Dads from the Hunter Valley are needed for health promotion program

Freya Lucas

Nov 28, 2018

Save

NSW’s University of Newcastle is calling for 150 fathers with children aged three to five to take part in a healthy lifestyle program, which is being offered in the Hunter Valley region.

A successful pilot of the Healthy Youngsters, Healthy Dads (HYHD) program ran last year, involving 25 participants, with the program supporting various health initiatives running in early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings in NSW centres, such as Munch and Move.

Led by Professor Phil Morgan from the University of Newcastle and the Hunter Medical Research Institute (HMRI), HYHD teaches fathers evidence-based parenting strategies to improve family eating and physical activity behaviours in order to optimise their child’s physical and mental development.

“Preliminary data from the pilot program showed promising results, indicating that both youngsters and dads significantly improved their physical activity and overall diet quality. Notably, the youngsters also improved their emotional wellbeing, while the dads enhanced their parenting practices,” Professor Morgan said.

Professor Morgan signalled for the need for ECEC services to promote this opportunity with families, saying “We really encourage families to get involved because the early childhood stage of life is a critical period when many behaviours are established and the impact of evidence-based parenting can benefit children not only physically, but also in social-emotional domains.”

Over an eight-week period beginning in January, fathers and their children will take part in educational and practical sessions on a Saturday morning that focus on nutrition and rough and tumble play, fundamental movement skills and fun fitness challenges.

Pilot participant and father, Nathan Vincent, said he joined the program to spend more time with his daughter and be a good role model to provide her with the foundations to live a healthy life.

“I’d strongly encourage other families to take part in the program. Charlotte looked forward to it every week and we learnt a lot. She developed excellent sports skills, learnt how to make healthy eating fun and now she eats yellow capsicum! Most importantly, we had a lot of fun,” Mr Vincent said.

Families can register their interest for the 2019 program by visiting www.healthyyoungsters.com.

Don’t miss a thing

Keeping children safe with one simple lesson

Water safety remains at the forefront of national concern, as drowning continues to be the leading cause of accidental death for children aged 0-4.

Ecological identity: a new lens on an age-old practice

The journey to embed ecological identity is a personal one, as identity sits close to one’s heart and is shaped from our own foundational years. For myself, it was founded in warm summer afternoons playing in the rockpools along the beaches in Sydney, discovering the names of all the little creatures that lurked there, including the starfish that suctioned to my curious fingertips.

What Can Australia Learn from Ontario’s Child Care Ratios?

As workforce pressures continue to shape early childhood education and care (ECEC) policy discussions in Australia, international comparisons provide useful perspectives. Canada’s approach, particularly in Ontario, offers a case study in how educator-to-child ratios, maximum group sizes and qualification requirements can be legislated as an integrated framework.

Integrated school and early learning hubs linked to stronger transitions and family engagement

A new evaluation has found that integrating early learning, health and family support services within schools significantly improves access for families and strengthens outcomes for children, adding momentum to calls for expansion of integrated hubs across Victoria.

AERO reports growing uptake of evidence-based practice across schools and ECEC

The Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO) has reported increasing adoption of its evidence-based guidance across Australian schools and early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings, signalling a strengthening national focus on research-informed practice.