Talking with Your Children About Weight

and Health

Discussion ToolKit

Weigh In Facilitator Handbook

Table of Contents

Purpose ................................................................................................................................................................... 2

What’s Inside? ......................................................................................................................................................... 3

Getting Started & Tips for Hosting a Discussion ..................................................................................................... 4

Your “Weigh In” Discussion Timeline ...................................................................................................................... 5

Additional Questions ............................................................................................................................................. 10

Need Your Feedback!! ........................................................................................................................................... 10

2

Purpose

The materials included in this kit have been created to help you host a discussion with parents on how to talk with their children about weight and health. The goal is to prepare parents to share important health information with their children and to address questions their children may ask.

3

What’s Inside? Inside this kit:

Weigh In: Talking to Your Children about Weight + Health We’ve provided one printed copy of this free guide in both Spanish and English. Electronic versions are saved on the enclosed USB flash drive and also are available online at www.weighinonobesity.org.

PowerPoint slide presentation, Talking with your Children about Weight + Health We’ve developed an easy to follow presentation to guide your discussion along with slide-by-slide notes that are included in the “Your Weigh In Discussion” section below. An electronic version is saved on the enclosed USB flash drive and also is available online at www.weighinonobesity.org.

Weigh In Postcards 20 postcards with Weigh In guide details and website address to hand out at your meeting.

Act Locally: A Guide to Philadelphia Resources for Families You can make copies of this printed guide for your meeting guests. An electronic version is saved on the enclosed USB flash drive and also is available online at www.weighinonobesity.org.

A USB flash drive with all of the above materials.

RESOURCES

HANDOUTS

TECHNOLOGY

4

Getting Started & Tips for Hosting a Discussion

Get the word out. Send an email or invitation to a group of people (friends, neighbors or people you know from a community center, worksite, place of worship or your child’s school). We suggest that you keep the group to no more than 15 people, so everyone can have a chance to speak.

Set the date and time. Choose a convenient time and location. There may be space at a local school, library, rec center, place of worship or company. If your group is small, a local coffee house might be a good spot to meet. Note that the Weigh In discussion is designed to be a one-hour long meeting.

Prepare for the talk. Read through the materials and review the slides so you will feel confident and prepared to lead the discussion.

Everyone gets a turn. One of the most important parts of the meeting is to make sure everyone can contribute. Make sure all the parents have a chance to talk. And feel free to share your own experiences if and when it is appropriate.

Have fun! The topic is serious, but it is best if parents leave feeling positive and supported with information. Keep things upbeat, smile and have fun!

5

Your “Weigh In” Discussion Timeline Below are slide-by-slide guidelines that coordinate with the PowerPoint presentation. Also provided is a recommended amount of time you might spend on each slide. You know your audience best, so trust your own judgment about how to pace your discussion.

The bolded bullet points below match the headlines on each slide.

5 MINUTES Before We Get Started

A good start is to have an “ice breaker” question to help people get to know one another. Ask each person to share:

His/her name

What was your favorite childhood game to play?

2 MINUTES What We’ll Discuss Today

This slide will establish what you intend to cover. The talk is broken up into 6 areas:

The Challenges of Talking with Children About Weight and Health

A New Guide That’s Here to Help

Tips for Talking With Children about Weight and Health

Let’s Talk – What Would You Say?

Local Places Where We Can Take Action

The KEY to a Good Talk

5 MINUTES What do you think parents say is the most difficult conversation to have with their child?

This question is meant for the meeting attendees to provide their thoughts.

1 MINUTE Believe It Or Not…

This slide reveals what may be the unexpected answer that:

A WebMD Health survey found that parents of teens find it more difficult to talk about weight with their child than talking about sex, drugs, alcohol or smoking!

6

3 MINUTES Why do you think parents find it so hard to talk with children about weight?

This provides an opportunity for parents in room to talk provide their thoughts on why it’s so hard to discuss weight.

You will want to listen carefully to the group’s responses, and even write down what people say on a flip chart or white board if there is one in the room.

5 MINUTES Some Reasons Parents Give for Not Wanting to Answer a Child’s Question About Weight

This is a list of what researchers have found to be common reasons parents say talking about weight with their child is difficult.

Read aloud some of the common reasons (listed on the slide):

“I don’t know what normal weight is.”

“I don’t think my child has obesity. I think she/he is beautiful.”

