Featured Programs & Activities
Smart Screen Time Initiatives in Washington State

Washington Active Bodies Active Minds (WAABAM)

The Washington Active Bodies Active Minds web site and tool kit were developed to ensure that environments for preschool children encourage minimum screen time and maximum physical activity. A diverse advisory group of early childhood professionals provided input on the content and design. The colorful, user-friendly site and materials offer access to field-tested tools and information on:

• The importance of limiting screen time and encouraging physical activity.
• Resources for limiting screen time and encouraging physical activity in child care and in homes.

Child care, Early childhood Education Programs, Homes	Child Care Providers, Educators, Parents	1,2,3,4,5 Policy Stages Key

Target Audience: Childhood professionals and families with preschool children

Evaluation: Use of the web site is currently being evaluated using an online survey and web statistics to assess the site’s reach and most useful resources. An evaluation of the tool kit is described below.

Lead Agency/Partners: The site and tool kit were developed by the University of Washington Center for Public Health Nutrition in partnership with the Washington State Department of Community Trade and Economic Development, Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program, Regional Head Start, Washington State WIC, and Healthy Child Care Washington. Development of WAABAM was supported by Nutrition and Physical Activity Grant/U58/CCU022819-02-04 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Maternal Child Health Bureau Nutrition Training grant. 

For more information
Donna Johnson
University of Washington Center for Public Health Nutrition
web: www.waabam.org

WAABAM – Child Care STARS Training & Tool Kit Evaluation

In partnership with Snohomish County Partners in Child Care and City of Seattle's Child Care Nutrition Program, “Child Care Unplugged: What do we do about TV, DVDs and computers?” STARS trainings were conducted with licensed home-based child care providers.  Seventy-five providers attended the sessions on screen time strategies, ways to talk to parents about screen use, and the WAABAM web site and materials. Sixty-one of the attendees participated in the evaluation of the WAABAM Tool Kit.

Child Care, Homes	Child Care Providers, Parents	1,2,3,4,5 Policy Stages Key

Target Audience: Childhood professionals working with preschool children

Lead Agency/Partners: Staff and faculty from the University of Washington Center for Public Health Nutrition provided the trainings in partnership with Snohomish County Partners in Child Care and City of Seattle Child Care Nutrition Program.

Evaluation: Attendees overwhelmingly reported that the training was enjoyable, informative and practical. Tool kits were found to be useful, and together with trainings positively impacted screen environments and the provision of parental education on screens [executive summary | full report].

For more information
Donna Johnson
University of Washington Center for Public Health Nutrition
web: www.waabam.org

Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Healthy Habits

The Healthy Habits project was developed to augment the tools available to WIC in its efforts to promote healthy lifestyles. The purpose of Healthy Habits was to provide training, materials and support to local WIC staff so that staff could more effectively promote healthy behaviors in WIC families and in their communities. As part of the multi-component project, Nutrition education modules were developed and tested with local agencies and community partners to promote family meals or family physical activity.

The Healthy Habits bookmarks, handouts, posters and lesson plans include screen time recommendations and strategies for families. Examples:

• Poster: Why Turn the TV Off?
• Bookmark: Did You Know? There is a link between TV viewing & being overweight?
• Handout: Activity Guide Pyramid

The materials are also available in Spanish.

Home	Parents	1,2,3,4,5 Policy Stages Key

Target Audience: WIC families (children under 5 years)

Evaluation: The impact of the Healthy Habits nutrition education modules was assessed using a survey of participants and staff at WIC clinics before and after six months of statewide implementation, statistics on contacts and exposures on a clinic-wide basis, and project summaries prepared by project coordinators at each local agency. Please see the Healthy Habits Final Report for more information on the evaluation methods and results.

Lead Agency/Partners: Washington State WIC Program, University of Washington Center for Public Health Nutrition. Healthy Habits was funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service.

For more information
Cathy Franklin
Washington State WIC Program
Healthy Habits Materials can be downloaded from the WAABAM web site