2. WHEN IT COMES TO CHILDREN, MAKING IT FUN MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE..

ACFN found that when programs are fun, children get involved — and involvement is the first step in long-term behavior change.


Children at Common Threads prepare a nutritious meal while learning the history of the food they are making.

In Chicago, Common Threads, a program founded by Oprah Winfrey’s personal chef, uses food to teach children ages 8-12 about other cultures and diversity. According to program coordinator Tara Sidlowski, “Children are fascinated by cooking — where the food they eat comes from, and its ingredients, if they are given the opportunity.” Each week children prepare healthy recipes from a different country and take the food they’ve helped prepare home to their families. They also practice “movement” appropriate for that culture, such as samba and yoga. “We engage their natural curiosity about movement and exercise — what people do in different parts of the world, and why,” said Sidlowski. “When the content is handled in an interesting way, they are enthusiastic to learn it.”

Common Threads has found that at the end of the program, children report that their families are cooking more at home and are eating more vegetables.

In Texarkana, AR, the Girl Scouts of Conifer Council has placed a creative twist on a national Girl Scouts program called Uniquely Me!, ensuring fun for young participants and their families. Uniquely Me! consists of a mother-daughter spa day where activities include cooking together, reworking recipes to make them more nutritious and calculating how much activity is necessary to burn off calories. Girls also are given a book called “All About You” to take home and interview family members about the family’s health history.

“We believe that enjoyment is what makes the difference in whether or not a child will absorb health and wellness messages.”

Laura Hixson, program leader, Uniquely Me!, Texarkana, TX

Uniquely Me! and other health and wellness programs run by the local Girl Scouts chapter have attracted more than 900 participants as of the end of 2005. “We believe that enjoyment is what makes the difference in whether or not a child will absorb health and wellness messages,” said program leader Laura Hixson. “And the most fun these girls have is when they are with their moms. So that is what we provide.”


	Girls on the Run participated in a Trick or Treat Trot Fun Run that included a 5k run, 10k run, 5k walk and a Monster Mash Jr. Dash.

In Girls on the Run (GOTR) in Chicago, girls ages 8-12 “don’t even know they are learning because they are having so much fun,” according to program leader Betsy Armstrong. The primary focus of the local branch of this national program is preparing girls for a 3.1 mile walk/run by combining running into a variety of other fun activities. The fun comes in the way movement is incorporated into activities that both impart lessons about nutrition and cultivate camaraderie. Examples include relay races to associate foods with their appropriate food groups or running to pick up Bingo pieces, competing as a team to win fun, inexpensive prizes such as bracelets and shoelaces.

The nine-year-old national program, which has 125 chapters nationwide, has attracted nearly 1,000 girls at 66 locations in the Chicago area alone. Eighty percent complete the race that culminates the program. “We motivate these girls with teamwork and positive reinforcement. It’s not about winning and losing. That’s what really makes it fun and builds long-term self esteem for these young women,” said Armstrong.

The Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon created a compelling annual event for children by making them part of an activity, one with a powerful emotional draw for the community. The marathon raises money for the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial and Museum. Child participants run their own “marathon,” logging 25 miles over a few-month period, supervised and validated by an adult sponsor such as a parent or teacher. Then on race day they run their last 1.2 miles with the adults. Every child wins a medal, along with a goody bag and t-shirt.

“So many events like these leave children out, or offer a one-block or one-mile fun run,” explained program director Jamie Keel. “We wanted something more involved, something that encouraged kids to make a commitment and gain an understanding of how to form lifelong good habits.”

“We wanted something more involved, something that encouraged kids to make a commitment and gain an understanding of how to form lifelong good habits.”

Jamie Keel, program director, Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon, Oklahoma City, OK

In 2004, the fifth year of the event, more than 1,000 kids participated, including some as young as two years old. “A few of the young ones’ moms had to carry them part of the way,” said Keel. “But to us, that’s a positive experience for the child, and that’s what matters.” Runner’s World Magazine recently named the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon one of the top 12 in the world.