“If I talk with my child about weight, he/she may develop an eating disorder.”

“I have tried, but nothing works.”

“I am tired of being the food police”

Feel free to pause here and have some further discussion about how the parents in the room feel about these reasons. Can they relate to these responses?

2 MINUTES True or False and Answers – You Are Not Alone

The next two slides help show that parents may or may not have the right answers, but they’re not alone.

True or False – You can do a show of hands for true/false for each statement:

There are many guides and resources available for parents who need help talking with their children about weight.

Most parents do not know what to say to their child about weight or how weight can affect their health.

Only 1 in 100 children in America are overweight or obese.

Answers – You Are Not Alone – this reveals the answers:

There are many guides and resources available for parents who need help talking with their children about weight. ANSWER: False - VERY FEW guides exist to help parents.

Most parents do not know what to say to their child about weight or how weight can affect their health. ANSWER: True - Most parents struggle with what to say and how to say it. And they don’t know where to turn for help.

Only 1 in 100 children in America are overweight or obese. ANSWER: False - ONE in EVERY THREE children in America are overweight or obese.

1 MINUTE A New, Free Guide Helps Parents Answer Tough Questions About Weight

This slide allows you to introduce the Weigh In guide to the parents. You can briefly highlight the guide as:

A free, online conversation guide geared to parents of children ages 7-11.

A tool that offers practical information on how to compassionately respond to real-world scenarios about weight and health including:

BMI Confusion

Cultural Differences

Body Image

Bullying

Weight Bias

Inter-family Weight Differences

Parental Obesity

If appropriate, you can also note that the guide is also available in Spanish.

7

2 MINUTES Tips for Talking to Your Kids About Weight

This slide provides some helpful ways for parents to have a productive and engaging conversation with their children about weight. If possible, you may want to ask different participants to read the tips, one at a time:

Be Positive and Supportive. – Supporting a child helps him/her to build confidence and self-esteem, no matter what the situation.

Be Realistic and Specific. – Taking small steps helps make any goal – whether health or otherwise – seem possible. And it’s important for parents to be specific about what to do. After all, the more specific you are with your child, the more things are likely to get done. For example it’s like the difference between telling your child, “Your room is a mess. Clean it up.” versus, “Your room is a mess. Please put your shoes in the closet and make your bed.”

Keep the Conversation Open. – Parents should ask open-ended questions and ask kids how they feel. It may help children feel that it’s ok to speak openly.

Highlight Health. – Perhaps one of the biggest lessons that a parent can learn is that weight is an issue of health, not how a person looks. Talking about extra weight should be no different than talking to your kids about other health issues kids may have, like asthma or ADHD.

5 MINUTES So, Let’s Talk

This slide is a question to ask the meeting attendees to get their first reaction on how they would react to a difficult situation. You will read the text on the slide to set up the topic of discussion for the group:

What would you say if: Your child is behaving badly, acting withdrawn and says he doesn’t want to go to school. When you ask why, he says that a bunch of kids have been teasing him and calling him fat and ugly.

Gather responses from the group.

1 MINUTE A Little Bit About Bullying

This slide is meant to provide some brief facts on bullying including:

Bullying has gotten worse over the years.

A main reason for bullying at school is weight. Weight teasing is more common than teasing for sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, physical disability or religion.

Bullying is not just about letting kids be kids. The consequences of bullying can follow a child into adulthood.

There are MANY resources available to help guide parents on ways to help a child who is being teased

8

10 MINUTES “Weigh In” Talking Tips (Slides 14-19)

These slides include suggested talking points that parents may use if they believe their children are being bullied about their weight. You’ll notice that the points follow the Tips from the previous slides. You can have members of the group take turns reading the points on a given slide, or read them aloud yourself. Please let parents know that these points are not meant to serve as a script, but rather ideas for how to use the tips in guiding what to say.

First, Be Positive and Supportive

I’m so sorry this is happening and I’m really glad you told me. Teasing is not fair and is wrong. It really can hurt your feelings.

One of the hardest things about teasing is that they are talking about your weight in terms of how you look. They are making you feel like how much you weigh is a measure of who you are as a person.

And it is not.

You are…

(List some positive things about your child, like, caring, a good friend, smart, a hard worker…)

Second, Highlight Health

Weight is a measure of your health and carrying extra weight can hurt your health.

