Schools are Changing to Help Our Kids’ Health
On July 1st, a new federal law went into action that will now require schools to look at their policies and make changes to develop wellness policies. The point is to make the schools a healthier environment for kids as well as to help teach kids healthy living skills. Since studies have shown that kids who consume less sugar can concentrate more and that obese children miss more school than their non-obeses counterparts, this is great news!!
What’s even better is that some states are making their own laws to work with the federal law. Some states require school lunches to be more colorful than white and brown to give children opportunities to “eat their colors” while other districts are replacing soda machines with milk and water vending machines.
Additionally, many teachers are seeing the benefits of having their students get up and get moving throughout the day. This means incorporating classroom activities that get them out of their desks and doing more hands-on learning.
While this new law doesn’t mean that all schools will be “wellness machines” immediately, it is a great start to changing the attitudes, lifestyles and futures of our children!