By Sara Brown

 

Quincy Reath, 7, just got home from school. While most kids would want to grab junk food or sit in front of the TV, Reath immediately grabs her jump rope. Reath is determined to learn how to cross jump rope.

“My gym teacher knows how to do it,” she said.

In January, Reath began For U by Q, a Facebook page for children on how to eat healthy and stay fit. The page already has over 500 Likes.

“She came to me and said she wanted a Facebook page and I said ‘absolutely not,’” her mother, Jodi Reath, said. “However, I said we should try to figure out how to do something positive with Facebook.”

Reath has always enjoyed eating healthy and being active, which is how the site began. The 7-year-old shares recipes and exercise routines for children her age or parents trying to get their kids to stay healthy.

One of her favorite healthy snacks is green smoothies. They contain kale, apple, blueberries, frozen banana, spinach and almond milk. “They taste really good,” she enthused.

Unlike most of her peers, Reath doesn’t shy away from green foods. “Some kids are afraid to eat anything green—not her,” her father, Sean Mallett said.

When she is not busy trying new healthy recipes, she is either dancing or playing flag football.

“I like playing defensive. I like getting all the flags,” she explained about the latter sport.

Reath also wants to play softball in the summer. “She is really excited about that,” Mallett said.

Her favorite exercise is jumping jacks and her least favorite is sit-ups. “They hurt my back,” she complained.

While Reath enjoys eating healthy, her older brother is not the biggest fan. “He eats healthy, but he doesn’t always like it,” she said.

“We know what it is like for parents. We have one child who isn’t afraid to eat healthy and try new things and one who is. It can be difficult, but you have to keep trying with them,” Sean said.

Jodi Reath says you have to be persistent: “Keep trying every day.”

The Facebook page has helped parents get their kids to try healthier options when it comes to food they otherwise would have been too afraid to try. “A lot of parents have reached out to us via the Facebook page and said the recipes have helped get their kids try new things,” Mallet said.

The little fitness expert has fans all over. A children’s author even sent her a book to read. “It’s about a dragon who only eats zucchini,” Reath explained. “He learns to try new things. It was a good book.”

Reath has also begun making and selling jump ropes. The proceeds will go to KaBOOM!, Inc., an organization that helps build playgrounds. “She has always like to make things and to help people, so this goes hand-in-hand,” Jodi Reath said.

Reath has a record of jumping 70 times in a row and it’s a record she hopes to break soon. She also hosts jump rope parties with her peers.

Asked why she enjoys eating healthy, Reath simply replies, “It’s good for your body.”

For U by Q continues to grow strong.

“I want to do it forever,” she said.