I love you and I don’t have a problem with how you look, but as your parent, I’m concerned that you are carrying around extra weight and this can hurt your health. It can also mean that you don’t have as much energy or get to do the things that you really like to do.

Carrying extra weight means your body has to work harder than it needs to. Just like when you don’t like it when your teacher gives you extra homework, your body doesn’t like to do more work than it has to.

If we can help your body stop overworking, we can make sure you have enough energy to do things that you like to do and what makes you happy like (ideas here).

Third, Keep the Conversation Open

How do you feel about your weight?

Remember, when you’re carrying around extra weight, it’s not about how you look; it’s about how you feel.

Let’s talk about how we might get to a weight that’s healthiest for you and helps make it easier to do the things you want to do.

Fourth, Be Realistic

Losing extra weight is not easy for anyone, especially for someone your age. It’s also very hard to do alone. There are a lot of things that can get in the way of healthy eating and getting enough physical activity every day.

Ask for examples specific to your community, home or family routine that might present a problem.

But, it’s really important, so let’s work on it together.

Be Specific

What are some things that we can do together to get healthy? Let’s pick a couple…

Do you think we could increase the number of minutes we are active every day?

Could we play more together and play more outside?

How about shopping for healthy foods as a family?

Do you think we could increase the numbers of fruits and vegetables we eat?

Would you like to help me cook dinner a couple of nights a week?

9

5 MINUTES Healthy Places to Go, Things to Do in Philly

This slide introduces the Act Locally guide that is included in your Toolkit and is available online. The guide lists just some of the ways to get healthy in the area and includes the ideas listed on the slide:

Increase the number of minutes of physical activity in a day

Check out the Schuylkill River Trail, a bike path with an eight-mile loop between Center City and East Falls. From Schuylkill Banks to East Falls, the trail is a wide paved surface suitable for rollerblading, walking, running and cycling.

Create family play time and increase outdoor play time

Head to Fairmount Park to access its many biking and walking trails.

Shop for or find healthy meals as a family

Find out whether there is a Philadelphia Healthy Corner Store near you. Food stamps/SNAP are accepted at over 350 healthy corner stores.

Increase fruit and vegetable consumption

Shop at farmers markets like those organized by “Farm to City.” See a map of Philadelphia Farmer’s Markets here.

Prepare Family Meals Together

Sign up for Sunday Suppers, an innovative family-oriented meal program in West Kensington sponsored by the nonprofit SHARE Food Program.

In partnership with West Kensington Ministry, Sunday Suppers provides healthy shared dinners, increased access to fresh local food and other food related support to families in the Norris Square area of Philadelphia.

Note: Feel free to pause here to discuss some other resources available in the area that may be suggested by the group. If people have additions they would like to make to the guide, they can email them to weighinphilly@jefferson.edu.

2 MINUTES Final Thoughts and Reminder KEY

This slide is meant to sum up your talk. Be sure to thank everyone for participating. Ask parents to remember this KEY when talking with their child about weight and health:

KEEP in mind that weight is about your child’s health not how he/she looks, and tell your child that often

EXCITE your child about getting healthy, even though it’s going to take some changes and hard work

YOU are going to be there for your child, working together since he/she will need your help. A child can’t do this alone.

1 MINUTE www.WeighInOnObesity.org

This slide just provides the final closing with the website where the guide can be found online.

10

Additional Questions The below questions can be used if you’ve gotten through all the material on the slides and want to talk some more with your group:

1. What do you think are other health problems that can come along with having too much weight?

2. Are you surprised that weight teasing is more common than teasing over race/ethnicity, sexual orientation or religion? Why or Why not?

3. A child with obesity is 10 times more likely to become an adult with obesity? Do you think this matters? Why or Why not?

Need Your Feedback!! Hearing from you is the most important way to help us continue to make a difference. Email us at weighinphilly@jefferson.edu and let us know what worked and what didn’t. We’ll use your feedback to make improvements.

1

2

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ame

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3

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4

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6

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hese

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? 7

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9

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10

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11

Be P

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ive

an

d

Supp

orti

ve

Be R

ealis

tic

and

Spec

ific

Keep

the

Co

nver

sati

on

Ope

n

Hig

hlig

ht

Hea

lth

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ortin

g a

child

hel

ps h

im/h

er to

bui

ld c

onfid

ence

and

sel

f est

eem

, no

mat

ter

wha

t the

situ

atio

n.

