http://www.healthyeating.org/Healthy-Kids/Kids-Games-Activities
We are always looking for new ways to help kids learn about eating right and getting the proper nutrition. Education is key in helping these kids understand that what they eat will affect them in the long run. Searching the internet I was curious to find an education intervention that focused get teaching kids these points. What I found was a website that encompassed all of these nutrition ideas into fun and colorful games for kids to play and enjoy while still subconsciously learning about nutrients that are important for them to eat.
http://www.healthyeating.org/Healthy-Kids/Kids-Games-Activities/My-Plate-Match-Game.aspx
Healthyeating.org is a California based website from the Dairy Council that works to help kids learn about eating healthy and the importance of eating a well balanced meal. The Dairy Council of California uses games and videos to bring learning to a new level for the children’s entertainment. This website brings together many games and activities hitting all the major parts of diet and exercise that are essential is the health of a growing child. With each game comes a new challenge to test the knowledge of the kids and reinforce the important information needed to eat a nutritious meal. While some of the games are used as working with a child’s memory, most allow the kids a way to see how to create their own meal help to enhance a child’s nutrition skills. Today, kids are constantly on their computers and needing some kind of stimulation to keep their attention. By putting this information online through games, this website gives the kids a way of learning that they don’t mind doing.
What I found extremely helpful about this website was that after each game, it promoted the kids to make a pledge to start trying the eating habits that they learned about in the games. With that, the games also ask the kids to pledge to talk to their families about eating in these ways. By making these pledges, it is allowing kids and adults to take their learning into a real life setting. This can be the cooking skill taught in the Pizza Making Game or even the knowledge of how to eat a healthy breakfast. When I went to play the game about eating a healthy breakfast, I was pleasantly surprised to see the pledge at the end of the game. School age children forget the importance of breakfast and even their parents forget how important a meal this is. I know growing up; I stopped eating breakfast so I could get to school on time. If I had something of this sorts, I know I would want to keep my pledge and would make sure my parents would help me with goal. Family involvement is key in a child’s learning and this website definitely takes this into account.
This website would be helpful in any educational setting. Whether it would be the kids playing these games alone or playing as a group with adult guidance, this website brings the key concepts of a healthy diet into fun games. Personally, as a nutrition educator I would take this site and work on it with the kids together. That way, I would be able to add even more information to the games that is left out. In the MyPlate matching game, instead of just putting the food into the groups where they go, I would also be able to ask which other foods they think go into these groups and what other healthy options there are. In the end, it’s all about helping keeps the kids’ attention in order to get them to retain the information at hand. Healthyeating.org has created a fun way of learning that helps both kids and parents guide themselves to a healthy family lifestyle.
http://www.healthyeating.org/Healthy-Kids/Kids-Games-Activities.aspx