Health Department

What is Healthy Habits?

Healthy Habits is a two-part program designed to promote physical activity, healthy eating, and breastfeeding in childcare centers.

Staff education is the first tool used by Healthy Habits. KCHD hosts quarterly seminars for childcare center directors and staff providing continuing education credits. These seminars cover a variety of topics including physical and mental health, nutrition, breastfeeding and safety.

We send invitations for Healthy Habits via mail and email. If you’d like to be added to our contact list, reach out here.

The second component of Healthy Habits is providing resources for system and environmental changes at childcare centers to make the healthy choice the easy choice. These resources are free to childcare providers and are funded through a state contract with the Tennessee Department of Health.

Environmental changes can be small or large. Examples of environmental changes include adding new play equipment to your playground, getting new kitchen appliances or tools to make healthy food preparation easier, or setting up a lactation space in your center for parents and staff.

System changes can help you make sure healthy changes stick by changing or creating new rules for your organization. Healthy system changes include having requirements for physical activity, setting menu guidelines to include minimum servings of fruits and vegetables each day, or having a set time each day for a staff wellness break.

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Examples of changes Healthy Habits can help with:

Past childcare center environmental changes have included:

• Lactation room supplies such as comfortable chairs, privacy screens, bottle warmers, small refrigerators
• Raised bed gardens and gardening supplies
• Physical activity equipment such as balancing beams, foam mats, river walk, toddler climbing structures, biking and walking trail materials
• Kitchen supplies such as blenders and griddles, cutting boards, storage cabinets or bins

Past childcare center system changes have included:

• Adopting a new menu
• Creation of education material for parents
• Creation of promotional signage and education materials on the importance of breastfeeding
• Creation of a designated lactation space for staff and parents and adoption of Breastfeeding Welcomed Here policies

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If you are interested in physical activity, nutrition or breastfeeding resources for your childcare center contact us here.

For more information on Breastfeeding Welcomed Here follow this link.