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ng s

mal

l ste

ps h

elps

mak

e an

y go

al –

whe

ther

hea

lth o

r ot

herw

ise

– se

em p

ossi

ble.

And

it’s

impo

rtan

t for

par

ents

to b

e sp

ecifi

c ab

out w

hat t

o do

. A

fter

all,

the

mor

e sp

ecifi

c yo

u ar

e w

ith y

our

child

, the

mor

e th

ings

ar

e lik

ely

to g

et d

one.

For

exa

mpl

e it

’s li

ke th

e di

ffer

ence

bet

wee

n te

lling

yo

ur c

hild

, “Yo

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a m

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mes

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ld a

sk o

pen-

ende

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estio

ns a

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sk k

ids

how

they

feel

. It

m

ay h

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child

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feel

that

it’s

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to s

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aps

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of th

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gges

t les

sons

that

a p

aren

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n is

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eigh

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how

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g ab

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a w

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uld

be n

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ffer

ent t

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talk

ing

to y

our

kids

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ut

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alth

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es k

ids

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ke a

sthm

a or

AD

HD

.

12

Your

chi

ld is

beh

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dly

or

actin

g w

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awn

and

says

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does

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ant t

o go

to s

choo

l. W

hen

you

ask

why

, he

says

that

a

bunc

h of

kid

s ha

ve b

een

teas

ing

him

and

cal

ling

him

fat a

nd u

gly.

Wha

t w

ould

you

say

if…

13

Bully

ing

has

gott

en w

orse

ove

r th

e ye

ars.

A m

ain

reas

on fo

r bul

lyin

g at

sch

ool i

s w

eigh

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eigh

t tea

sing

is m

ore

com

mon

th

an te

asin

g fo

r sex

ual o

rien

tatio

n,

race

/eth

nici

ty, p

hysi

cal d

isab

ility

or

relig

ion.

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ing

is n

ot ju

st a

bout

lett

ing

kids

be

kids

. The

con

sequ

ence

s of

bul

lyin

g ca

n fo

llow

a c

hild

into

adu

lthoo

d.

Ther

e ar

e M

AN

Y re

sour

ces

avai

labl

e to

he

lp g

uide

par

ents

on

way

s to

hel

p a

child

who

is b

eing

teas

ed.

14

Now

, let

’s ta

ke a

look

at h

ow a

par

ent m

ight

resp

ond

to th

e

bully

ing

situ

atio

n w

ith

the

“Wei

gh In

” Ti

ps.

Be P

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ive

an

d

Supp

orti

ve

Be R

ealis

tic

and

Spec

ific

Keep

the

Co

nver

sati

on

Ope

n

Hig

hlig

ht

Hea

lth

15

Be P

osit

ive

an

d

Supp

orti

ve

I’m s

o so

rry

this

is h

appe

ning

and

I’m

real

ly g

lad

you

told

me.

Tea

sing

is n

ot fa

ir a

nd is

wro

ng. I

t rea

lly c

an

hurt

you

r fe

elin

gs.

One

of t

he h

arde

st th

ings

abo

ut te

asin

g is

that

they

ar

e ta

lkin

g ab

out y

our

wei

ght i

n te

rms

of h

ow y

ou

look

. The

y ar

e m

akin

g yo

u fe

el li

ke h

ow m

uch

you

wei

gh is

a m

easu

re o

f who

you

are

as

a pe

rson

.

And

it is

not

.

You

are…

(list

som

e po

sitiv

e th

ings

abo

ut y

our

child

, lik

e,

cari

ng, a

goo

d fr

iend

, sm

art,

a h

ard

wor

ker…

)

16

Hig

hlig

ht

Hea

lth

Wei

ght i

s a

mea

sure

of y

our

heal

th a

nd c

arry

ing

extr

a w

eigh

t can

hur

t you

r he

alth

.

I lov

e yo

u an

d I d

on’t

hav

e a

prob

lem

with

how

you

lo

ok, b

ut a

s yo

ur p

aren

t, I’

m c

once

rned

tha

t you

are

ca

rryi

ng a

roun

d ex

tra

wei

ght a

nd th

is c

an h

urt y

our

heal

th. I

t can

als

o m

ean

that

you

don

’t h

ave

as m

uch

ener

gy o

r ge

t to

do th

e th

ings

that

you

real

ly li

ke to

do.

