Kids’ Health Day Carnival

Written by Daniel Walshaw – Online Content Coordinator

Jumping castle. Inflatable soccer shoot-out. Face painters. Great music. Colourful balloons. Prize wheel. Fresh fruit and a slushie machine. You might have been mistaken for thinking that the local fair had come to USANA Australia’s Castle Hill office on Wednesday, 26th September. And in a way, it did – because it was all for our Kids’ Health Day Carnival!

Countless cars lined the streets before the event started.  So we knew it was going to be a great day out! The weather was perfect, the sun was shining (contrary to some pretty unnerving reports I’d heard forecast – insert sigh of relief!) and we all were ready to have a great time (and let the inner child out for a few hours)!

Guests being welcomed by Leeanne, Christina and Vicki with balloons.

Associates Erica and Brigitte running Fruit Salad.

It was like a trip down memory lane (a longer lane for some of us than for others) when some of our amazing Associates Elisha, Erica and Brigitte played Fruit Salad and parachute games with the kids. I remember these games from my childhood so I couldn’t resist having a go… The trio of Exercise Physiologists also led skipping classes, which were a great hit. And, all the kids who got involved in a skipping class, got to take a skipping rope home, to encourage a healthy and active lifestyle.

The Kids’ Yoga classes, with experienced yoga expert Pauline, were jam-packed with eager little ones ready to do the Asanas (postures). Pauline led the kids through child-friendly workouts which focussed on breathing techniques to release tension, stretches to lengthen and strengthen the muscles and techniques to balance the right and left hemispheres of the brain to help improve coordination and balance. 

Our Vice President of the Pacific Region David Mulham had a great time with Chanel from our Customer Service team and some new friends.

The jumping castle was a highlight of the day – most of the staff wished they were small enough again to jump on!

Fresh and nutritious fruit was served along with delicious Strawberry NutrimealTM slushies. The perfect match for the day’s activities.

Tyrone the Tiger!

Ravinder Lilly, our Nutritionist and Health Writer, presented ‘Healthy eating 101’ and ‘Vital Vitamins and Mega Minerals for Kids’, which focussed on practical ways that parents and soon-to-be parents could super charge their kids’ nutrition, how to get kids to eat more healthily, the best drinks for kids and the importance of vitamins and minerals for children’s growing bodies and minds. There were lots of questions and answers and chatter as parents shared their experience and tips, too.

Sheila Zhou, our Regulatory Affairs and Technical Officer and David Zhu, our Network Development and Training Coordinator followed with brilliant presentations on ‘Bone and Brain Health for Kids’ and ‘Energy Support and Immune Health for Young Children.’ These looked into the scientific benefits of nutritional supplementation for children, from recent studies. You always knew it – USANA is backed by science and they showed us how!

Associate Elisha Renton gave parents great insight into the importance of exercise for children’s minds and bodies, both for current and future health. She also revealed some alarming statistics about the growing incidence of obesity in our children and how this is impacting on the development of chronic conditions like type 2 diabetes. Until a few years ago, this type of diabetes was only seen in adults but is being seen more and more in children today.

Kenneth with Christina.

And, if there wasn’t enough excitement and fun going on already, a special visit from one of our newest USANA Athletes Kenneth To stirred up the atmosphere even more! Crowds lined up at Kenneth’s autograph session to have a photo taken with him and chat with this incredible Aussie swimmer.

Kenneth later spoke at a presentation about the swimming events he has been participating in recently and the benefits he felt our USANA products had brought him which was great to hear. I never get tired of hearing how our products have helped people from elite Athletes to the average sports fan!

Soon after the Kids’ Event, Kenneth travelled overseas and brought two Gold medals home to Australia from the FINA World Cup Swimming meet in Dubai; these were, for the men’s 100m freestyle and the men’s 100m individual medley. Huge congratulations to Kenneth on winning two more Gold medals to add to his already-impressive list of achievements! You can read about his latest wins here and read Kenneth’s accolade sheet here.

Kenneth said, ‘The Kids’ Health Day was a fantastic experience. The atmosphere was electric and the kids looked to be thoroughly enjoying themselves. I was lucky enough to be there to sign some autographs for the kids and talk to the parents about what USANA has done for me. It was a great event and I look forward to attending more like it!’

We had a great time celebrating the children in our lives (even Chanel below!) and emphasising the importance of their health; after all, they are our future! I know you would agree that we want to leave a legacy of health for generations to come. Let’s celebrate our kids and let’s celebrate their healthy future! To see more photos from the day, click here.

Chanel had to dodge many flying soccer balls throughout the day.