Preschoolers ‘play hard’
Three Bison athletes ate lunch with a group of 20 preschoolers at NDSU last week to promote the “Eat Smart, Play Hard” campaign at NDSU.
Deb Habedank, director of the Center for Child Development, said the idea for the lunch stemmed from March being National Nutrition Month.
Prior to the event, the preschool brought the parents of the students in for a presentation on healthy eating for preschoolers.
Some of the topics covered were serving sizes and what to do with a picky eater. Habedank felt it was important to also teach the kids about eating healthy, and using student athletes is a good way to reach them, she said.
“ Our kids at the center absolutely love balls, bats and soccer balls, all that sort of thing,” Habedank said.
The three athletes sat down with the preschoolers to talk about their sport and also to promote eating healthy and staying fit. The athletes talked about their favorite healthy foods and asked the preschoolers if they liked those foods too.
“ When you put everything into your sport and everything into your school, staying healthy is very important,” Sarah Panzer, member of the soccer team, said.
The three student athletes each brought a show-and-tell item; Panzer brought her soccer ball and cleats, she said.
“ They were in awe that we were there and that they got to talk to us,” Panzer said.
Spending time with preschoolers — especially 20 of them — can be exhausting but entertaining at the same time.
One boy raised his hand four separate times to tell the athletes he had gone bowling the night before, Panzer said.
For Panzer, the most positive part of the experience was “just interacting with them. A lot of their parents work at NDSU and (the kids are) huge Bison fans.”
Marques Johnson, a senior member of the football team, was another student-athlete at the lunch. Johnson brought a few of his football trading cards to share with the preschoolers.
“ I had a real good time; a lot of the kids were real interested in what we had to say,” Johnson said.
Promoting a healthy lifestyle to such a young age group is important, Panzer said.