Carr

ying

ext

ra w

eigh

t mea

ns y

our

body

has

to w

ork

hard

er th

an it

nee

ds to

. Jus

t lik

e w

hen

you

don’

t lik

e it

whe

n yo

ur te

ache

r gi

ves

you

extr

a ho

mew

ork,

you

r bo

dy d

oesn

’t li

ke to

do

mor

e w

ork

than

it h

as to

.

If w

e ca

n he

lp y

our

body

sto

p ov

erw

orki

ng, w

e ca

n m

ake

sure

you

hav

e en

ough

ene

rgy

to d

o th

ings

that

yo

u lik

e to

do

and

wha

t mak

es y

ou h

appy

like

(ide

as

here

).

17

Keep

the

Co

nver

sati

on

Ope

n

How

do

you

feel

abo

ut y

our

wei

ght?

Rem

embe

r, w

hen

you’

re c

arry

ing

arou

nd e

xtra

wei

ght,

it

’s n

ot a

bout

how

you

look

, it’s

abo

ut h

ow y

ou fe

el.

Let’s

talk

abo

ut h

ow w

e m

ight

get

to a

wei

ght t

hat’s

he

alth

iest

for

you

and

help

s m

ake

it ea

sier

to d

o th

e th

ings

you

wan

t to

do.

18

Be

Real

isti

c

Losi

ng e

xtra

wei

ght i

s no

t eas

y fo

r an

yone

, esp

ecia

lly

for s

omeo

ne y

our

age.

It’s

als

o ve

ry h

ard

to d

o al

one.

Th

ere

are

a lo

t of t

hing

s th

at c

an g

et in

the

way

of

heal

thy

eatin

g an

d ge

ttin

g en

ough

phy

sica

l act

ivity

ev

ery

day.

Ask

for

exam

ples

spe

cific

to y

our

com

mun

ity,

hom

e or

fam

ily ro

utin

e th

at m

ight

pre

sent

a

prob

lem

.

But,

it’s

real

ly im

port

ant,

so

let’s

wor

k on

it to

geth

er.

Wha

t are

som

e th

ings

that

we

can

do to

geth

er to

get

he

alth

y? L

et’s

pic

k a

coup

le…

Do

you

thin

k w

e co

uld

incr

ease

the

num

ber

of m

inut

es

we

are

activ

e ev

ery

day?

Coul

d w

e pl

ay m

ore

toge

ther

and

pla

y m

ore

outs

ide?

How

abo

ut s

hopp

ing

for

heal

thy

food

s as

a fa

mily

?

Do

you

thin

k w

e co

uld

incr

ease

the

num

bers

of f

ruits

an

d ve

geta

bles

we

eat?

Wou

ld y

ou li

ke to

hel

p m

e co

ok d

inne

r a

coup

le o

f ni

ghts

a w

eek?

19

Be

Spec

ific

20

Incr

ease

the

num

ber o

f min

utes

of p

hysi

cal a

ctiv

ity

in a

day

Chec

k ou

t the

Sch

uylk

ill R

iver

Tra

il, a

bik

e pa

th

with

an

eigh

t-m

ile lo

op b

etw

een

Cent

er C

ity a

nd

East

Fal

ls. F

rom

Sch

uylk

ill B

anks

to E

ast F

alls

, the

tr

ail i

s a

wid

e pa

ved

surf

ace

suita

ble

for

rolle

rbla

ding

, wal

king

, run

ning

and

cyc

ling.

Crea

te fa

mily

pla

y ti

me

and

incr

ease

out

door

pla

y ti

me Hea

d to

Fai

rmou

nt P

ark

to a

cces

s its

man

y bi

king

and

wal

king

trai

ls.

Shop

for o

r fin

d he

alth

y m

eals

as

a fa

mily

Find

out

whe

ther

ther

e is

a P

hila

delp

hia

Hea

lthy

Corn

er S

tore

nea

r you

. Foo

d st

amps

/SN

AP

are

acce

pted

at o

ver 3

50 h

ealth

y co

rner

sto

res.

Incr

ease

frui

t and

veg

etab

le c

onsu

mpt

ion

Shop

at f

arm

ers

mar

kets

like

thos

e or

gani

zed

by “

Farm

to C

ity.”

See

a m

ap o

f Ph

ilade

lphi

a Fa

rmer

’s M

arke

ts h

ere.

