National Preschool Health and Fitness Day Date in the current year: January 26, 2024

The period between 0 and 8 years is called the formative years because it is the time when the brain and neurological development are fastest after birth. However, for a child’s brain to develop properly, the child needs to get enough nutrients and stay as healthy as possible. This is why it is so important to instill healthy eating habits in preschool children and ensure that preschoolers have enough exercise.

National Preschool Health and Fitness Day was founded by KID-FIT, an organization that works to instill sound nutrition, regular exercise and adequate rest in children aged 2 to 5 through a proven PE curriculum. It is also supported and promoted by Child Care Services Association (CCSA). The idea behind the observance is to encourage parents and teachers to build healthy lifestyle habits in preschoolers in order to prevent diseases such as diabetes, obesity and heart disease later in life.

How can you get involved with National Preschool Day Health and Fitness Day? If you’re a parent of a preschool kid or children, find ways to keep them active and entertained at the same time. The best way to get a preschooler interested in something is turn it into a game, so take your kid to a park and play with them if the weather allows or challenge them to a dance-off. You can also check out if there are any National Preschool Day Health and Fitness Day near you; they can be held by your local library, community center, gym, etc.

National Preschool Day Health and Fitness Day is also a great day to learn how to help your kids develop a healthy relationship with food. For example, it is generally recommended to limit food punishment and reward, expose your child to a variety of foods to develop their palate, create positive routines around food (for example, Taco Tuesdays), encourage your kids to help you with cooking and food shopping, have a family meal at least once a week, promote healthy snacks, etc.

One more way to observe National Preschool Day Health and Fitness Day is to take your kid for a checkup if you haven’t done it in a while. Preschoolers should have routine checkups annually, but you shouldn’t wait until the next checkup if something concerns you. When it comes to your child’s health, it’s better to be safe than sorry. And don’t forget to ensure your child’s vaccinations are up to date!

National Preschool Health and Fitness Day isn’t the only health and fitness-focused observance in the United States. For example, National Senior Health & Fitness Day is observed on the last Wednesday of May; it was initiated by the Mature Market Resource Center in 1993. National Women’s Health & Fitness Day is an initiative of the Health Information Resource Center held on the last Wednesday of September every year.