Action for Healthy Kids, the National PTA and other partner organizations have identified specific ways parents and parent groups can advocate for their children's health at school. Here's what they and other health experts advise:

Ask for a copy of your school's wellness policy.
Every school district that participates in the national school lunch or breakfast program is required by the federal government to have one. The policy is supposed to include:

• Nutrition guidelines for the food sold during the school day
• Goals for nutrition education and physical education
• A plan to implement them and a person responsible for doing so

Because districts were required in involve parents and community members in developing these policies, your school or district may already have a wellness committee. Find out who is working to promote wellness and how you can be involved.

See for yourself.

• Eat lunch in the school cafeteria or volunteer to supervise there to find out what choices are offered.
  • Is the room attractive to kids?
  • How much time do they wait in line?
  • How much time do they have to eat?
  • What foods are they choosing and what is getting thrown away untouched?
  • Talk to the students about what they like and don't like about eating lunch there.
• Look at your school's playground equipment and sports fields.
  • Are they safe and well-maintained?
  • Could your parent group help raise money to improve them or buy new equipment — jump ropes, balls or pedometers — to improve fitness?
  • Are there simple changes that might help kids become more physically active? In Casper, Wyoming, school officials experimented with giving elementary school children recess before lunch, rather than afterward. They found the kids took more time to eat rather than throwing their food in the trash and rushing off to join their friends on the playground.

Talk to the people who feed kids every day.
Meet with food service workers to find out the challenges of their jobs, their training and their ideas for improving the food students eat each day.

Make an appointment to see the principal or district administrator.
Ask questions, such as:

• How can students and families be more involved in nutrition? A Penn State study found that high school students whose schools posted nutritional information chose healthier food and said they were more satisfied with food quality and service than students in schools that didn't provide information. Dr. Lillian Cheung of the Harvard School of Public Health's nutrition department says involving students and families in creative solutions is the secret to success in programs she has studied. In a program in the Baltimore public schools, students were invited to taste tests in the cafeteria and chefs offered groups of parents lessons in low-fat cooking. Other schools have used food cultivated by students in school gardens.
• What foods are sold to students outside the school lunch program?
• How many days and minutes do students participate in physical education? (Health experts recommend at least 30 minutes a day, every day.)
• Do after-school programs offer time for physical activity and a healthy snack? Could the school partner with community organizations to provide or improve these programs?

Ask what you and other parents can do to help.

• Offer your sweat equity. Can your parent group make the cafeteria a more attractive place to eat? Does the space need to be reorganized so students can be served more efficiently?
• Be creative. Worried about how your parent group will raise money if you can't sell candy bars? Check out the PTA's Healthy Fundraisers for PTAs.
• Offer to investigate outside sources of funds to improve physical education. Heart rate monitors, salad bars and dance machines cost money. Some schools have gotten corporate or foundation support to help pay for new programs and equipment.
• Be an advocate. Get the support of your principal, cafeteria workers, teachers and community members to build a healthy learning environment. Action For Healthy Kids' Campaign for School Wellness has a wealth of information and a Wellness Policy Tool to help. Read Become a Legislative Advocate for Your Child's School for tips on letting your lawmakers know what you think.

Build health education into your family's daily life.
Talk about nutrition and nutrition labels when you go to the grocery store with your child. Next time you're in the produce section, buy a fruit or vegetable that you haven't served for awhile. You might find that what looked "yucky" a few years ago is yummy now. If you want a primer, the Nutrition Source, a Web site maintained by the Harvard School of Public Health's nutrition department, is a rich source of information.

Get your whole family moving in bad weather or good with tips from Making Fitness a Family Affair and Take Fitness Indoors.

Updated December 2006