5-2-1-0 in Communities

Additional Resources

The time that children spend outside of school has become a time when they are less active and eat more unhealthy foods, but it doesn’t have to be this way. Providing a positive environment at home and encouraging kids to join community activities allows them to build healthy habits and interact with peers as they learn and grow during this important period of their physical and mental development. Below are some strategies and resources for you to use to help your child live a balanced and healthy life.

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  5 servings of fruits and vegetables every day:

• Here are some strategies that you can use on shopping trips and other occasions:
  • Healthy Shopping on a Budget: Eating healthy doesn’t have to be costly; use this document to lower you grocery bill.
  • Farmers’ Markets that Accept Food Assistance: Buying locally grown foods is good for your family, the economy and the environment; discover some inexpensive ways to eat local in Pittsburgh.
  • Ideas for Healthy Fundraising: Research clearly demonstrates that good nutrition is linked to better behavior and academic performance. Finding alternatives to unhealthy fundraisers, such as bake sales, will promote a healthier school environment.
  • Download the Green Light Foods app on your iPhone or Android device to help you make healthy food choices at the grocery store. Scan the barcodes of packaged foods to quickly identify products with the best nutritional profiles.  
• Encourage healthy eating by preparing delicious, family-friendly recipes.
  • Healthy Brown Bag Lunches: Skip the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and try out these easy and healthy lunch ideas. With a different recipe for every day of the week, your kids will never get bored. 
  • Healthy Favorites: This comprehensive guide provides simple tips for encouraging a healthy environment at home, plus yummy recipes to try.
  • Getting to Know Fiber: Learn why it’s an important part of your diet and read easy tips for boosting your fiber intake.
  • Pittsburgh Seasonal Food Guide: Use this simple guide to purchase fruits and vegetables while they are in season.
  • Fall Fruit Guide: Apples: Use this chart to learn about different kinds of apples and the best ways to eat them.
  • Rethinking Dessert: Learn about the Three Pleasures: Harvard School of Public Health's recommendation for a delicious yet nutritious dessert.
  • Cooking Substitutions: Reference this chart of cooking substitutions to make your home-cooked meals even healthier.
  • Kid-Friendly Snacks: Choose these quick and healthy snacks for a nutritious burst of energy!
• Consult this guide to encourage your child to develop healthy eating habits. 
  • Phrases that Help and Hinder: Learn what positive phrases to use and what phraseology to avoid.
• Eat your way to clean skin, strong bones and more.
  • Healthy Eating for Your Body: Learn how different parts of the body can benefit from certain foods.
• ​Get kids involved in the kitchen:
  • ​​Kids in the Kitchen: Choose simple, age-appropriate cooking activities to get your children involved and invested in the preparation of their food.
  • Basic Cooking Concepts: Teach children basic cooking terms and conversions that come in handy in the kitchen. 
  • Conduct Taste Tests: Taste tests allow children to get excited about new foods. They can try different items, provide feedback and ask questions.
• Learn the science behind healthy eating.
  • The Skinny on Fat: Teaches how the body digests healthy and unhealthy fats.
  • Making Sense of Added Sugar: Decode different types of sugar, where they come from and how to monitor your consumption of them.

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  2 hours or less of recreational screen time every day:

