Healthy Kids Challenge Ajax Encourages Kids to Power Off & Play with Fun Contest!

May 4, 2018

Photo: Kevin Smith (left), Healthy Kids Ajax Squad member and Active Living Supervisor for Town of Ajax and Nicole Wright (right), Public Health Nurse from the Region of Durham Health Department, launched the Power Off and Play Passport Challenge with students from Bolton C. Falby Public School in Ajax on April 30, 2018. Students took part in an active demonstration and received Power Off and Play! Passports to track their screen time and win prizes.

Did you know that in Ontario, kids are spending an excessive 2.5 to 3 hours of screen time each day? According to experts, too much screen time leads to poor attention skills, lower levels of physical fitness and behavioural issues.

To combat this epidemic, Healthy Kids Community Challenge Ajax recently launched the Screen Free Passport Challenge. Running through the month of May, this innovative contest encourages kids to discover the joys of life beyond the screen. Kids must track both screen time and non-screen time for two weeks for a chance to win some great prizes. The goal is to make them aware of the number of minutes, or hours, spent in front of a TV, computer, handheld device or gaming console. Plus, it challenges them to find new activities to engage in. 

To kick-start the Passport Challenge, Healthy Kids Ajax handed out pedometers and Passports to select Ajax schools. To maximize participation, classrooms are challenging each other to see who can fill out the most Passports and submit them before the June 4, 2018 deadline. Outside of school, any child who wishes to participate can easily pick up a Passport from any Town of Ajax community centre or Ajax Public Library branch.

Continuing the momentum throughout June, the Healthy Kids Squad will be hosting weekly play dates at outdoor playgrounds across Ajax on Wednesday evenings between 6 and 7 p.m. Open to everyone, the play dates will have lots of fun activities and free swag giveaways.

Play dates include:

• June 6 – Bolton C. Falby Public School– 80 Falby Ct., Ajax, ON
• June 13 – Cedar Park – Cedar St. & Tudor Ave. playground area,  Ajax, ON
• June 20 – Monarch Mews – northeast Monarch Ave. & Centennial Rd. playground area, Ajax, ON
• June 27 – Sundial Park – 41 Formosa Ave., Ajax, ON

 To learn more about how to get involved and get your kids to Power Off & Play, visit healthykidsajax.ca

Healthy Kids Community Challenge Ajax Power Off and Play! Passport Challenge will be ongoing until June 4, 2018 with prizes including a bicycle.