Volume 18, Number 1, Fall 2007

Bay County Cloverbuds Learn Early About Healthy Living

Jodi Schulz

Chubby. Husky. Plump. Big-boned. No matter what word or phrase we use to try to soften the blow, the fact is, many of our kids are overweight. In Michigan, 26 percent of our youth are overweight or at risk of becoming overweight. And guess what! Overweight kids have a more than 50 percent chance of becoming overweight adults. And that means more chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease, and that means rising insurance costs and billions more dollars being spent on healthcare …whoa! How do we get off this slippery slope?

In Bay County, they believe in attacking the problem early as part of their 4-H Cloverbud Camp. For four days in June, 20 youth ages 5-8, four teen volunteers, one adult volunteer, 4-H educator Jodi Schulz and 4-H program assistant Jodi Wrzesinski spent six hours together each day doing fun crafts, participating in on-the-go out-door activities, learning new ideas and preparing and eating healthy snacks. Each day of the camp was devoted to a different theme, and Tuesday’s theme was healthy lifestyles.

Kids started their healthy lifestyles lesson by learning about good germs and bad germs and why it is important to wash their hands after using the restroom and before eating. They also learned how germs travel from their hands to whatever they touch. The Bay Area Women’s Shelter talked with the young campers about all the good ways they can use their hands, but also stressed that hands should not be used for hitting others. At the conclusion of the “Hands Are not for Hitting” program, the children received a T-shirt with the words “Hands Are not for Hitting” on them. The shirts were ready to take home after the participants had added their own handprints to the shirts.

These budding health “experts” discussed the food guide pyramid, the importance of being healthy and all of the things that help keep us healthy, such as eating right, exercising and getting enough sleep. The kids worked their bodies and had fun too, by playing outside with a giant parachute. The day ended with each child making and enjoying a fruit kabob for a healthy snack.

Programs like the Bay County Cloverbud Camp and other health-related 4-H programming such as Jump Into Foods and Fitness (JIFF) are filling a health education gap that schools are having a difficult time filling. In fact in a recent student, ninety percent of Michigan teachers surveyed think it is important to offer nutrition education to students, but 75 percent say that lack of resources is a barrier to its inclusion in the classroom, not to mention competition for time that is devoted to other subjects. With Michigan’s tough budget situation making it look as if our schools won’t see relief from limited resources any time soon, 4-H can use its resources and its ability to reach up to 240,000 Michigan youth to help in the fight against increased youth obesity.