Healthy Children, Strong Families, “HCSF-2” for short, is a collection of 13 “lessons” that are mailed to the homes of families with preschool age (2 to 5 years old) children. The lessons come about once a month, which gives a family time to go through it and put its new ideas to work before the next lesson arrives. This is HCSF “2” because it is the “new, improved” version of a program that has been in existence for seven years now.
Topics cover everything from “Fun Family Fitness” to “On Track Snacks,” and from “Gifts From the Land” to “Maintaining Harmony”. There are a lot of ideas about how to eat healthier and ways to fit more activity into even the busiest days. But there are more things to health than just what you eat and how active you are. It is important to get enough sleep and to know how to deal with the stresses that we all experience every day. Most important of all, families must do things together. Healthy Children, Strong Families speaks to all of these things.
But monthly lessons aren’t just information. There are lots of fun items for the kids and practical tools for caregivers, for preparing healthy snacks and doing things both outside and indoors. Most of all, there are lots of books to read with children. Our families in the past have told us that reading with their children is one of their favorite things they gained from participating. So Dr. Seuss is there, and so is Little Running Deer.
In addition to the mailed lessons, Healthy Children, Strong Families now includes two additional supports directed just at the adults. Because families a part of a larger community, it is a good idea to get support from that community. Participants in HCSF-2 get this support through a Facebook group based in their local community. It is an invitation only group that is run by the project coordinator and supplies helpful information and support not only from the project but also from other participants. It is a great way to share common struggles and successes and hear ideas that have worked for others. Finally, participants receive 2 to 3 brief texts each week with helpful suggestions, news about local events, or sometimes just some welcome words of encouragement.