Community Corner
YMCA Hosts Healthy Kids Day
Event includes activities for children and tips for families.
Do your children still need to shake off the winter doldrums? YMCA Healthy Kids Day, a day of fun, engaging and creative activities for children and families that promotes year-long wellness and healthy living, is Saturday, April 17 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
More than 1700 YMCAs will be participating including our own Springfield branch. Last year, more than 700,000 attendees participated in YMCA Healthy Kids Day events nationwide.
Pam Halpin of the Springfield YMCA gave us a short preview of what's to come at the Springfield location on 100 S Springfield Ave, Springfield, NJ.
"The object is to get families to spend time together, move together and enjoy themselves," Halpin said. She stressed that today's families have very busy lifestyles and this is a great opportunity for them to have fun.
Some of the events to look forward to are:
- Nerf Biathlon A Springfield Y original. Using Nerf gear, participants will target shoot, followed by running a lap.
- Pickle-ball This paddle game is regaining popularity with today's youth, where a free-standing net is used with paddles.
- Frozen Ropes The Batting cage and baseball training center hosts a portion of the event with pitching and throwing activities.
- Bounce house
- Wii Sport
Parents will be able to glean some healthy tips as well. During this event there will be a Springfield Holistic Wellness table along with other groups such as the MOMS Club of Springfield, NJ. Halpin also added there will a Union County Car Seat Check across the street at the parking lot of Florence M. Guadineer Middle School. Parents can make sure their car seats are properly installed.
Pre-registration is encouraged but not required and can be easily done over the phone by calling 973-467-0838. Please note that YMCA Healthy Kids Day is weather permitting, and you can contact the Springfield Y in the event the weather is questionable.
Editor's note: Woops! The original version of this story had the correct date and incorrect day of the week. The event is on Saturday, not Friday. Sorry about the confusion.
