Healthy Start @ Home Archives

Pleasure and benefits of gardening with children

June 25, 2019June 24, 2019

Summer is here and gardens everywhere are growing. If you have a garden, getting children involved in its maintenance is a great way to get them physically active while developing their interest in vegetables and fruits. Here are some benefits of gardening with your children: Gardening is great physical activity! Digging, planting, spreading compost or …

How to be active in the rain

May 10, 2019June 5, 2018

Just because it’s raining doesn’t mean you have to stay indoors. Here are some ways on how the whole family can be active outside on rainy days:

How to nurture a Healthy start with active play!

December 27, 2019May 14, 2018

Physical literacy is the ability and confidence to move and participate in physical activity in a variety of environments. It is an important part of a child’s development that can be overlooked due to their young age. It is never too early to start age-appropriate physical activity movements that can strengthen a child’s ability to be active.

How to eat more whole grains at home

December 27, 2019March 16, 2018

Do you think your child eats the recommended amount of whole grains
every day? Canadian guidelines recommend that half of the grain products we eat in a day
should be whole grains. Here are some ways to gradually increase whole grains in the diet.

Cooking and Learning with Children

December 27, 2019March 1, 2018

Cooking is a wonderful learning opportunity for children. Don’t be afraid to invite children in the kitchen to help you. Whether it’s at home, at the childcare centre or in the classroom, children have so much to gain from preparing meals and snacks.. Encouraging children to help you in the kitchen will increase their knowledge and curiosity in several areas.

Make this year’s holiday celebration active!

May 10, 2019January 26, 2018

Looking for ways to spice up family celebrations this holiday season? Why not add some physical activity! Gather all of your family members and go caroling throughout the neighborhood, go skating or tobogganing or even go on a
nature scavenger hunt.

Active games for your Halloween party

December 27, 2019January 26, 2018

Need some ideas on how to keep the kids active during your Halloween party? Check out these great ideas from Active for Life:

Engaging parents in health and wellness – what are some proven practices we can learn from?

May 10, 2019April 25, 2017

Healthy Start / Départ Santé will be collaborating with an organization based in Kelowna called The Bridge and delivering the Healthy Together program. Healthy Together was designed primarily for children and youth in care (0-18y) and their families. It has been piloted with children and youth in care (0-18y), aboriginal youth (13-18y) and the general population of children (0-6y) and their families. This program is being implemented with diverse population groups and is working to extend its experience and create adaptations for other populations as well. More info – Healthy Together Program Brochure

A new phase of parent participation

May 10, 2019February 21, 2017

We know parent engagement parent, involvement, parent contribution – are all important concepts in promoting health and wellness of young children. Healthy Start made no exception in developing its evidenced based programming for early learning settings, by including a parent awareness component.

Picky Eaters

December 27, 2019November 15, 2016

Does your child refuse to eat at mealtime or reject certain foods? It’s important to know that children’s tastes can change considerably, even from day to day. However, children should not be forced to eat foods and food should not be used as a reward. Ellyn Satter, a nutritionist specialising in the division of responsibility in feeding, believes quite the opposite, emphasizing that you must be persistent and serve a food often to children so that they can get used to it. Children should be allowed to look at food and touch it, and taste it only when they feel they are ready to do so. The most important thing is to give children the freedom to choose what they eat. She says that children need to be exposed to a food many times before they accept it.

The Perfect Packed Lunch

December 27, 2019September 7, 2016

Fall is just around the corner and September means back-to-school. Here are a few tricks and ideas to help you prepare lunches for your young child:

Sun safety tips

December 19, 2018June 22, 2016

Summer offers many opportunities for children to go outside and play. However, it’s important to remember the risks of playing out in the sun.