Families Learn to Make Healthier Choices Through Health Department Program

In one room children are running in potato sack races and in another room their parents are learning how to stay healthy by staying physically active. There is something for everyone in the family at a weekly program offered in March and June through the Lake County Health Department/Community Health Center's North Shore Health Center in Highland Park.

Sessions are offered free through a national program called We Can! (Ways to Enhance Children's Activity & Nutrition) and the CATCH program (Child and Adolescent Trial for Cardiovascular Health), which was created via a study funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. Supplies and healthy snack foods are provided each evening. Families are asked to commit to the sessions on four consecutive Mondays from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. March 12 to April 2, or June 4 to June 25. The sessions will be held at Oak Terrace School, 240 Prairie Avenue in Highwood.

“Parents and caregivers are primary influencers to children, so having the entire family participate in these programs provides a shared knowledge by family members about keeping healthy food at home and supporting physical activity,” said Irene Pierce, the Health Department's Executive Director.

This is the second year the program is being offered in the Highland Park/Highwood area. There is a limit of 20 families for each session. We Can! is designed to help children, ages 8 to 13 years old, stay at a healthy weight, while CATCH is designed to encourage heart-healthy behavior in kindergarten through fifth graders.

Not only do the children have an opportunity to learn a healthy lifestyle such as being active, but they will also learn through games how to make healthy eating choices. To participate, call 847.984.5341 and reserve a spot.

These programs are offered through the Health and Wellness program at the North Shore Health Center and supported through a generous grant from the Healthcare Foundation of Highland Park and Friends for Health. The North Shore Health Center at 1840 Green Bay Road in Highland Park is one of six health center sites of the Lake County Health Department/Community Health Center. Services offered there include diabetes prevention and treatment, supplemental nutrition for women, infants and children, dental, pediatrics and prenatal care, family medicine and women's health services.