Coming Soon: New and Improved Canadian Food Guide

July 7, 2018 by Creating Together

Health Canada is rolling out an updated version of Canada’s Food Guide this Winter, which will mark the first update since 2007. The revision process is currently underway.

With the Food Guide originally aimed at tackling wartime rationing and malnutrition, it has an interesting history – with many updates and transformations that have taken place since its inception in 1942. The new plan is based on an updated set of guiding principles, focused on consuming more nutrition-dense foods on a regular basis and staying away from harmful fats, sodium and sugar. The guiding principles highlight the importance of knowledge and skills relating to health and nutrition, advising that Canadians shop for nutritious foods, plan and cook healthy meals and then share them with family and friends, which “can help reinforce positive eating habits and help children develop healthy attitudes towards food.”

The Guiding Principles also move the conversation beyond the individual to include the impact of healthy eating on our environment, encouraging us to look at the impact of our food systems (e.g., greenhouse gas emissions, water quality, food waste, animal welfare, soil degradation).

Learn More about Nutrition and Portion Size

Be Informed

Keep up to date on the revision of Canada’s food guide by registering for the Consultation and Stakeholder Information Management System. At the ‘areas of interest’ page, select ‘Canada’s Food Guide / Nutrition.’

Email nutrition@hc-sc.gc.ca to:

request a PDF copy of the:
- guiding principles
- draft recommendations
- evidence base summary presented in the consultation
ask any questions about the revision

Additional Resources

Improve Your Child’s Health with 60 Minutes / Day

June 30, 2018 by Creating Together

Canadian children are lacking the exercise needed for brain health, according to the latest finding of the ParticipACTION report, released last month. The report gives Canadian kids a D+ grade for their overall level of physical activity.

Interestingly, the numbers drop from 62% of children between 3-4 years of age getting the recommended physical activity levels, to only 35 per cent of children from the ages of 5 to 17. Both groups are also getting more screen time than is recommended.

It’s hard to believe, but just 60 minutes/day of physical activity helps children:

develop cardiovascular fitness, strength, flexibility, and bone density
maintain a healthy body weight
increased creativity
reduce the risk of chronic disease and health problems
lessen the likelihood of tobacco, alcohol, and drug use
feel better every day, through improved mental health and well-being

And even harder to believe is that children who aren’t active enough are at a higher risk of developing chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and other cardiovascular illnesses.

5 years ago, a study across Canada showed us that only 1 in 10 children in Canada met the Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines. Knowing what this meant for their health, across the country people have been working to make physical activity a regular part of daily Canadian living.

Let’s Make a Difference

Here are a few tips to help teach children the importance of daily physical activity:

Let us Help! At Creating Together, we apply the City of Toronto’s Rainbow Fun Guide in our programming – a physical activity and healthy eating program for children 3-6 years old. Through this program, children build on skills like listening, singing, movement and participation, while developing their fine and gross motor skills. Keep your eye out in our calendar for the busy body exercise cards, parachute play, play in the park, and scarf dancing.
Encourage – gently encourage them to walk or ride their bikes
Schedule – be sure there is active time scheduled each day
Mix it up – intersperse periods of moderate activity (e.g., walking or biking) with periods of more vigorous activity (e.g., running or or tag)
Register – check with the Fun Guide, local schools and community centres for affordable programs (e.g., swimming, soccer, gymnastics)
Unstructured Activity – For children who shy away from competition, build in physical activities that are informal and unstructured (e.g., tag)
Mimicry – children under the age of six are constantly learning by copying what they see and hear, so set a positive example by being physically active as a family.
Praise – remember to praise your children for being active. Confidence is the key to success!
Share – reinforce positive health messages with other parents and caregivers, with information about physical activity, healthy eating and self-esteem.

Other Resources:

Towards a Healthier Canada – 2017 Progress report on advancing the federal / provincial / territorial framework on healthy weights.

Learning with Science: Dancing Mothballs

June 22, 2018 by Creating Together

Cognitive learning is all about watching, listening touching and experiencing. Naturally, children are more likely to absorb things they see and hear around them. Learning techniques such as science activities and experiments are as popular as they are with children, because they really do work with how children learn.

The experts point out that science is important in the lives of young people for a number of reasons:

Science involves a lot of communication with other people.
Science develops patience and perseverance in kids.
It can help kids form a healthy dose of skepticism.
Science teaches kids about the world around them.
Science can spark in kids’ minds that they, too, can help solve the world’s big problems.

To learn more about the benefits of science for children, see our “learning science through play” article from February of this year. But don’t take our word for it – come see for yourself by joining us for our next science activity on June 27th from 1:30-2pm. CT staff will be guiding children through a fun, hands-on “dancing mothball” activity. It will surely ignite your child’s curiosity and fascination with the world around us!

See you there!

Food Share Healthy Snack

June 15, 2018 by Creating Together

On June 13th, parents and caregivers joined Marcela from Food Share for a workshop on Toddler Food Preparation.

This month’s creation was carrot oatmeal muffins, which pack up great for picnics, trips, and camp lunches.

Below is the recipe card, so you and your families can enjoy these muffins all year round!