• Use these helpful guides to find alternatives to screen time outside of school:
  • Decoding Recreational Screen Time: Learn the difference between recreational and nonrecreational screentime and discover helpful apps that encourage healthy behaviors in children. 
  • Turn on the Fun: This guide provides a simple list of healthy ways to regulate screen time and provides fun alternatives to watching television.
  • Healthy Activities for School Vacation: There are plenty of things for kids to do besides sit in front of a screen over school vacation. Check out this list for some fun ideas on activities you can do.
  • Reading to Young Children: Use this guide for helpful tips on to actively engage children while reading.
  • Promote Healthy Viewing Habits: The first two years of life are considered a critical time for brain development. Consult this tip sheet to discover ways to get children off to a good start.
  • Screen Time and the Very Young: Excessive screen time can lead to aggression in early childhood, among other problems. Get the facts by taking a look at this list of its effects on the very young.
• Continue the 5-2-1-0 lifestyle while traveling and on holidays.
  • 5-2-1-0 Travel Trips: With time and space constraints, it's easy to neglect your health while traveling. Use this guide to learn easy ways to keep yourself and your family on track no matter where the road takes you.
  • 5-2-1-0 Winter Holiday: Discover simple tips and tricks to follow each of the 5-2-1-0 behaviors during snow days and inter holidays.
  • 5-2-1-0 Valentine's Day: Celebrate love and encourage kids to love their bodies by following each of the 5-2-1-0 behaviors with these simple tricks.
  • 5-2-1-0 Fourth of July: Celebrate America's freedom and your freedom to make healthy choices by using these simple tips to live the 5-2-1-0 lifestyle.
  • 5-2-1-0 Thanksgiving: How can you practice healthy behaviors during a holiday dedicated to eating copious amounts of food? By following these simple steps to maintain the 5-2-1-0 behaviors!
• Provide alternative activities to screen time with these helpful resources:
  • Read Your Way to 5-2-1-0: Find entertaining and age-appropriate books that promote healthy behaviors. All of these books are available at the Carnegie Libraries!
  • Unplug: Try these activities instead of watching TV.
  • Print out this 5-2-1-0 Crossword Puzzle for a fun way to exercise your mind (check your work with this answer key)! 
  • Choose your favorite crayon and find all of the words in this Fruit and Veggie Word Search (and answer key). Then, see how many fruits and veggies you can find in your kitchen!
  • Find all of the words in this Physical Activity Word Search, and then try out some of the activities yourself! (Need a hint? Here is the answer key.)   
• Make screen time educational:
  • Educational Apps for All Age Groups: When your child is using media, encourage them to use apps that contain an educational component!
• 5-2-1-0 Tracker: Use this guide to help yourself keep track of how well you follow the 5-2-1-0 lifestyle.
• The Scientific Rationale: Use this guide to understand the science that supports 5-2-1-0.

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  1 hour or more of physical activity every day:

• Provide kids with positive reinforcement when you see them being active.
  • I Got Caught Being Active: This template shows you how to print out stickers for a fun way to reward kids for being active.
• Find fun ways for kids to get active.
  • Top Five Anywhere Exercises: Use this resource to brainstorm ways to help young people incorporate physical activity in their day-to-day lives.
  • Get Up: This document suggests fun ways to get whole families moving for at least one hour a day. 
  • Take It Outside: Families can be active outdoors with the fun activities listed in this tip sheet.
  • Quick Physical Activity Breaks: These quick activities can provide physical activity just about anywhere and on any schedule.
  • Activity Cards for the Classroom: This set of printable cards contains a handy supply of easy, on-the-spot physical activities for kids.

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   0 sugary drinks and more water every day:

• Try this fun technique for providing children with positive reinforcement when you see them making healthy choices like choosing water over sugary drinks.
  • I Got Caught Being Healthy: This template shows you how to print out stickers for a fun way to reward kids for making healthy choices.
• Encourage kids to choose healthy drinks to keep them hydrated.
  • Sports and Energy Drinks: This helpful resource busts myths you may have heard about these drinks.
  • Phipps Splash™ Recipe: Learn how to make a delicious, healthy drink that young kids will love!
  • Enlightening Facts About Juice: Did you know that fruit juice offers no nutritional benefits over whole fruit for infants older than 6 months? Find out more by perusing this fact sheet.
  • Best Drinks for Young Children: Study this helpful beverage guide for ideas on how to eliminate sugary drinks and replace them with more healthful options.
  • Healthy Hydration: Promote healthy beverage choices. Find some ideas for making changes with this hydration guide.
  • Water as Fuel: Learn how water acts like fuel to keep your body running smoothly.
• Supplement drinking water with these foods to ensure optimal hydration.
  • Foods High in Water: Boost your water intake by munching on these foods.
• Learn ways to be more resourceful with your water use.
  • Become a Water Warrior!: These smart water habits will make you healthier and have an impact on the environment.
• Help kids keep their teeth healthy with these tips.
  • Sugar – No Thanks!: This guide lays out the do's and don'ts for the best dental hygiene and health.
• Learn the best ways to promote healthy development through breastfeeding.
  • Breastfeeding at Home: This template offers tips for breastfeeding at home to ensure a healthy mother and baby.
  • Breastfeeding at Work: Follow these steps to ensure you have the essential tools, space, and support from your employer to pump at work.