You’re the Mom: Empowering Moms to Make Healthy Eating Fun & Easy

At ChildObesity180, we believe that effective intergenerational programming calls for a commitment to helping parents and kids build healthy habits. So much of that work starts with making healthy food and drink choices, but, with over one-third of kids in the US eating fast food every day, it’s not always easy to make the healthy choice. The good news is that a number of fast food restaurants have made changes to their kids’ menus, like reducing the calories in new items, removing soda, and adding healthier sides like apple slices. So, we want to support moms and give them the tools and information they need to make healthier choices for their kids when they do eat fast food.

This is why we launched the You’re the Mom campaign. You’re the Mom celebrates moms for the important role they play in their families and communities. The messages empower and show moms that making healthy food choices for their kids—such as including fruits or veggies as a side order instead of fries or replacing soda with water—can be easy and fun. We want moms to believe that eating well at restaurants matters and is doable. Why? Because moms are awesome, and they should feel that way!

Thanks to a grant from The JPB Foundation, You’re the Mom was piloted and evaluated in 2016 with an intensive on-the-ground focus in Springfield, MA with local advertisements, participation in community events, a microsite, and even beautification efforts with outdoor murals that portrayed local moms. To guide the process, community leaders served as advisors and helped to develop a network of local organizations to support the campaign. Now, with encouraging pilot results and strong community acceptance, we are expanding the campaign’s reach nationally.

We created a You’re the Mom digital toolkit for communities and organizations to bring the campaign to life. This free kit provides all the assets a community needs to implement the campaign, including posters, stickers, radio scripts for DJs to read on-air, and social media content.

Will you promote the toolkit? We’ve included sample social media posts below that can be used to help promote these resources within your networks. As community leaders learn about the campaign through this outreach, they can contact us for access to the complete toolkit, as well as assistance in executing the campaign. With your help, we have an opportunity to work together to improve the health of America’s children and their families.

Sample Tweets:

• Want to support healthy eating for kids in your community? Check out @ChildObesity180’s free @YoureTheMom toolkit: http://childobesity180.org/yourethemom
• .@YoureTheMom provides tips for busy moms to make healthy eating fun & easy for kids. Free @childobesity180 toolkit: http://childobesity180.org/yourethemom

Sample Facebook post:

The You’re the Mom campaign celebrates moms for the important role they play in their families and communities, and provides ideas and tips for making healthier choices for their kids when they eat in restaurants. Check out this free toolkit from @ChildObesity180 to bring the campaign to your own community! http://childobesity180.org/yourethemom

Sample Newsletter post:

The You’re the Mom campaign empowers moms to take small steps to make healthy eating fun and easy for their kids. It celebrates moms for the important role they play in their families and communities, and provides ideas and tips for making healthier choices for their kids when they eat in restaurants. Check out this free toolkit from ChildObesity180 to bring the campaign to your own community! http://childobesity180.org/yourethemom