Thank you so much Marcela, for bringing such delicious snack ideas!

Balancing Screen Time with Green Time

June 6, 2018 by Creating Together

This generation, the digital generation, has never known life without a computer or the Internet. Research from the Einstein Medical Centre Philadelphia reported that even by age one, 14% of children are already using electronic devices for an hour a day; this goes up to 26% by the age of two, to 38% by age four, and usage continues to increase with age. When very small children get hooked on tablets and smartphones, says Dr. Aric Sigman, an associate fellow of the British Psychological Society and a Fellow of Britain’s Royal Society of Medicine, they can unintentionally cause permanent damage to their still-developing brains. He continues:

Too much screen time too soon is the very thing impeding the development of the abilities that parents are so eager to foster through the tablets. The ability to focus, to concentrate, to lend attention, to sense other people’s attitudes and communicate with them, to build a large vocabulary—all those abilities are harmed.

Simultaneous to these findings, NDD, or nature deficit disorder, has become a buzzword over the last few years. Although it’s not a recognised medical condition, concerns about its effects on well-being are attracting widespread attention. Richard Louv coined the phrase Nature Deficit Disorder in his 2005 book Last Child in the Woods. He argues that all of us, especially children, are spending more time indoors, which makes us feel alienated from nature and perhaps more vulnerable to negative moods or reduced attention span. Coincidently, instances of ADD and ADHD are increasing as children’s time spent indoors and on screens is increasing. Even for children not diagnosed with attention deficits, the fact remains that a disconnection from the natural world results in difficulties in concentration, a diminished use of the senses, and higher rates of mental illness among our children.

How Nature Helps

Getting children outside to enjoy time for free play in natural environments will increase attentions spans, creative thought, and the desire to learn through exploration (https://www.asla.org/ContentDetail.aspx?id=39558). It also helpa their motor, sensory, social and cognitive development – and is great for their general health and well-being (https://www.learningpotential.gov.au/the-benefits-of-outdoor-play).

In fact, “wilderness therapy” has emerged as an alternative treatment for behavioral and psychological problems in adolescents and teens. One study found that “wilderness therapy” was an effective treatment for teens suffering from attention deficit disorder, alcohol and drug addiction, depression, and other behavioral problems. Afterward, patients showed higher levels of confidence, better organizational and leadership skills, and exhibited fewer problematic behaviors (http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/wrc/Pdf/howwildtherworks.PDF).

7 More Advantages to Nature Play

Promoting an Active Lifestyle

Playing outside is fantastic for helping children practise their physical abilities. Exercises such as running, jumping, skipping and playing ball games not only strengthen little muscles, but they can also help with gross motor skills, hand-eye coordination and overall health and well-being. According to Wikipedia, obesity has sent as much as 120,000 people to their graves prematurely. Kids who spend more time with the natural settings are less likely to be obese. The physical activities such as walking, hiking, or playing in nature can keep them active, and also help them shed extra kilos.

Self-awareness

Experiencing outdoor play helps your child take risks and learn about their own abilities. For example, they can discover how high they can climb, how well they can balance, how fast they can run and what it is like to roll on grass.

Immunity

Children who play more in the natural world fall sick less often than those kids who restrict themselves to the indoor space. Regular exposure to the outside world boosts one’s immune system. As a result, a child is able to combat illness better.

Imagination

Playing outdoors is helpful for encouraging creative thinking through imagination. Outdoors, children can enjoy unstructured play, where they can make up activities and games on the spot with what is around them – a log can be a pirate ship sailing the seas, or a stick can be a magic wand – or anything they can imagine.

Playing games like ‘Hide and Seek’ are fun and important for your child’s development as they assist with language skills and social and emotional learning.

Knowledge

Children who spend more time in nature have better performance in maths, science, reading and social studies (National Wildlife Federation, Back to School: Back Outside (Coyle, 2010). Being outdoors also helps your child connect with nature and the environment around them. You can use the opportunity of going outside together to talk to your child about the natural world. You could discuss how plants grow, the changing of the seasons or how caterpillars turn into butterflies.

Optimism

Children who spend a good amount of time outside are more prone to hone positive thoughts. It becomes second nature to them to think more optimistically in life. As a result, they benefit in all areas of life, be it academic or professional.

Resilience

Being able to solve problems on their own and the ability to take calculative risks when needed will boost their self-esteem. As a matter of fact, children who are religiously exposed to the natural world are found to be more resilient to high-stress circumstances.

Join us for Playtime at the Park!

Research

“Changes in Children’s Nature-based Experiences Near home: From Spontaneous Play to Adult-Controlled, Planned and Organized Activities,” Children’s Geographies, 2009

“Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children for Nature-Deficit Disorder,”
Richard Louv, 2008

“How Wilderness Therapy Works: An Examination of the Wilderness Therapy Process to Treat Adolescents with Behavioral Problems and Addictions,” USDA Forest Service, 2000

Research and White Papers, Children and Nature Network

Resources

Children and Nature

Discover the Forest, U.S. Forest Service

Natural Learning Initiative

“For Forest Kindergarteners, Class is Back to Nature, Rain or Shine” The New York Times, 2009