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AT A GLANCE » By measuring the body mass index of the kids who attended the TASC/NYC Mission Society after-school program at PS 92 in Manhattan, staff members discovered 55 percent were overweight. They ran cooking classes, discussed meal planning, created recipes which kids compiled into cookbooks, visited greenmarkets and committed to more weekly exercise. At year's end, half the participating children had lost weight and/or inches. |
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Every kid needs time and safe places for heart-pumping, hair-flying, fun-filled play. But most kids who attend after-school programs have little time during the school day for physical movement, and many lack safe places in their neighborhood where they can run or play sports. A recent survey of students in the New York public school system found that nearly half weigh more than is healthy.
Health and physical fitness is as much a priority of quality after-school programs as healthy emotional and cognitive development. At the end of a six-hour school day, kids have lots of energy to release. High quality programs give kids opportunities to get their bodies moving and to learn lifelong health habits through recreation and such popular activities as cooking.
TASC programs institute fitness programs that respond to the ages, interests and cultural backgrounds of the kids who attend, and draw on the skills of staff members. Some emphasize cooperative play. Others offer highly disciplined training and organized competition in activities such as step dance or the martial arts. Others organize team sports or offer kids choices from a menu of movement and athletic activities.
Athletics help kids develop leadership, teamwork, self-discipline and sportsmanship. Health and fitness programs also strengthen kids’ ties to their schools. They look forward to hitting the court, the field or the dance floor. Students who struggle with academics may blossom as athletes or dancers or kitchen wizards. And as kids grow into young men and women, after-school is a place where trusted adults can guide them toward making smart choices when it comes to their personal health.
