‘Sesame Street’ launches new resources to encourage healthy habits for military kids

A military family talks with “Sesame Street” character Elmo. (Sesame Workshop)

The “Sesame Street” characters are tying their aprons and lacing up their sneakers to support military children and families from the inside out through a new digital program.

“Sesame Street” for Military Families and the Defense Department’s Office of Military Family and Community Policy partnered to deliver free, online resources that make healthy meals and physical activity as easy as ABC.

“Healthy, Happy, Ready” offers articles, videos, printable activities and recipes to help military children and families build habits around nutrition, exercise and emotional wellness — especially during times of transition and challenges that come with military life.

The program launched Monday, following a year of research and development. The content is available in English and Spanish.

“There’s a lot of transitions that little ones go through,” Dr. Jeanette Betancourt, senior vice president for U.S. Social Impact at Sesame Workshop, told Stars and Stripes. “Here is an opportunity to provide what we believe is not only comfort, but routines. We know for young children, the idea of routines is really important. It helps them feel safe, comfortable and included.”

“Sesame Street” characters such as Elmo, Rosita and Grover help make the program fun and engaging for children by being models of practicing healthy habits.

Featured materials include: three videos about preparing nutritious meals as a family, growing a kitchen garden and making physical activity a regular part of the day; three healthy and easy kid-pleasing recipes; four articles about meal planning and turning regular activities into play and engaging games; and three printable pages, which are connected to the themes of the videos.

“Kids in military families serve, too,” said Rosita, a bilingual Muppet from Mexico. “When their mommy or daddy goes away to help people, kids help at home by being brave and strong. We can help them by playing with them, making yummy snacks and giving hugs. That makes their hearts feel happy.”

“Sesame Street” character Rosita, a bilingual muppet from Mexico, engages with a military family. Rosita is performed by Carmen Osbahr, an American puppeteer. (Ryan Heffernan Photography)

Betancourt said that the characters aim to motivate children by setting a fun example they can follow and also show parents ways to introduce these habits into their existing routines.

However, maintaining healthy practices is not always easy for military households, and Betancourt hopes the program can assist in making it more achievable.

“One of the things that we hear so often from military families, especially with younger children, is this idea that they’re so busy,” Betancourt said. “These practices were not only for the children, but also for the adults to make life much easier, while also keeping them healthy.”

“Sesame Street” for Military Families supports military families, especially those with young children, by addressing topics such as deployments, homecomings, relocations and grief.