About Texas Healthy Building Blocks

Texas Healthy Building Blocks, powered by Go NAPSACC, is a Texas initiative aimed at promoting evidence-based obesity prevention practices among early childhood education programs for children aged 0-5.

The CDC cites a worrying 1 in 5 children aged 2-5 are clinically overweight or obese, exposing them to potential short and long-term health risks. As many of these children spend considerable time in out-of-home care, these education programs and centers play a vital role in early obesity prevention.

The Texas Healthy Building Blocks program offers three levels of recognition:

Tier 1 recognizes centers that voluntarily exceed regulatory requirements in nutrition, physical activity, and screen time.
Tier 2 recognizes centers that fulfill Tier 1 criteria and adopt best practices in breastfeeding, infant feeding, and outdoor play and learning.
Tier 3 recognizes centers that satisfy Tier 1 and Tier 2 criteria, and also adopt best practices in oral health and farm-to-ECE.

Participating centers receive continuous guidance from a Technical Assistance Consultant, facilitating goal setting and achievement towards healthier environments for children. As an added benefit, recognized centers can display badges and awards on their premises and marketing materials, signaling to parents that they’ve committed to additional training and attained these distinguished levels of recognition.