Hamid's Healthy Choices

Hi. I'm Hamid. Lately at school, my class has been learning about making healthy choices.

See, my parents do a lot of things to take care of me. That's a parent's job! But I am the owner of my body. And I've learned some things that I can do to help my body stay healthy, strong, and safe.

Here are some of the things I do.

I try to eat lots of different colors. That's because I learned that different colored foods can be good for you in different ways. Plus, eating lots of colors helps me find new foods I like.

Sometimes when I look at a food, I think I might not like it. When that happens, I tell myself, "Hamid, you are brave enough to try new things." Because if I don't try a food, how will I know if I like it or not? Yesterday, I found out that I like beets by trying a purple food!

Another healthy choice I make is drinking lots of water. I drink other things too, like milk.

I learned that water is the best for helping all the parts of my body stay happy. So I make that my first choice.

I learned that bodies are happiest when they move a lot. It's not too hard to find ways to get moving. Here are some of the things I did this week to move my body.

• I played on the playground and had a monkey bar challenge. I went across four times before my hands got too tired to hold on anymore.
• I helped my mom walk Albert, our dog. I even did the poop pickup! That's extra work, because Albert likes to poop three times on each walk.
• I had a dance party and made up some new, top-secret dance moves.
• I taught my little sister how to bear crawl. Then we had a contest to see who could bear crawl the farthest. I can, but I let her win because she's little.

Another healthy choice I make is finding ways to have fun without screens. Screens are okay sometimes. They can even be a big help with things like schoolwork. And I use screens to call my grandpa and show him Albert's new tricks. But it's good for my brain and my eyes to take breaks from screens.

There are lots of things I like to do without screens. I can read books, color with crayons, and build forts.

I also try to get good sleep every night.

Sometimes at bedtime I want to stay up and keep playing. But my mom helps me remember that I feel better when I get good sleep. I'm in a happier mood too. So I go to bed when it's bedtime.

I don't take any screens into my room. At school, I learned that using screens at bedtime can make it harder to get good sleep. When I told my parents what I learned, we decided to put a basket in the kitchen where we put all of our screens at night. My parents put their phones in, and my tablet goes in there too.

Another way I keep my body healthy is by keeping it clean. I get rid of germs by being a good hand-washer. I take a bath or a shower a few times a week. And I brush my teeth before bed and when I wake up in the morning.

Making healthy choices also means making safe choices. Safe choices help keep me from getting hurt. Here are some ways I make safe choices every day.

• I am very careful around streets and cars. I always use crosswalks and look both ways. Then I look both ways again, just to be sure.
• I wear my helmet whenever I ride my scooter. My head is full of smart brains. And my helmet helps keep them safe.
• I wear a seat belt anytime I'm in a car. I always wear it like I'm supposed to. And I leave it on the whole way.

When I make healthy choices I feel better. I also feel proud, because I know that I'm doing a good job keeping my body happy, strong, and safe.

Now that you know about Hamid's healthy choices, what's a healthy choice you can make? What can you do to move your body and have fun at the same time? Can you think of some new foods you might be ready to try?