Family T.I.M.E. (Together It's More Exciting)

Spending time together is one of the best health investments families can make. There are three keys to creating your healthy family home: play every day, eat healthy and make family time.

This section of our web site is designed to help any family make healthier decisions that lead to healthier and more fulfilling lives together.

By offering practical tools for making small, sustainable changes that can have a big impact over time, Family Time at the Sarasota Family YMCA provides families with the support you need to help you:
• Include more physical activity into daily life
• Increase your healthy food choices
• Strengthen family connections.

Family Friendly Programs

Our YMCA offers classes family members can enjoy. Current programs include family climbing and kayaking, strollerobics, aikido and judo and also parent-child swim and gymnastics classes. Starting January 2010, we will be adding more family-friendly classes like Zumba dance, yoga for adults and kids age seven and older,Family Boot Camp, plus Mommy & Me ballet classes and much more. If you have a suggestion for a family program at your YMCA, please speak with a program director.

Play Every Day

• Bring your walking/running shoes to your child’s practice and walk around the field, park or gym while they play.
• Set a house rule of no more than two hours per day of screen time.
• Turn on music and dance, play musical chairs or a quick game of tag.
• Designate a set time as “family walk time” and get moving together.

Eat Healthy

• Make sure every meal includes at least one fruit or vegetable.
• Pay attention to portion sizes. Review the nutrition labels on packaged foods and enjoy accordingly.
• Have all family members identify their favorite fruit and other healthy snacks. Then, fill a family bowl with items for worry-free snacking.
• Decorate special water cups or bottle for the family (everyone gets his or her own bottle).
   

  Kids Corner

  Look out your window or take a walk and turn what you see into a guessing or counting game. For example: play "I Spy" and have another family member guess what you describe or guess the number of things you might find: number of trees: number of different leaves: guess how many step it takes to walk around your house: guess how many people you see riding bicycles or how many different types of birds you see. E-mail us a Kids Corner entry.

   

  Kid Friendly Meals

  Sautee sliced apples in a little olive oil or low-fat butter spread and sprinkle with cinnamon. Place them on top of pancakes, waffles, pork, or chicken dishes. Bake a few sweet potatoes, top them off with vegetarian chili, or a mixture of rinsed black and red kidney beans; sprinkle a handful of low-fat cheese and top off with red pepper or salsa. E-mail us a kid friendly recipe.

   

  TGIFF (Thank Goodness It's Family Friday)

  Calendar of monthly events

   

  Kid Friendly Sporting Events

  Calendar of kid friendly sporting events around the county; swim events, tennis, golf, running, etc.

   

  As the Food Dude - Nutritionist

  How can we plan a Holiday dinner on a budget? Start this week by planning your menu and keep it simple. A main dish, two sides, and one dessert is plenty of food. Invite guests to bring a side or dessert to save you time and money. Use the next few weeks to stock up on ingredients based on your pre-planned menu, including items you may see on sale right now. Plan for grocery shopping on double coupon days and stick to your list. Another cost saving idea is to stick to a traditional meal and look for recipes that have the least amount of ingredients. This will save on money and time. Save the experimental recipes and themes for other events when preparation time can be the main focus and the result of the experiment does not have a major impact on the meal. Keep appetizers to a minimal to prevent getting full before the meal. Fresh cut veggies and low-fat dip are a good choice.

   

  Ask the Play Ground Guru

  Should the whole family stretch their muscles? Most people can benefit from lengthening their muscles, regardless of age. It can also be a great opportunity for the whole family to spend five minutes unwinding together at the beginning or the end of the day. Reaching for your toes, or rolling shoulders forwards and backwards are stretches that can be done by everyone. Other good stretches the whole family can do include bringing arms across the body and giving yourself a big bear hug with both arms. Another idea is using a wall or other stationary object s for support while stretching the backside of your lower legs bringing one leg forward (towards the wall) and extending the back leg behind you. There are several stretches that can be done in pairs. One example is to sit on the floor with your legs open in a V-shape and have a family member sit across from you with their feet touching yours-creating a diamond like shape with your legs. Grab each other's hands or wrists and gently pull one another forward and back for a few seconds each. The benefits to stretching will be different for each family member, but in general it can help increase range of motion, prevent injury, carry blood to your muscles, reduce stress and create time we spent together as a family.

   
   
  

  Center for Disease Control
  Learn about exercise's effect on your body.

  Harvard University
  An excellent resouce for nutritional tips and wellness tips

  UF/Sarasota County Family Nutrition Program
  The Family Nutrition Program is a nutrition education program for families and individuals that are on a limited budget.

  The President's Challenge
  An activity website to earn awards for all activities and challenges that you complete