Right Moves: A LiiNK Center for Healthy Play Podcast

Dr. Rhea challenges you to improve your health through modifying a key behavior you choose in this week’s episode. She discusses the many stages and challenges necessary to make a change, while sharing her personal journey of cutting bad habits and improving her health.

Jenny Eyer returns with Dr. Rhea to talk about her current role at the American Heart Association (AHA), and the differences between state and local policy. They discuss her team’s current goals to improve public health initiatives of which recess and nutrition are at the top.

Jenny Eyer graduated with a B.S. in Biochemistry from Abilene Christian University and earned her MPH with a concentration in Maternal and Child Health from the University of Texas School of Public Health. A native Texan, Jenny has spent her entire career focused on improving the lives of children and their families across the state, working to make Texas a great place to live, work, pray, and play.

Her work has included passing legislation at the state level that has increased food access for students across the state, partnering with school districts to expand meal programs before and after the school day, and conducting research around physical activity in schools to inform state and local legislation.

As the Vice President of Health Strategies, for AHA’s North Texas area, she focuses her time on implementing community-facing programs, advocating for sustainable policy solutions, and ensuring all North Texans have the ability to live longer, healthier lives. She is a member of the LiiNK Advisory Board and a Fellow of the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Child Health Leadership Network. Her favorite job, though, is raising her three children with her husband, Jesse, and drinking lots of coffee.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Children at Risk

American Heart Association Website

Dr. Rhea brings on public health advocate, Jenny Eyer, to share her story of what drove her to focus on nutrition and food availability for kids. Jenny’s primary focus encompasses policy changes around free and reduced breakfast & lunch in schools.

Jenny Eyer graduated with a B.S. in Biochemistry from Abilene Christian University and earned her MPH with a concentration in Maternal and Child Health from the University of Texas School of Public Health. A native Texan, Jenny has spent her entire career focused on improving the lives of children and their families across the state, working to make Texas a great place to live, work, pray, and play.

Her work has included passing legislation at the state level that has increased food access for students across the state, partnering with school districts to expand meal programs before and after the school day, and conducting research around physical activity in schools to inform state and local legislation.

As the Vice President of Health Strategies, for AHA’s North Texas area, she focuses her time on implementing community-facing programs, advocating for sustainable policy solutions, and ensuring all North Texans have the ability to live longer, healthier lives. She is a member of the LiiNK Advisory Board and a Fellow of the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Child Health Leadership Network. Her favorite job, though, is raising her three children with her husband, Jesse, and drinking lots of coffee.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Children at Risk

USDA Meal Requirements

Dr. Rhea sits down with Summer Belloni again to discuss the importance of advocacy for parents and educators in schools and the barriers they may face. They also discuss "practice what you preach" and why having access to recess, child-directed play, and the outdoors is the place where children learn how to learn.

Summer Belloni, a former teacher with experience in elementary and middle school education, is passionate about getting kids outside as much as possible.  She taught in both public and private schools in California and Louisiana before relocating to Texas where she managed a community engagement website for families.  Summer’s advocacy for increased access to recess in Midland’s elementary schools led to her involvement with the Student Health Advisory Council (SHAC) and a recommendation for policy change. She kept the community informed and shared resources with her social media group, Texans for Recess.  Although the recommended policy wasn’t officially adopted, her efforts resulted in 24 out of 26 elementary schools in Midland increasing their recess time. With a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s degree in education specializing in educational leadership, Summer’s research focused on teachers’ beliefs, values, and attitudes towards elementary recess.  She has been married for 23 years and is the mother to two boys. She and her husband continue to prioritize and nurture their family’s love for the outdoors and value of childhood instructed play. 

Other resources mentioned in this episode:

LiiNK’s Weather Guidelines

Global School Play Day

Dr. Rhea sits down with play advocate and former teacher, Summer Belloni M.Ed, to share her view on why play is important for kids. Summer describes her advocacy work and collaboration with the Student Health Advisory Council (SHAC) for increased recess in Midland, Texas.

Summer Belloni, a former teacher with experience in elementary and middle school education, is passionate about getting kids outside as much as possible.  She taught in both public and private schools in California and Louisiana before relocating to Texas where she managed a community engagement website for families. 

