The Gold Sneaker Initiative and Your Child’s Health

The Gold Sneaker Initiative is a voluntary, State of Tennessee program that child care facilities have an opportunity to obtain and use as a resource. The initiative outlines policies that childhood centers can put in place to promote health and wellness in early childhood.

children-at-play

These policies promotes physical activity, nutritious eating, non-smoking facilities, and little-to-no screen time.  The Academy adopted these policies years ago, and we were one of the first centers in the state of Tennessee to achieve Gold Sneaker certification.


Being a Gold Sneaker Facility

Becoming a Gold Sneaker facility made a wonderful addition to our program here at The Academy. What it means for your child is that we’ve taken a pledge and put policies in place to ensure your child is starting with healthy habits at an early age.

As a Gold Sneaker facility we:

  • offer children at least 60 minutes of physical activity per day
  • limit television and video viewing to 60 minutes per day of educational programs
  • do not allow children to remain sedentary or passive for more than 60 minutes continuously
  • ensure physical activity is a positive experience
  • ensure appropriate feeding patterns, including adequate
time for meal consumption
  • ensure appropriate infant and child feeding patterns, including appropriate portion sizes
  • promote a positive attitude toward food
  • maintain a tobacco free campus

Combating the Problem of Childhood Obesity

As a Gold Sneaker facility, The Academy is also helping to combat childhood obesity, a growing problem that may lead to health risks such as:

  • breathing problems
  • difficulty controlling asthma
  • muscle and joint pain
  • heartburn
  • low self-esteem from teasing or bullying
  • severe adult obesity

By encouraging age-appropriate nutrition and physical activity 
in young children, the immediate benefit to your child may also have long-term impact on your child’s well being as an adult. Problems caused by childhood obesity can follow children throughout their life spans, and obese children are more likely
to become obese adults.


Learn More About the Gold Sneaker Program

For more information and great resource links for parents, please visit  https://tn.gov/health/topic/goldsneaker