Play is the Thing: 4YG to a Tastier World
I don’t about you, but I need something to cool down from ZomppaPatty’s pretzels…so I’m going to bring the heat down a few notches and talk about an afternoon I spent with runny-nosed, knee-scraped kids.
It’s no surprise anymore to hear about the horrific statistics on childhood obesity (i.e. obesity rates have tripled, $150 billion spent on obesity-related illnesses).
The good news is that there is a tremendous movement occurring to reverse and prevent these trends, from removing junk food from vending machines to establishing school gardens. I am sure by now you have heard of the First Lady’s Let’s Move! Campaign to mobilize the nation to advocate for healthier food and physical activity for our schoolchildren.
A broader movement is Four Years Go, a global campaign to achieve a “just, thriving, and sustainable world” by 2014.
4YG is not focused in one particular area, but engages EVERYONE from all sectors, so please take a look! We at Zomppa are supporting this movement with the focus on, what else?, access to and awareness of healthy food!
But how to raise awareness? Access? I’m not convinced that it can be done simply with changing the vending machines from soda to water or adding a class on the food pyramid (though they ARE wonderful and important initiatives).
It requires a change in our culture: how we relate to and understand food. One thing we are working on at Zomppa is to do this by engaging young people to be both healthier and more mindful eaters and impassioned appreciators of food…through play!
Which brings me to what I was doing one day at the Marbles Kids Museum in Raleigh, NC.
I was so excited to come because I am a big advocate of learning through play and exploration. For me, as well as for countless kids, I learn best when I can touch things, pretend, and play.
At Marbles, I was blown away by all the fun and interactive activities, from the human-sized chess boards to half of a transit bus you can climb. Of course, I focused on the food-related play areas – including a pizzeria and an entire area where kids can learn about running a lemonade stand. What better way to learn about food economy than to count change with nickels bigger than your head?
Even adults seemed to like it – as there was not only a wedding photo shoot there, but a wedding party held there that night!
For those of you parents who are familiar with Montessori and Waldorf pedagogical philosophies, you probably understand the value of play in a child’s understanding. Play and creativity is an often underutilized component of learning that is critical to a child’s development.
Children (like me) often learn better when they don’t realize they’re learning. If we can give children more opportunity to learn through play – pretending to cook in the kitchen, colorful displays of fruits and vegetables, easy-to-follow physical activity- imagine the longer-term benefits.
Constructive and educative play is a necessary means to change the way our children relate to food, so they can love and appreciate it, as well as love and appreciate their own bodies and health.
So whether you have children or nieces or neighbors or yourself are trying to eat better, don’t see it as a boring, snooze-fest of statistics and calorie counting or exams. Have fun with it!
Some easy, simple ideas:
- Cook with kids: Devise easy to assemble meals that allow children to get involved – like grilled cheese sandwiches with apples or lettuce roll-ups – they will jump at the chance to eat their greens when they get to make them.
- Make food shopping fun: Make it a scavenger hunt for the kale on sale or who can first find the quinoa – and spell it correctly
- Pretend restaurant: make pretend one dinner a week that you are a restaurant and assign “roles” for everyone. You might surprised how quickly their plates are finished.
A more just and sustainable world…a more playful and optimistic culture…a more delicious appreciation for food – what a lovely outlook.
Category: Featured Articles: Food Politics, Featured Articles: Health & Nutrition, Food Politics, Health & Nutrition, Kids & Food, Travel & Culture, US & Canada
Very interesting post! Indeed, creativity plays a very important role in our lives.
Great strategies, Belinda!!!
These are great ideas! I did all kinds of similar things with my daughter when she was younger, now that she’s 5 and a half – she is a pro sous chef in my kitchen. I haven’t quite given her a knife to work with yet but otherwise, she’s a wonderful helper and whisking, mixing, stirring and most importantly helping me to create recipes!
Great piece B! I agree with you 100%!!!
On a bit of a different tack. You may find a challenge in looking at the other end of the generation scale a well in a future post. Here is an interesting one with reference to another which looks at the input and output areas of the digestive system, and what happens in between, regardless of what your age might be.
http://www.boomercafe.com/2010/04/03/poop-is-the-most-important-indicator-of-your-health/
Great call, Nordn’Ireland dad!! Will do!
Great post! However, it was tempting still to allow my dad to buy Your Baby Can Read after he saw the infomercial and was sold by it, but I said no due to these similar philosophies:) Heck, it’s a great infomercial! My son is 2 1/2 and he loves to help me cook, but unfortunately, he tells me he wants to be a race car driver, play baseball, be a firefighter or a doctor. I keep asking him about being a chef and he always says no:( I fear my sous chef days are almost over.
=) Maybe you can convince him that firefighters also need to know how to cook!
The marbles kid museum sounds like a fun place for kids and young-at-heart adults. Teaching kids how to eat correctly while young is the best strategy. It’s much harder to change grown-up from what they used to. Thank you for sharing:)