healthy Family Home booklet– a kind of ongoing homework study assignment. It included the following ten tips as signs of a healthy home:

• Water is the beverage of choice, supplemented by 100% fruit juices and low-fat milk.
• Fruits or vegetables are served at every meal including some fresh fruit or veggie options daily.
• Snack time includes foods that contain whole grains and protein instead  of saturated and trans fats.
• Kids and adults should break a sweat at least three times per week by exercising for 20 minutes or more.
• Kids are provided with frequent opportunities to play outdoors in ways that are unstructured and exploratory. Play experiences in nature take place often.
• Kids and adults are moving and playful for at least an hour per day, outside and together whenever possible.
• The family dines together at least once every day, with kids involved in meal preparation and clean-up.
• Kids all receive daily one-on-one-time with an adult.
• Television and video game time is limited to two hours per day.
• Kids and adults keep to a regular schedule that helps everyone get enough sleep. For the kids that means 10-12 hours per night, and 7-8 for the adults.

Various Y staff members –including Diana Vita, Group Wellness Director, Melissa Lewis, Athletics Director, and Kaleena Ladeairous, Health & Fitness Director-- have been preaching those steps (and more) to the  Y membership of all ages, as have their various Y class instructors.

“At the Y, we are committed to building strong minds, strong bodies and strong communities,” said Ms. Vita, one of the volunteers working at the Derby/Initiative carnival extravaganza.

“We are all for healthy living, and we believe it begins at home," said Vita. "We know that the relationship between adult and child can be the primary source of health in a young person’s life and a powerful motivator for adults to build more health into their own lives.”

That’s why the Y is so into helping fight obesity and building the Healthy Kids Youth (and Family) Initiative.

Further information: Rye YMCA, 967-6363; ymca.net/healthy-family-home.