Summer’s advocacy for increased access to recess in Midland’s elementary schools led to her involvement with the Student Health Advisory Council (SHAC) and a recommendation for policy change. She kept the community informed and shared resources with her social media group, Texans for Recess.  Although the recommended policy wasn’t officially adopted, her efforts resulted in 24 out of 26 elementary schools in Midland increasing their recess time.

Other resources mentioned in this episode:

IPA-USA

Dr. Rhea and early-learning play advocate, Tessa Baden, discuss the power of trusting and listening to your children’s interests and abilities to help nurture unstructured play and independence. Often times, the best way to steer your child toward exceptional overall health and academics is to let the child do the steering.

Tessa Baden is a nature and play advocate who shares her personal transformation story to inspire reflection, connection and evolution in others.  She started her career at Camp C.A.M.P. and preschools. Tessa has spent 15 + years journeying through public and private spaces exploring opportunities to ensure adults trust and honor children’s learning to occur in its most authentic form.  She encourages others to name the challenges and fears they face in working with children and find peaceful ways to transform thinking and action. Her personal mission is to advocate peace for all children and those who guide them in all spaces, always. Tessa is the mother to 2 strong, clever, and compelling souls. Her favorite place to be is outside camping, walking, hiking, but especially playing with loose parts in her backyard!

Resources mentioned in this episode:

HighScope curriculum

SOUL - Silent Observe Understand Listen

Magda Gerber - RIE Method

Parents raise children in different ways to cover social and emotional development.  Some use a religion to teach such things as empathy, trust, respect, honesty, and so on. Others use an ethics course. In K-12 schools, it may be character skills that include those above as well as lessons on how to socially interact and create emotional regulation. Dr. Rhea compares Finnish and U.S. schools focused on this topic. She is focused on why this particular topic is vital to the health of our children whether it be in schools or in the community.

It’s Mental Health Awareness Month! How can we address the mental health crisis plaguing us today? Dr. Rhea brings on therapist and social worker, Talia Filippelli, to discuss the stigma around mental health and how play, empathy, and therapy are all key in creating more resilient children and adults.

Talia is the founder of Starr Therapy in Hoboken, New Jersey. She is known for her solution-focused approach, practical strategies, and fearless mission to make seeing a therapist something people brag about! Talia is a contributing mental health expert for numerous media outlets, including CNN and CBS; she's an 8-time winner of NJ Family Magazine's Top Docs Awards and an ambassador for The Genius of Play as well. Talia is also a certified holistic health coach and certified personal trainer. To find out more information about Starr Therapy and Talia's team of therapists, visit www.StarrTherapy.com.

Genius of Play

                Talia’s Articles on Genius of Play

Starr Therapy

Emotional Intelligence – Goleman

Emotional Playbook

Dr. Rhea brings back Dr. Catherine Ramstetter and Dr. Robert Murray for part two of their series. Listen as they share their thoughts on Medina’s Big Three - sleep, play and nutrition – in schools. What’s in a donut? Let’s find out!

Dr. Cathy Ramstetter is a School Health Consultant with Successful Healthy Children, assisting schools with wellness initiatives and recess implementation, to protect recess for every child everyday and to foster children’s healthy growth and development. Dr. Ramstetter is the co-author of AAP’s Policy on Recess with Dr. Bob Murray. She serves on the Board of Directors for DePaul Cristo Rey High School in Cincinnati, where she is a member of the Academic Committee. In April, 2020, Dr. Ramstetter was a founding member of the Global Recess Alliance, academic leaders from the US, Canada, United Kingdom and Australia, which guides schools to rethink policies and practices for recess.  In October of 2022, the International Play Association-USA conferred the Doctor of Play to Cathy in recognition of her lifetime achievements in advocating for the child’s right to play.

Dr. Robert Murray spent over 20 years in the field of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition in the Ohio State University School of Medicine. For 5 years, he served as the director of the Center for Healthy Weight and Nutrition, offering medical and surgical treatments for child and adolescent obesity. Dr. Murray also was the pediatric medical director for Abbott Nutrition from 2003-2006. For over a decade Dr. Murray was an executive committee member of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Council on School Health, serving as chair in the final 4 years. He is a Board member of Action for Healthy Kids as well as of the Children’s Hunger Alliance, and previously served on the Board of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation. Dr. Murray is a past President of the Ohio Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.