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Just For Kids Blog
by Molly Thornburgh
Three years ago, YMCA of Greater Kansas City and Saint Luke’s Home Health and Hospice realized that there was a need in our city to provide a service for children who have experienced a loss the chance to develop healthy coping skills. Express Yourself Camp was born through this partnership, and we are excited to take part in this for a third year at Camp Naish. Express Yourself Camp offers all-day activities, a safe environment for youth...
by Molly Thornburgh
Did you know that in the United States alone, 49 million people don’t know where their next meal will come from? In Kansas City, the poverty numbers are staggering. According to the US Census Bureau, Children are the poorest residents in both urban and suburban counties. For the combined six counties children have a 17.2% poverty rate compared to 9.8%for those ages 18 and over.
A total of 78,000 children lived under the poverty...
by Lauren Jones
Is it possible to pair those two words together? For a holiday that brings to mind the words “free candy” for many children (and, you have to admit, their parents, too), finding a way to make Halloween healthy may seem as difficult to a child as hearing that he or she is too old to dress up and go trick-or-treating this year.
However, just as Christmas doesn’t have to be about receiving presents, Halloween doesn’t have...
by Molly Thornburgh
Walking down the hallway of the YMCA’s Youth Development Services, associates dressed in orange fill the workrooms and cubicles. No, orange is not our favorite color and no we are not preparing for Halloween. Instead we have taken a stand against a topic that is very near and dear to our hearts. Today, October 10th, is Unity Day, and children, parents, and educators across the country have united against bullying through events...
by Molly Thornburgh
Ask any child whether or not fast food is healthy, and they will most likely tell you that it’s not. But what about the kind of fast food that doesn’t come a drive through? We pile so much onto our already busy schedules that dinner has to be fast and whenever we can find time, often causing all members of the family eat at separate times. Is that healthy? Studies show that it is not, yet parents often feel the need to sign their...
by Lauren Jones
On September 16, you can take your child to the ball game and join in a day of family fun at the YMCA of Greater Kansas City’s Healthy Kids Day at Kauffman Stadium.
Before and during the Royals game, the Y will host fun activities in the stadium to get your family moving. Stations in the Outfield Experience and along the main concourse include Zumba, Tae Kwon Do, life-size Angry Birds, Pop-a-Shot, an aquatics relay and more.
At the Y, we...
by Lauren Jones
Is your child excited to go back to school? Nervous? Maybe a little of both? The first day of school can cause jitters for all ages. Whether your child is starting kindergarten, starting a new school or just entering a new grade, it’s normal for kids—and their parents—to feel anxious about the big day. Here are some tips that can help make the transition smooth for the whole family:
Visit the school ahead of time,...
by Lauren Jones
Here at the Y, we typically don’t encourage kids to sit down and watch a lot of TV. However, with the London Olympic Games premiering this Friday and airing over the next two weeks, we are glad to make an exception.
The Olympics inspire kids. Every Olympian competing in the London Games this summer started out as a young person with a dream, and many of them grew up watching the Olympics, inspired by the athletes who came before...
by Lauren Jones
Summer is the ideal time for kids to get up, get out and explore, but for some kids, exposure to activities that stimulate the body and mind ends with the school year. In fact, research shows that kids are more prone to gain weight and fall behind academically over the summer months.
Today, according to the National Summer Learning Association, parents consistently cite summer as the most difficult time to ensure that their children have...
by Molly Thornburgh
YMCA Youth Development Services and Saint Luke's Home Care and Hospice are teaming up again this year for a unique day camp that allows youth who have experienced loss to come together and learn how to cope. There's still time to sign up for this year's Express Yourself camp June 12-13 at Camp Naish.
Our first Express Yourself camp was an overwhelming success, and this year's camp will bring more of the same empowering lessons,...