Home > Learn To Live > Raising Healthy Kids Resource Center

Here you'll find many ways to help you raise a healthy family: information about sun safety, preventing injuries, healthy eating, steering kids away from tobacco and more. But remember, the best source of information for your children is you. Be involved. Set a good example and teach your children healthy habits.

Below you'll find information on:

Healthy Eating and Physical Activity
Tobacco Use Prevention and Cessation
Sun Safety
Injury Prevention
Sports Health
Teen Health
Childcare Activities, Tips and Newsletters

Healthy Eating and
Physical Activity

It's easy to learn (or remind yourself) about the guidelines to eating healthy and living healthy: nutrition, hydration, and foods that fuel.

Hydration Station/Fuel Stop: A quick and fun flyer to download with information about keeping kids hydrated and fueled with healthy snacks.
Food Fuels Fun: This “My Pyramid” activity sheet shows kids which foods best fuel their fun.
Busy Families Can Be Healthy Families: This downloadable flyer helps you plan healthy school breakfasts, snacks, lunches and activities with handy checklists.
Let's Talk About… Raising Healthy Children: A downloadable tip sheet with advice about how to talk to children and teach them healthy behaviors.
Let's Talk About… How the Media Influence Children: A downloadable tip sheet with advice about how to talk to children about advertising.
Healthy Ways to Family Fitness: A newsletter promoting children's health.

Issue 7: Fruits and veggie tips and kid-tested snack ideas
Issue 9: Safety tips for active families
Issue 11: Tips for eating whole grains

Tobacco Use Prevention
and Cessation

Here's help for keeping kids and teens away from tobacco and smoking. If they already smoke, here's how to help them stop. These sites and downloads have facts, advice, activities and information.

Smoking Stinks Web Site: A Web site for kids with games, quizzes, gruesome photos and the hard facts about tobacco.
I Quit: A highly interactive Web site with plans and peer-to-peer advice for helping teens quit tobacco.
Don't Let Us Get Hooked: Resource guide for parents about tobacco prevention and cessation for kids and teens.
Secondhand Smoke: A brochure with facts about the dangers of secondhand smoke and how to protect your family.
Tobacco Sales Compliance Kit: Own a business that sells tobacco? Here are materials to help you make sure you're in compliance with the law.
Tobacco-Free Kids Week Planning Kit: This kit has materials for you and your group to join in TFK Week, a unique annual anti-smoking event.

Sun Safety

Protecting yourself and your family from sun exposure is important. Make sure your family knows the basics of sun safety.

Family Sun Safety: Information about sun safety, skin cancer prevention and how to order the “Sun Smart” Kit.
Sun Safety: Provides tips about saving young people's skin in the sun, especially kids and teens.
<SPF365> : A poster/flyer to remind teens about the dangers of sunburn and tanning year-round.
Alex the Alligator: A program that helps young children learn about sun safety. Get the schedule and activity sheets here.

Injury Prevention

Having kids almost always means bumps, bruises and boo-boos. But you can take a few simple steps to prevent accidents and keep children safe from injury.

Child Passenger Safety: Information about keeping infants, toddlers and kids safe in cars.
Water Safety: Tips to keep kids safe around the water, indoors, around pools and in open water.
Playing it Safe: A downloadable brochure with safety tips for kids' outdoor play.

Sports Health

Sports are a great way for kids to make friends, stay fit and have fun. Below is information on how to make every sports experience a fun and safe one.

Hydration Station/Fuel Stop: A quick and fun flyer to download with info about keeping kids hydrated and fueled with good foods.
Coach's Clipboard: A downloadable newsletter written for coaches and adults that talks about children's health in sports. The newsletter has advice on avoiding injuries, what to do in emergencies, outdoor safety, good nutrition and more.

Teen Health

The teenage years are a time for learning about and coping with adult issues. Here are several resources to help teens and parents talk about important health issues such as STDs and pregnancy prevention.

Talking to Your Parents About Sex: Web page for young people about where to go for information.
Talking Together Makes a Difference: Tip sheet for parents on how to talk to teens about sex.
I Quit: A highly interactive site with plans and peer-to-peer advice for helping teens quit tobacco.
Department of Health Services:

Teen Health Quick Links:

Childcare Activities and Tips

Whether you are a day care provider, teacher, babysitter or parent, these activities and tips can help you talk to
your children, plan fun activities and keep
them safe.

Alex the Alligator: A program that helps young children learn about sun safety. Get a schedule and activity sheets here.
Let's Talk About… Raising Healthy Children: A downloadable tip sheet with advice about how to talk to children and teach them healthy behaviors.
Let's Talk About… How the Media Influence Children: A downloadable tip sheet with advice about how to talk to children about advertising.
Healthy Bodies Activity Sheets, Issue 1 and Issue 2: Provide activities that promote messages about staying healthy and well.
Activity Sheets: Coloring sheets that help you talk to kids about healthy habits.

Childcare Newsletters

Building Blocks addresses current health topics. Healthy Ways to Family Fitness is its companion newsletter that can be copied and distributed to families at your childcare program.