Tips for Teaching Healthy Habits to Young Children
By Charlotte Hendricks, HSD, Connie Jo Smith, EdD, and Becky Bennett, EdD

Learning to live a healthy lifestyle begins during the early years of life. For many children, the need for health and safety education becomes a reality much too early. According to the Children's Defense Fund, each day approximately thirty-three children die from unintentional injuries and 383 children are arrested for alcohol or drug offenses. (1) Most injuries and many unhealthy lifestyle choices involving children can be prevented by integrating safe and healthy habits into early care and education classroom curriculum in a nonthreatening, natural way. Infusing the curriculum with health-related information addresses the day-to-day needs of each child and helps children practice habits that may someday save their lives. Since high-quality, early childhood classrooms collaborate with the families of the children enrolled, incorporating health education into the curriculum may also have a positive impact on the home life of young children.

Because there are a myriad of health-related topics, it may be difficult to know what information is most important for young children to know. Children need to learn and practice skills that directly affect their daily lives. For example, young children should practice self-help skills such as brushing teeth, washing hands, choosing nutritious foods, and dressing. Along with learning such skills, they need to understand why they do these things. Understanding why helps children transfer healthy decision making to specific circumstances in their life. Other safety-related information such as burn prevention, poisoning prevention, and pedestrian safety can help children make good decisions in potentially life-threatening situations.

Health education also supports other areas of development. For example, helping children understand health concepts supports cognitive development. Providing nutritious and appetizing food choices and serving family-style meals and snacks reinforces decision-making skills and promotes healthy choices. Introducing health and safety words such as dentist, germs, helmet, and condiments increases vocabulary development. Being active and building muscles enhances a child's health and physical development. And when children brush their teeth, they increase their small-motor coordination and finger strength, attributes that will be helpful to them as they begin to write.

Another benefit of promoting healthy habits early is that children feel empowered by their ability to make decisions and to practice skills. This increased autonomy helps build confidence and self-esteem, leading to positive social and emotional development.

Effective health education cannot be accomplished by telling children about health and illness, nor can it be addressed adequately through teaching an occasional unit on it, through routines, or through incidental learning. Effective health education requires that children understand the concepts, practice the skills, and develop the necessary intellectual tools. Hands-on activities and materials in the learning environment are important to support health education. An excellent way to make health education a natural part of learning is by providing stimulating and developmentally appropriate materials and toys in your classroom learning centers.

Start by offering a wide range of materials in an attractive and organized way. For each health topic, include related materials in classroom learning centers such as the library or book center, the dramatic-play or housekeeping area, the table-toy or manipulatives area, the science area, the art center, and the block corner, as well as the outside learning space. For example, when focusing on dental health, try adding to the library center books about teeth and dentists. Add empty toothpaste containers to the dramatic-play area to encourage role-play and conversation. Add different brands and flavors of empty toothpaste and mouthwash containers to the table-toy area, and ask children to match lids to containers. (You may be surprised at how much fun children have taking lids off and putting them on again. This is a great activity for fine-motor development too.) Also add to the table-toy area puzzles that show teeth. In the science area, include real teeth, dental supplies, and dental tools in order to encourage exploration and learning. Include magnifying glasses so children can take a closer look at the teeth. Old magazines in the art area can be used to find and cut out or tear out pictures of teeth to paste onto a class collage, or you can add toothbrushes to the art area to be used for painting. Pictures of dentist offices in the block area may inspire young builders to create dentist chairs or dental offices out of blocks. Animals with teeth can be added to the block area or toy area to encourage discussion.

Teachers and parents should remember that learning takes place every day and everywhere. Family involvement is an important component in early childhood health education. Parents are children's first teachers, and most of what a child learns has its beginnings in the home. Collaboration with families provides continuity between home and school and enhances children's learning in both environments.

One way to involve families is by giving them information and ideas. A family information and activity bulletin related to each health topic can extend children's learning through suggested at-home activities. This resource also can provide family members with concise information that applies to their child's developmental or health needs.

Family photographs can help children see that families can be different sizes and have different members (for example, a little sister, a big brother, one mother, an aunt, or two fathers). Photographs can also expose children to new ideas and diverse cultures. For example, looking at different hairstyles when learning about hair care exposes children to cultural differences and adds new vocabulary (bangs, beehive, bantu/zulu knots, cornrows, buzz cut, dreadlocks, French twist, ponytail, pigtails, khokhol, ringlets, and more). Providing a variety of foods can also support diversity and help children broaden their experiences.

Helping children become aware of and appreciative of their body is a beginning step in encouraging them to take care of their body throughout their lives. Daily routines such as hand washing, toothbrushing, and exercising start children on the road to a healthy lifestyle. Planning and providing appropriate health education for young children serves as a foundation for lifelong healthy habits.

Need more ways to add health and safety to your curriculum? The recently revised and updated book Growing, Growing Strong: A Whole Health Curriculum for Young Children includes developmentally appropriate activities, suggested materials to add to learning centers, and reproducible family information and activity bulletins for more than thirty health topics.

1. Children's Defense Fund, "Each Day in America," February 2007.
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About the Authors

Connie Jo Smith holds a doctoral degree in Instructional Technology and Distance Education from Nova Southeastern University and has an education specialist's degree focusing on curriculum instruction for young children. Dr. Smith is the early childhood education specialist for Training and Technical Assistance Services at Western Kentucky University. She is also on the faculty for the Consumer and Family Sciences Department at Western Kentucky University. Her previously published books include Here We Go, Watch Me Grow! and Young Children on the Grow.

Becky S. Bennett earned a doctoral degree in Instructional Technology and Distance Education from Nova Southeastern University and a master's degree in Counselor Education. Dr. Bennett is the director for the career services center at Western Kentucky University. She provides workshops in the areas of technology, career planning, and social and emotional development.

Charlotte M. Hendricks completed her doctoral degree in Health and Safety at Indiana University. Dr. Hendricks is president of Healthy Childcare Consultants, Inc., and develops resources and training programs for child care providers and parents. Her previously published works include Here We Go, Watch Me Grow! and HIP on Health. She maintains the www.childhealthonline.org Web site.