Prep

are

Fam

ily M

eals

Tog

ethe

r

Sign

up

for S

unda

y Su

pper

s, a

n in

nova

tive

fam

ily-o

rien

ted

mea

l pro

gram

in W

est

Kens

ingt

on s

pons

ored

by

the

nonp

rofit

SH

ARE

Foo

d Pr

ogra

m.

In p

artn

ersh

ip w

ith W

est K

ensi

ngto

n M

inis

try,

Sun

day

Supp

ers

prov

ides

hea

lthy

shar

ed d

inne

rs, i

ncre

ased

acc

ess

to fr

esh

loca

l foo

d an

d ot

her

food

rela

ted

supp

ort t

o fa

mili

es in

the

Nor

ris

Squa

re a

rea

of

Phila

delp

hia.

Take

n fr

om a

Loc

al G

uide

Cre

ated

Just

for

You

21

KEEP

in m

ind

that

wei

ght i

s ab

out y

our

child

’s h

ealth

not

how

he/

she

look

s, a

nd

tell

your

chi

ld th

at o

ften

K

EXCI

TE y

our c

hild

abo

ut g

ettin

g he

alth

y,

even

thou

gh it

’s g

oing

to ta

ke s

ome

chan

ges

and

hard

wor

k

YOU

are

goi

ng to

be

ther

e fo

r you

r chi

ld,

wor

king

toge

ther

sin

ce h

e/sh

e w

ill n

eed

your

hel

p. A

chi

ld c

an’t

do

this

alo

ne.

Y

E

Rem

embe

r thi

s si

mpl

e KE

Y w

hen

talk

ing

wit

h yo

ur c

hild

abo

ut w

eigh

t and

hea

lth

“Wei

gh In

– T

alki

ng to

you

r chi

ldre

n

abou

t wei

ght

+ he

alth

”

22

Bam!

Be Well – Alliance for a Healthier Generation

Be A Healthy Role Model – MyPlate.gov

BodyWorks Women’s Health

Childhood Obesity: It’s Everyone’s Business – National Business Group

on Health

Circulation: Evaluating Parents and Adult Caregivers as “Agents of Change” for Treating Obese Children – American Heart Association

Fit for Parents – WebMD/Sanford Health Systems

FitKids

Healthy Youth: Obesity Facts

How to Talk to Your Kids About Weight Bias

Is Your Child a Target of Weight Bias?

Kid’s Corner

Let’s Move!

New Moves: Evidence-based Physical Education Program for Girls –

Parents: About Weight Bias

StopBullying.gov – Department of Health & Human Services

Talking to Your Kids about Weight

Weight: A Big Issue?

Weight Bias: Important Information for Parents

Weight Control Information Network

Resources guide

Act Locally: A Guide to Philadelphia Resources for Families

Many parents struggle with how to discuss weight and health with their children. “” is a free guide developed by the Strategies to Overcome and

Prevent (STOP) Obesity Alliance and the Alliance for a Healthier Generation that offers parents “real-world” situations and plain language responses to questions they may get from their children. You can view the guide at http://weighinonobesity.org. While the guide includes recommendations on what to say, this resource is meant to help turn those recommendations into Philadelphia-specific activities. Below are some suggestions of resourcesavailable to all Philadelphia families. For even more ideas, we suggest visiting Food Fit Philly (http://foodfitphilly.org) and CAP4Kids (http://www.cap4kids.org/philadelphia) for additional resources. Have another idea? Email us at weighinphilly@jefferson.edu. Increase the number of minutes of physical activity in a day

Encourage children to participate in physical activity clubs before, during and after school. Start on-going walking initiatives at your child’s school. Safe Routes Philly outlines several methods and types of walking activities that students at your school can use for transportation and fitness.

Safe Routes Philly: http://saferoutesphilly.org/ Phone: (215) 242-9253 Ext. 309

Check out the Schuylkill River Trail, a bike path with an eight-mile loop between Center City and East Falls. From Schuylkill Banks to East Falls, the trail is a wide paved surface suitable for rollerblading, walking, running and cycling.

Schuylkill River Trail: http://www.schuylkillrivertrail.com/ Phone: (215) 683-0200 Printable map of trails: http://www.schuylkillrivertrail.com/pdfs/Phila_section.pdf

Take the family to Franklin Square, which was recently named one of the top five playgrounds in the United States by Yahoo.com! Franklin Square features the Philadelphia Park Liberty Carousel, a Philadelphia-themed miniature golf course and playgrounds centered around the Franklin Square fountain.

