Creating Healthy Families, One Child at a Time
Eight weeks may not seem like a long time, but it was the perfect amount of time for four families to learn important lessons regarding nutrition (utilizing the 5-2-1-0 messaging), stress management, emotional eating, and physical activity.
Beginning in September, four families from the greater Torrington area participated in the second session of the Families Fit Together program. The 8-week program consisted of weekly workshops, held at the Brooker Memorial Child Care Center on Litchfield Street in Torrington. Each workshop incorporated a physical activity lesson, led by Caitlin Rossier, a Fitness Instructor from the NWCT YMCA, as well as a wellness lesson on a variety of topics, such as Fruits & Veggies, Sugar Sweetened Beverages, Smart Snacking, Emotional Eating, and Attacking the Fat in Fast Food. The wellness lessons were led by Carla Angevine, Clinical RD for Charlotte Hungerford Hospital, Nicole Benson, 5210 Fit Together Coordinator, and Victoria Palagy, Psychiatric Clinician for the Center for Youth & Families. The group even enjoyed a visit from local farmer, Laurie Szpak, who introduced the group to the squash family, describing the cultivation process of various gourds, pumpkins, and squash fruits to the kids and parents. She also shared with them her favorite squash recipes and gave each child a squash to take home and eat!
Families committed to participating for eight weeks, with each workshop lasting about 90 minutes. In each workshop, the kids participated in a 35-minute physical activity lesson or game. These exciting games and activities demonstrated to the kids how much fun exercising can be. Meanwhile, parents joined in on a discussion about creating healthy habits in the home for the whole family. For the last 45 minutes, kids and parents enjoyed an interactive lesson which often involved food tasting or cooking demonstrations. In their final workshop, parents and kids were challenged to remember all that they learned with a fun Jeopardy-style game.