Healthy Eating Project

CHILD MOVEMENT AND HEALTHY EATING PROJECT

The SAQ® Child Movement and Healthy Eating Project provides the opportunity for parents to engage their children in a range of Fundamental Movement Activities at the same time as reinforcing Healthy Eating messages. It improves children's chances of achieving success at home and helps prepare them for school!

Movement in children develops from generic movement patterns to increasingly specific and specialised actions. (Bailey and Macfadyen 2000).Between the ages of 2 and 7 children lay down the foundations needed to acquire and refine the basic skills of stability, locomotion and manipulation, upon which later abilities such as sporting skills are built.

THE PROJECT

The key to sustainability is ensuring all relevant agencies servicing targeted families, understand basic principles, undergo accessible training and are involved in networking observations and impact. Key staff were identified at the three Children's Centres, Family Outreach Workers (FOWS) and teachers in two local Primary Schools (this also creating continuity of message as children come of school age)

The training model involves council staff attending a one day SAQ® Fundamemtal Movement Award including working through the Parent Resource Programme. The Centre Activity Staff also receive a combined training day covering all the relevant content.

The 'Parent Pack' consists of an easy to use Resource Book, and includes Healthy Eating Games centered on the use of 20 'Good Food' Cards and 6 'Have Less' Food Cards, along with the British Heart Foundation Five A Day Adventure sticker chart. Within the resource an exemplar programme is detailed together with a child diary and reward smiley stickers to assist motivation. A dvd shows all the activities performed by a local mother and her 5 year old daughter in the home. The 8 piece SAQ® Equipment Pack and kit bag supports the activities, and completes a really comprehensive resource package.

The main target given to parents is to run the programme with their child for twelve weeks with the opportunity to continue the work indefinitely as their child grows and develops. In most instances it is likely that siblings will also be engaged through the programme.

DOES IT WORK?

"I am playing together with my son. I used to watch him but now we do things together. My son (age 3) has even set up an activity for me to do".

(Single father.)

"Being able to use the spots and other equipment saved my birthday party. I had 17 round and we played all sorts of games and made a circuit". (Mother of of 2)

"We are doing something everyday with our son. He gets out of breath, but we can see that it is doing him some good. Its nice to do something as a family together"

(Mother of boy at risk from obesity and with a knee problem)

"Learning to throw and teach my children has even helped my own darts play. After practicing with the Grab Ball last week I won my very first darts match"!

(Mother of 3)

"The Movement and Healthy Eating Programme has proven an incredible success with our targeted families at risk. Not only has behaviour and healthy eating improved but the interaction between children and parents has become stronger and their awareness of the importance of healthy eating and physical activity to future health benefits has increased dramatically."

Ronan Browne, Locality Partnership Co-ordinator, Melton Mowbray Leicestershire.