YMCA plans Healthy Kids Day

HARDYSTON — Families are invited to the Sussex County YMCA on April 30 to celebrate Healthy Kids Day, a free, fun-packed event to thwart the summer slide.
From 1-4 p.m., families can compete in an obstacle course, swim, try the basketball free-throw competition, play Healthy U CATCH games, and enjoy a children’s musical concert with Raymond Ayers.
Children are invited to enter the Summer Y Camp Zones, with swimming, archery, and tie-dyeing, among the fun activities available. Healthy nutrition will be emphasized throughout the day.
“This free family event shines a spotlight on the importance of staying active in mind and body during the long summer break from the school-year routine," Sussex County YMCA Executive Director Jennifer Gardner said.
Research shows that idleness causes children to fall behind academically and gain weight twice as fast during the summer as compared to the school year. Childhood obesity remains a serious problem in the U.S.; affecting 17 percent of children and adolescents ages 2 to 19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Y offers these tips to encourage healthy habits:
Ensure kids get at least five servings a day of fruits and vegetables.
Read with and to your kids.
Set family fitness goals; sign up for community/charity events.
Volunteer together.
Make sleep a priority. Children ages 5 to 12 need at least 10 hours for good health
Healthy Kids Day is sponsored by Eastern Propane and will take place at the Sussex County Y, 15 Wits End Road in Hardyston. For more information, visit www.sussexcountyymca.org or call 973-209-9622.
The Y will give away a bicycle to one boy and one girl.