A healthy lifestyle requires a balance of good nutrition, being physically active and making good choices. Norton Children’s Prevention & Wellness offers children and families educational programs on nutrition and physical activity.

5-2-1-0 for Healthy Habits

For optimal health, families can prioritize habits such as:

• Choosing to eat a variety of fruits and vegetables
• Choosing to spend less time not moving
• Choosing to limit your screen time
• Choosing to be physically active for at least one hour each day
• Choosing to drink more water or milk and less sugary drinks

Families can begin to prioritize health by using the 5-2-1-0 rule. We proudly use the 5-2-1-0 health promotion campaign to educate children and families about the importance of eating fruits and vegetables, limiting screen time, being physically active and avoiding sugary drinks. The rules are simple and can be applied anytime and anywhere.

• FIVE or more fruits and vegetables
• TWO hours or less of screen time
• ONE hour or more of physical activity
• ZERO sugary drinks

Learn more about 5-2-1-0 assemblies available for kindergarten through second grade in Greater Louisville and Southern Indiana schools.

Learn more about the Healthy Living Wellness Group, a workshop series designed to help families reach their wellness goals.

Access to Nutritious Food

Norton Children’s Prevention & Wellness provides Dare to Care food pantries at participating Norton Children’s Medical Group and Norton Community Medical Group family practice offices. These food pantries provide food assistance to patients and families.

Physical Activity With FITT Principle

How can youth be set up to successfully reach the recommended physical activity guidelines? The FITT principle can help! This method uses four fundamentals — frequency, intensity, time and type — to help create a plan that will keep children on track to great health.

Here’s what a FITT plan looks like for various ages.

Preschool-age Children (Ages 3 to 5)

• Frequency
  • For growth and development, it’s important they are physically active every day.
• Intensity
  • Parents and caregivers should encourage children to be active in play that is light, moderate or vigorous.
• Time
  • Children should be active throughout the day.
• Type
  • Children should engage in play that includes a variety of activity types that help develop their full range of fundamental movement skills.

Children and teens (ages 6 to 17)

• Frequency
  • Youth should be given plenty of opportunities to participate in physical activities every day.
  • Aerobic: Three days a week
  • Muscle-strengthening: Three days a week
  • Bone-strengthening: Three days a week
• Intensity
  • Aerobic activities should be moderate to vigorous intensity
• Time
  • Youth need to be active for 60 minutes or more daily and try to incorporate the three types of activity.
• Type
  • Aerobic
  • Muscle-strengthening
  • Bone-strengthening

Power Up and Play is a class series designed to teach parents and their school-age children how to prepare healthy snacks and stay active together.