Franklin Square: http://www.historicphiladelphia.org Address: 200 N 6th St, Philadelphia, PA 19106 Phone: (215) 629-4026

Try out the renovated Seger Park Playground. The park regularly holds family-friendly community events and features tennis courts, a dog run, basketball courts and a recreation center.

Seger Park Playground: http://friendsofseger.org/ Address: 1020 Lombard Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147 Phone: (267) 507-5558

Create family play time and increase outdoor play time

Head to Fairmount Park to access its many biking and walking trails. Fairmont Park: http://www.visitphilly.com/outdoor-activities/philadelphia/fairmount-park/

Address: 1 Boathouse Row, Philadelphia, PA 19130 Phone: (215) 683-0200

Don’t have access to a bike at home? Rent one from Wheel Fun Rentals at various parks and locations across the city.

Wheel Fun Rentals: http://www.wheelfunrentals.com/Locations/Philadelphia Address: 1 Boathouse Row, Philadelphia, PA 19130 Phone: (215) 232-7778 or (805) 650-7770

Skip the heat in the summer and head to a public swimming pool near you. Philadelphia swimming pools allow free access to any individual during operating hours in the summer (Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 12 p.m. until 5 p.m.). The swimming pools offer swimming lessons and family swim.

City of Philadelphia Pools: http://www.phila.gov/ParksandRecreation/placestogo/facilities/Pages/SwimmingPools.aspx Find the pool closest to you using this tool: http://www.phila.gov/parksandrecreation/findafacility/

Take the family to play in the 16,000 square foot (the size of six football fields!) Smith Memorial Playground & Playhouse, located in East Fairmount Park and was designed solely as a play space for children. Smith provides opportunities for unstructured creative play for children 10 and younger. Smith maintains a proud tradition of free family admission. Tuesdays are reserved just for family fun. Check out other free events at Smith here.

Smith Memorial Playground & Playhouse: http://smithkidsplayplace.org/ Address: 3500 Reservoir Drive, East Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, PA 19121-1095 Phone: (215) 765-4325 info@smithkidsplayplace.org

Looking for a fun activity in the winter? Philadelphia Parks & Recreation, in partnership with Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation, owns and operates five ice rinks throughout the city. The ice rinks are open to the public seven days a week. There is a $3 skate rental fee.

Philadelphia Ice Rinks: http://www.phila.gov/ParksandRecreation/placestogo/facilities/Pages/IceRinks.aspx

Blue Cross River Rink at Penn's Landing 201 S Columbus Blvd 215-925-7465

Laura Sims Skate House 63rd &Walnut 215-685-1995

Rizzo Ice Rink 1001 South Front Street 215-685-1593

Scanlon Ice Rink 1099 East Tioga Street 215-685-9893

Simons Ice Rink 7200 Woolston Avenue 215-685-3551

Tarken Ice Rink 6250 Frontenac Street 215-685-1226

Shop for or find healthy meals as a family

Find out whether there is a Philadelphia Healthy Corner Store near you. SNAP are accepted at over 350 healthy corner stores.

Food Fit Philly Eat Healthy: http://www.foodfitphilly.org/eat-healthy/ List of Healthy Corner Stores that accept ACCESS cards/SNAP: http://www.foodfitphilly.org/FOODFITPHILLY/assets/File/Healthy%20corner%20stores%20SNAP%207_6_12.pdf

Learn about the Philly Food Bucks program to help you save money on fruits and vegetables. Philly Food Bucks are accepted at over 25 farmers' markets in low-income communities in Philadelphia. You must have a current ACCESS card/food stamps to use Philly Foods Bucks.

Food Fit Philly - Philly Food Bucks: http://www.foodfitphilly.org/eat-healthy/philly-food-bucks/

Visit Reading Terminal, Philadelphia’s historic farmer’s market, where you can find fresh vegetables and produce, meats and seafood. The Terminal offers one-stop shopping for healthy eating there or to take home.

Learn more here: http://www.readingterminalmarket.org/ Order a box of fresh produce from SHARE Food Program’s Farm to Families initiative from local farmers at a cost of only $10 or $15. Boxes are brimming with fresh fruits and vegetables, often valued at double the purchase price. Additional fresh a la carte items including eggs, meat and seafood are also offered at affordable prices.

