Children and young people across Warwickshire are being encouraged to embrace healthy habits from an early age that will benefit them throughout their lives
Throughout June, Warwickshire County Council is putting a focus on providing support, tips, and resources to help everyone bring healthier choices into their daily routines. Living a healthy and balanced lifestyle improves overall well-being, enhances quality of life and increases life expectancy.
For good childhood development and wellbeing, healthy eating habits should start from an early age. By fostering a positive relationship with nutritious foods, children can grow up with a solid foundation of healthy eating practices.
Learning starts from birth so it’s important for families to create a healthy learning environment for a child to grow and develop. Whatever a child learns during the first years of their life will have a lasting effect on them and introducing them to lots of different food and offering a balanced diet of regular meals will give a healthy start in life. A good diet coupled with lots of opportunities to be active as early as possible can keep mind and body working well and reduce the risk of obesity.
The Warwickshire County Council webpage, www.warwickshire.gov.uk/children-families/healthy-habits offers a comprehensive range of information, including useful tips, and practical advice for incorporating healthy food choices and keeping active into daily routines.
Within the website's dedicated section on healthy eating, www.warwickshire.gov.uk/healthyeating older children and young people can access resources such as meal planning guides, understanding food labels, and tips for increasing fruit and vegetable intake. By utilising these resources, young people and their families can gain a better understanding of the components of a healthy and balanced diet.
School aged children are offered nutritious balanced meals at Warwickshire’s schools with lots of choice on offer and dietary requirements catered for. This is a convenient option for parents and is available at no cost for children up to Year 2 and those on lower incomes who may be eligible for free school meals. A healthy and balanced meal plays a crucial role in improving children's concentration at school. People can find out if they can claim free meals for their child at school at www.warwickshire.gov.uk/fsm.
Warwickshire County Councillor Sue Markham, Portfolio Holder for Children’s Services, said, "We are committed to promoting healthy habits and empowering residents to make informed food choices. By providing resources and information, we hope to inspire families to prioritise healthy eating and cultivate lifelong habits.
“We encourage all our residents, parents/ carers, young people to explore the available resources and take steps towards adopting a balanced diet for themselves and their families. By prioritising healthy eating habits, individuals can enhance their overall well-being and contribute to the positive health outcomes of future generations.”
For regular news and information for families sign up for the Family Information Service (FIS) newsletter. This month's special edition is dedicated to providing comprehensive details about free school meals and the support available.
The Family Information Service is available 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday. Residents can phone FIS for free on 0800 408 1558, email fis@warwickshire.gov.uk, get in touch on Facebook or Twitter or visit www.warwickshire.gov.uk/childrenandfamilies