This program is for children who are preschool age and their child-care providers.

Healthy Habits for Life™, a community-based program, is designed to improve the eating habits and general well-being of young children and their care providers by offering resources to the providers to create environments and plan activities that can improve nutrition and increase physical activity for children and by teaching providers how to improve their own nutrition and increase their physical activity. This program was designed by Sesame Workshop and uses Sesame Street themed materials to encourage participation.

No peer-reviewed publications evaluating the effectiveness of this program were located.

Child  care providers facilitate this program and use the Healthy Habits for Life Child Care Resource Kit, which equips them to engage in and involve young children in physical activity and healthy eating. Kit materials feature Sesame Street characters participating in healthy behaviors, such as eating fruits and vegetables and taking part in active play. The kit includes the following elements:

• The toolkit provides information about nutrition and physical activity for young children; suggests ways providers may incorporate physical activity and a healthier diet into their own lives; and includes activities to help children identify and learn the benefits of eating nutritious foods, understand why being active is important, try new foods (e.g., fruits, vegetables), and engage in structured physical activities (e.g., movement-based games).  The child-care resource kit is organized into three sections: Get Moving, Food and Drink to Grow On, and Every Day is a Healthy Day.
• A guide called We Have the Moves! provides additional physical activities for children.
• The Get Healthy Now Show video is a Sesame Street clip that presents the concept of sometime versus anytime foods and leads children through a movement-based game.
• A series of resources for parents (e.g., brief guides and tip sheets) that have information about how to reinforce the information presented in the home environment.
• A guide called Food for Thought: Eating Well on a Budget™ is designed to show low-income families how to provide good nutrition to young children despite economic challenges.

The Healthy Habits for Life initiative began in 2004. In 2006, the program began providing multimedia outreach to child care providers through classroom activities, recipes, a storybook, and a DVD hosted by the sesame Street character, Elmo.  In 2009, the program distributed approximately 4.5 million Healthy Habits bilingual multimedia toolkits to the Women, Infants, and Children program. Approximately 6 million families and child care centers have received the Sesame Street Healthy Habits for Life or Food for Thought Outreach toolkit.

Training is not required. Child-care providers should review all of the materials in the Healthy Habits for Life Child Care Resource Kit prior to implementation.

Considerations for implementing this program include acquiring buy-in from child-care administration and providers and parents, understanding some program materials may need to purchased (e.g., fruits, vegetables), and finding time and suitable space to complete program activities.

The Clearinghouse can help address these considerations. Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email Clearinghouse@psu.edu

If you are interested in implementing Healthy Habits for Life, the Clearinghouse is interested in helping you!
Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email Clearinghouse@psu.edu

Time for program implementation will vary; however, activities are designed to be incorporated into a regular child-care schedule.

The Healthy Habits for Life Child Care Resource Kit may be downloaded for free from the following link: https://kidshealth.org/classroom/cc/GetMoving.pdf

To move Healthy Habits for Life to the Promising category on the Clearinghouse Continuum of Evidence, at least one evaluation should be performed demonstrating positive effects lasting at least one year from the beginning of the program or at least six months from program completion.

The Clearinghouse can help you develop an evaluation plan to ensure the program components are meeting your goals. Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email Clearinghouse@psu.edu

Contact the Clearinghouse with any questions regarding this program.
Phone: 1-877-382-9185 Email: Clearinghouse@psu.edu

You may also contact Sesame Workshop by phone 1-212-595-3456 or visit www.sesameworkshop.org/contact-us/

https://kidshealth.org/classroom/cc/GetMoving.pdf and https://snaped.fns.usda.gov/library/materials/healthy-habits-life-sesame-street