MBS Primary Care Items

Get Set 4 Life Fact Sheet

This fact sheet provides details about the Australian Government’s Get Set 4 Life – habits for healthy kids guide.

PDF printable version of Get Set 4 Life – habits for healthy kids guide - Fact Sheet (PDF 127 KB)
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The Get Set 4 Life – habits for healthy kids Guide is to be provided to parents/carers as part of the Healthy Kids Check for Australian children at four years of age.

The Get Set 4 Life – habits for healthy kids Guide was developed by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) for the Australian Government. The Guide provides practical information on key areas of health and development such as: healthy eating, regular exercise, speech and language, oral health, skin and sun protection, hygiene and sleep patterns.

A wide range of stakeholders were invited to participate in the development of the content of the Guide including but not limited to, the Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and Recreation, Dietitians Association of Australia, Raising Children’s Network and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. The Guide has also been tested with General Practitioners, Practice Nurses and parents/carers of 4 year old children to ensure that the topics, information, language and tone of the Guide are appropriate.

The Get Set 4 Life – habits for healthy kids Guide has been developed as an interactive guide that provides practical information to assist parents/carers to interact with their child in developing healthy habits. Combined with practical information for parents/carers and animated illustrations which children can relate to, this guide has been designed to support parents/carers in their child’s development and to reinforce the importance of establishing healthy life habits. A list of useful resources for parents/carers to obtain further information regarding the health and development of their children is provided at the back of the Guide.

Together the Healthy Kids Check and the Get Set 4 Life Guide will help ensure that children are healthy and ready to learn when they start school and that their parents/carers have a resource that will assist them in helping their children develop healthy habits for life.

General Practitioners, practice nurses and registered Aboriginal health workers are ideally placed to support parents and carers through the provision of practical information and advice at the time of the Healthy Kids Check to assist them in caring for their four-year old children’s health and wellbeing.

The Guide is not intended to cause concern or prompt parents/carers to make their own diagnosis of potential clinical symptoms. Rather, the aim of the Guide is to help parents/carers get a better sense of what they would expect in a four year old child and to encourage them to consult with their General Practitioner if they have any concerns with their child’s health and or development.
Further InformationGet Set 4 Life – habits for healthy kids Guides
Additional helpful links:Raising Children Network: The Australian Parenting Website
Healthy Active Australia: The site provides access to practical information for families, parents, teenagers, children and their carers