Author: Barb Flis

Posted May 3rd, 2010

It was an honor to once again emcee the Healthy School Environment Awards with my dear friend and colleague and Michigan’s Surgeon General, Dr. Kimberly-Dawn Wisdom.  Dr. Wisdom recognized 77 schools with a third of those schools taking first place.  These schools made incredible changes to make their schools a healthier place for students to learn.  You can read their success stories by going to www.mihealthtools.org and select “Healthy Schools, Healthy Students.” 

Dr. Wisdom is also leading the way with her Generation With Promise schools, many of whom were receipients of the Healthy School Environment Awards. 

It was a fun day to celebrate the efforts of schools and families on behalf of the health of children.

Here I am pictued with Paul Yettaw, Food Service Director at Lakeview School District near Battle Creek, Michigan, and Dr. Wisdom.

Here I am pictured with Barbara Blum and Deb Grischke.  These are two high energy woman giving their all to help the Generation With Promise schools to reach their goal of healthy eating and increased phsyical activity for all students.  

 

Have you joined my Call to Action?

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Posted April 28th, 2010

Monday I was honored to be invited to speak to the Farmington PTA Council in Farmington, Michigan about joining my Call to Action for parents!  More than 30 parent leaders are now eager to sign on and start sharing stories on their efforts to improve healthy eating and physical activity for children.  And as if that is not enough, these tireless volunteers agreed to step up and spread the word to parents throughout their school community.  Great things are happening in my own backyard!  Thanks Farmington PTA Council — you are awesome!

Click here to join my Call to Action then start sharing your stories on our blog and facebook page.

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Posted April 27th, 2010

It was raining and cold outside last Sunday, but at the Michigan PTA Conference the smiles from parent leaders who work tirelessly on behalf of children brightened the room.  Here I am pictured with Patrice Taylor from MacArthur PTA.  Patrice is a great advocate for her child and wants to do more to help all children in her school be mentally fit and ready to learn. 

PTA is where I got started and so it was an honor to address the delegates and reflect back to them the difference they are making on behalf of children.  They were fired up about my Let’s Move Call to Action for Parents!  With the Michigan PTA leaders on board, we are definitely moving forward! For more information about my Call to Action for Parents visit www.parentactionforhealthykids.org. For more information about Michigan PTA visit www.michiganpta.org. 

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I just returned from the “MICHIANA” Leadership Institute where we are working with 17 school districts from Michigan and Indiana to help them implement Coordinated School Health Programs in their schools.  We had two new members join the institute — and they are parents!  Yeah!  Here we have Kelly Hurley and Teresa Drouillard from Ida, Michigan.  They are going back to their schools ready to roll up their sleeves and work with the other team members to make the entire school district a healthy place for children to learn.

Click here for more information about the “MICHIANA” Leadership Institute.

 

 

This information has been shared by Barb Flis, mother of two and creator of Parent Action For Healthy Kids.

Posted April 13th, 2010

I was honored to be one of only 10 people invited to Washington D.C. to provide input in developing the First Lady’s Let’s Move initiative to end childhood obesity in a generation. I was the only person at the table representing the parents’ voice. Now, I’m back from D.C. and taking this opportunity to launch a Call to Action for parents. The urgency of knowing that if our children don’t start to eat better and be active every day, their life span will be shorter than their parents, begs for a grass-roots effort. I know parents can and will step up and use their fear to fuel the passion it will take to make things better for our children today and for the next generation.

The message I took away from the D.C. meeting was two-fold; reducing childhood obesity within a generation is a hefty goal that will require a cultural shift in the way Americans view eating and physical activity; and the top level people I met with are as overwhelmed as the rest of the health advocates by the enormity of it all.

Reality check! Isn’t taking on childhood obesity a pretty lofty goal for a mom?

I’m sticking with my area of expertise – the parents! I am a parent and I have been working with parents as a volunteer and a professional for 25 years. Parents are continually blamed for everything that goes wrong with children. In this case everyone is culpable – home, school, community, business and yes, even government. I know, we as parents can and will be accountable for our part. Now is the time for a Call to Action for parents. With one strong united voice, we can make others accountable for this as well.

Can I do it?

I have worked with parents who have done remarkable things to improve eating and physical activity for children. It is time to highlight the good things parents are doing and unite their voices. The White House received 2500 comments on the Let’s Move web site. I’m certain I will hear from more than 2500 parents who want to unite and force change.

Some naysayers may think I am an “ant trying to move a rubber tree plant”, but those who know me, understand that there is more here than “high hopes.” I am no stranger to taking on parent initiatives. In 2005, I led a sex education parent initiative for Michigan’s Governor Jennifer Granholm and I am known among high levels of state and federal government as the “voice of parents.” This call to action is one you will want to join because, as I always say, “if Mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy!”

Join My Call to Action: Visit www.parentactionforhealthykids.org and become a Parent Champion on behalf of healthier children and support the Let’s Move initiative. Together lets roll up our sleeves, get to work, and create the kind of change that will leave a legacy of good health for our children because when we know better, we do better.

 

**This information has been shared by Barb Flis, mother of two and creator of Parent Action for Healthy Kids.

 

 

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Why parents matter!  Yesterday I spoke to future health and physical education teachers at Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, Michigan.  Most of these students were starry eyed and eager to began their careers.  One student, Betsy, a middle aged woman was a little less starry eyed.  You see Betsy has a physical education degree and has taught physical education in a Michigan School district for many years.  She returned to college to get a health education degree because she lost her job when her school district eliminated physical education class because of budget restraints.  As if this story isn’t sad enough the real tragedy is that in this district there is an extremely high obesity rate among students.  What a tragedy!  This is why parents matter!  Teachers are powerless to reverse a decision as devastating as this.  I’m am fairly certain that parents in this school district are unaware of the importance of physical education to the physical, social and emotional well-being of students.  Not to mention that when kids are physically active, they learn better.  Ironically, the topic I spoke to the CMU students about today was the importance of engaging parents on what health and physical education teachers do in the classroom so that parents can speak up when vital programs are cut.  Betsy supports the First Lady’s Let’s Move campaign but is frustrated because she is just one voice.  Betsy joined Parent Action for Healthy Kids Call to Action so that she can join others to make our voice stronger for change.

 

**This information has been brought to you by Barb Flis, mother of two and creator of Parent Action For Healthy Kids.

Posted March 23rd, 2010

What a great meeting with representatives from the First Lady’s Let’s Move initiative. I along with nine other organizations from around the country shared our expertise on ways to assist families in making healthy food choices and increasing physical activity. Making the choice to eat healthy and move more is easy; but actually making it a part of our daily life will be an enormous challenge. My experience in working with parents tells me that many are already making healthier choices. I will be calling all Parent Champions to help in this effort. Please stay tuned to this blog and my Facebook and Twitter pages for exciting details!

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