Australian Government Scheme to keep kids healthy

Childcare staff will examine children’s lunchboxes to ensure the contents are healthy, under new federal guidelines.

As part of a $4.5 million war on obesity, parents will be discouraged from including unhealthy sweets or processed savoury snacks.

Draft guidelines suggest children and staff should discuss the contents of lunchboxes during mealtimes. Staff are also being advised to support and encourage parents to provide items from basic food groups in snack and lunch boxes, and will “work with parents and families to support and encourage healthy eating for children”, the guidelines suggest.

Parents will also be educated by staff about limiting unhealthy “sometimes” foods and the problems associated with using food as rewards or punishments. The guidelines also suggests birthday cakes can be replaced with birthday badges or hats, and desserts by healthy treats.

But it will be left to individual centres and schools to make their own rules.

The “healthy eating and physical activity guidelines for early childhood” also suggest parents are given lessons by kinder and childcare staff on the evils of TV and computer use – dubbed “non-productive sedentary behaviour” – in the home.

The guidelines note that many children’s screen time is excessive. The first uniform national rules of their kind, the guidelines were prepared by the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne and are expected to be introduced on July 1st.

They were welcomed by Julie Gale, director of lobby group Kids Free 2B Kids. “The more educated we are, the better choices we will make for our kids,” she said. “As a parent, I think it’s great to help everyone be on the same healthy page.”

But Sophie Mirabella, federal opposition spokeswoman on early childhood development, said it was up to parents to decide how to raise their kids; “We should target kids at risk rather than everyone,” she said. “Let’s assume that the vast majority of parents can do their job.”

The Department of Health and Ageing said the guidelines were part of a $4.5 million, five-year Government initiative.

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