Advice for parents and carers
How you can help your family live a healthier life?
As a parent or carer, you’re holding the future of our community in your hands.
It’s really important that we make sure our young fellas grow up to be healthy, strong members of the community – that way they’re less likely to develop serious health problems when they’re older, which can shorten their life expectancy.
There’s heaps you can do to help your kids grow up healthy. We’ve put together a few ideas to help you.
- Fruit and vegies are best!
- Keep unhealthy foods at bay
- Get ‘em moving
- Water, water everywhere
- See your doctor
Fruit and vegies are best!
Encourage your kids to eat fresh fruit and vegetables and drink water instead of eating junk food and drinking fruit juice. Tinned and frozen fruit and vegetables are also good (choose tinned fruit in natural juice with no added sugar).Fruit and vegetables provide essential vitamins, minerals and fibre to a kid’s diet. They also satisfy hunger for longer, which helps prevent snacking on junk food.
Want to know how many serves of fruit and vegetables kids of different ages need?
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Keep unhealthy foods at bay
Kids do love junk food and it’s fine to treat them occasionally, just keep it to a minimum. Junk food tends to be very high in fat, salt and sugar which can lead to weight gain.You can reduce temptation by not keeping unhealthy foods in the house. Remember that you need to set your own good example by avoiding junk food and going for fruit or vegies if you want a snack.
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Get ‘em moving
Kids love to watch TV and play computer games, but there’s also heaps of fun stuff to do that involves physical activity.You’ll also need to set a good example yourself, and limit your own TV time.
Make sure your kids have a safe place to play, and safe equipment to play with. Encourage them to get involved in sport, and support them in any physical activities they may enjoy.
Kids need at least an hour of active play a day, otherwise they’ll be at risk of weight gain and the many health problems that are associated with that. So take them for a walk, bike ride or to the park for a game of footy.
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Water, water everywhere
While kids usually love anything sweet, they really don’t need sweet drinks to quench their thirst. Sweet drinks can lead to tooth decay, as well as weight gain and growth problems.Sweet drinks aren’t just sugary soft drinks. Cordial, flavoured milks and sport or energy drinks contain sugar. Even fruit juice, which contains naturally occurring sugars, can be unhealthy in large amounts.
Kids really don’t need any sweet drinks to be healthy. Encourage them to drink plenty of water throughout the day. Don’t keep sweet drinks in your house – keep a jug of fresh, cool water in the fridge at home instead, and provide your kids with a water bottle to take to school.
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See your doctor
Everyone needs to see their doctor regularly, even if they’re healthy. Make sure you take your kids for regular health check (including dental check-ups), and always see a doctor if you have any concerns about your kids’ health.Top of Page
