Improving the Health and Wellness of Families

National PTA is dedicated to improving the overall health and well-being of families across the country because we know living a healthy lifestyle is a key component to our students' success.

The Healthy Lifestyles initiative offers educational resources and engagement opportunities that inform students and families on ways to make better-informed health decisions.

Prioritizing you and your families’ overall health is important to living happy, meaningful lives. And living healthy means more than just eating a well-balanced diet, it includes your physical, mental and emotional well-being.

Children grow and learn in many different ways. It is the shared responsibility of families, schools and communities to develop the “whole child.” This means looking at all aspects of children holistically, from social, emotional and cognitive skills to academic subjects like literacy and math. Together they can ensure that every child is healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged.

As parents and leaders, you do not need to have all the expertise about what it means to be healthy or be a perfect model of health. We just encourage you to prioritize talking about both physical health and mental health regularly with your families and taking some action steps to move closer to leading healthy lives. And it can start small!

National PTA’s Healthy Lifestyles Initiative includes the following three pillars. Click on each to learn more about the focus area!