Video: First Lady Introduces Let’s Move! Child Care

You may have seen the blog post on Let’s Move! yesterday announcing Let’s Move! Child Care, a new effort to work with child and day care providers to help our youngest children get off to a healthy start. Using a checklist and web tools developed in a public-private partnership between the HHS, Nemours, and other partners child and day care providers will emphasize positive choices like increased physical activity, reduced screen time, and eating fruits and vegetables. The Department of Defense, General Services Administration, and the nation’s second largest childcare provider, Bright Horizons, have already committed to implementing this checklist, which will make a difference in the lives of over 280,000 children.

First Lady Mrs. Obama unveiled the effort while visiting children at Centro Nia, a bilingual child care center in Washington, DC.

First Lady Michelle Obama talks with children at the CentroNia Childcare Center in Washington, D.C., June 8, 2011. June 8, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton)

“Everyone is going to see that these small changes can make a big difference.  If our kids get into the habit of getting up and playing, if their palates warm up to veggies at an early age, and if they’re not glued to a TV screen all day, they’re on their way to healthy habits for life,” First Lady Mrs. Obama said. “That’s why I’m so excited about Let’s Move Child Care – because I know that childcare facilities and home-based providers can be a real building block for an entire generation of healthy kids.”