SHARE Food Program’s Farm to Families Program: http://sharefoodprogram.org/programs/farm-to-families/ Address: 2901 W. Hunting Park Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19144 Phone: (215) 223-2220 info@sharefoodprogram.org

Increase fruit and vegetable consumption

Download the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s free Nutrition in the Kitchen Cookbook and try out some healthy recipes.

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Nutrition in the Kitchen Cookbook: http://www.chop.edu/service/healthy-weight-program/cookbook-of-healthy-recipes.html

Download the CAP4Kids fresh food parenting handouts on topics like food and nutrition. Within each handout, you will find a description of the social service agency, their address, phone number and website.

CAP4Kids Parenting Handout on Fresh Food Resources: http://cap4kids.org/philadelphia/parent-handouts/food-nutrition-breastfeeding/fresh-food-resources/

Shop at farmer’s markets that accept access/SNAP. You can find a list of those here: http://www.foodfitphilly.org/FOODFITPHILLY/assets/File/Snap_Access_2012.pdf

Shop at farmers markets like those organized by Farm to City. Farm to City: http://www.farmtocity.org/index.asp Address: 1315 Walnut Street, Suite 1526, Philadelphia PA 19107 Phone: (215) 733-9599 Phone Map of Philadelphia Farmer’s Markets: http://batchgeo.com/map/phillyfarmersmarkets

Prepare Family Meals Together

Visit one of the Philadelphia community gardens near you. Philadelphia Community Gardens: http://pennsylvaniahorticulturalsociety.org/phlgreen/current-communitygardens.html Address: 100 N. 20th Street - 5th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19103 Phone: (215) 988-8800

Sign up for SHARE Food Program’s Sunday Suppers, an innovative family-oriented meal program in West Kensington sponsored by the nonprofit SHARE Food Program. In partnership with West Kensington Ministry, Sunday Suppers provides healthy shared dinners, increased access to fresh local food and other food related support to families in the Norris Square area of Philadelphia.

SHARE Food Program Sunday Suppers: http://sharefoodprogram.org/programs/sunday-suppers/ Address: 2901 W. Hunting Park Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19144 Phone: (215) 223-2220 info@sharefoodprogram.org

Check out the healthy family recipes compiled by the Center for Nutrition and Activity Promotion at Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital and Kohl’s Department Store as part of Kohl’s Healthy Choices for Healthy Families initiative.

Kohl’s Healthy Choices for Healthy Families Healthy Recipes (scroll down to #3): http://www2.med.psu.edu/cnap/families/kohlshealthyfamilies/ Plan and track family meals with this chart: http://www2.med.psu.edu/cnap/files/2012/05/Tracker-3-meals-a-day.pdf

Get involved with the Philly Girls in Motion program, which in addition to offering fitness activities for girls 9-16 and their families, offers specially designed nutrition lessons. There are monthly sessions for the whole family on important topics including “Healthy Cooking Tips,” “Meals on the Go” and “Simple Substitutions.”

Philly Girls in Motion: http://www.phillygirlsinmotion.org/ Phone: (610) 357-7446 Beth@phillygirlsinmotion.org

Wei

gh In

: A c

onve

rsat

ion

gu

ide

for p

aren

ts a

nd

adu

lt c

areg

iver

s of

chi

ldre

n.

How

do

you

resp

ond

w

hen

you

r ch

ild:

ww

w.W

eigh

InO

nO

bes

ity.

org

asks

yo

u if

yo

u th

ink

he/

she

is fa

t?is

bei

ng

bul

lied

at

sch

oo

l bec

ause

of

wei

ght?

• C

ultu

ral D

iffer

ence

s

• B

od

y Im

age

• B

ully

ing

• B

MI C

onf

usio

n

• W

eigh

t Bi

as

• I

nter

-fam

ily W

eigh

t D

iffer

ence

s

• P

aren

tal O

bes

ity

Get

you

r fr

ee c

opy

of t

he W

eigh

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aren

t co

nver

sati

on

guid

e at

ww

w.W

eigh

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nOb

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y.o

rg.

It o

ffer

s pr

acti

cal

info

rmat

ion

on

how

to

co

mpa

ssio

nate

ly re

spo

nd t

o t

he

follo

win

g re

al-w

orl

d sc

enar

ios

abo

ut w

eigh

t an

d he

alth

: