Healthy Kids Day Previews Summer Fun in New Jersey

April 26, 2014 | Community News, Vineland

Children and their families got a taste of summer at the YMCA’s Healthy Kids Day in April.

Healthy Kids Day is a YMCA tradition celebrated across the country. Each year as children begin yearning for summer vacation, local Ys sponsor a safe and healthy play day to preview summer activities and underscore the importance of safety and wellness. The event allows families to try out Y summer programs, which focus on good nutrition and fun physical activity.

New Jersey Partnership for Healthy Kids-Vineland (NJPHK-Vineland) helped the Cumberland Cape Atlantic YMCA celebrate its 10th Healthy Kids Day on April 12, in conjunction with the Rotary Club of Vineland.

More than 200 children and adults enjoyed the many activities, including a family obstacle course. Adults and children raced one another through an inflatable playground and crawled, jumped and ran through various obstacles to reach the big slide at end. The Y also focused on water safety programs and many other organizations presented information on health and safety in the home and on the playground.

Healthy Kids Day is held across YMCAs across the nation.  Andrea Plaza, senior vice president of marketing & communications for The Community YMCA explained that the YMCA of USA established Healthy Kids Day in 1992 in response to alarming statistics that one in three children were overweight or obese. “The Y found that kids tended to be less active during summer when they were not participating in physical activities and mental challenges at school. More than 1,600 Ys across the country host Healthy Kids Days. Throughout New Jersey, more than 6,000 kids participated in a variety of activities at their local Ys.

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