The Healthy Lifestyles Team
Babies and toddlers grow and change shape so fast – sometimes it can be difficult to spot when they are gaining weight a little too quickly, and keep up with their changing nutrition and activity needs. The Healthy Lifestyles Team is here to help.
Our team works with babies and young children until their 5th birthday across Nottingham City.
We work with families in their homes to set realistic goals that are tailored to the family and will benefit their child’s health. Together we can:
- Create healthy habits that families can stick by
- Get the whole family active together
- Support healthy, balanced eating habits
Obesity is high on the agenda at present and the rates across the UK are growing. Children who are overweight and obese are more likely to experience bullying, low self-esteem and poor health. Our aim is that children & their families will be eating healthier meals and will be more physically active, therefore reducing the possibility of childhood and adult ill health.
Access the Evaluation Summary here
Read about a family we have worked with: Charmaine’s story
How can we help?
Simple changes can have a big impact on our health. Sometimes it can be challenging to see what these changes might be.
Together we can set simple goals towards changes that works for you and your family.
We can offer advice about:
Our food groups and portion size session covers:
- What a balanced meal and diet should look like depending on you baby’s/child’s age (adapted to your family/cultural needs)
- Portion sizes and ME size meals.
- Good hydration
Helpful resources:
The Eatwell Guide - NHS (don’t worry if the food represented here don’t look like what you eat, we have many adapted version for you to choose from.)
Baby and toddler meal ideas - NHS
In the sugar session we cover:
- The types of sugar found in our food and how to look for them on food labels.
- Different ideas to reduce sugar intake
- How to look after our teeth
- The session is really practical, and we bring examples of the foods you’ve told us is in your diet
Helpful resources
Sugar: the facts - NHS (www.nhs.uk)
How to cut down on sugar in your diet - NHS (www.nhs.uk)
Sugar and your health - British Dietetic Association (BDA)
In the fats and salt session we cover:
- the different types of fats found in food.
- top tips on to how reduce fats linked to health conditions.
- different cooking methods that impact fat content.
- what too much salt can do to our health and tips and information on how to reduce this within our diet.
- The session is really practical, and we bring examples of the foods you’ve told us is in your diet
Helpful resources:
In this session we cover what food labelling is and why we use it. As well as how we use it when shopping and buying products.
The NHS has a food scanner app that you can use to find healthy food alternatives.
Food labels - NHS (www.nhs.uk)
Fussy eating is incredibly hard to define because it can mean something different to each family. Although limited eating can be very stressful as a parent/carer, fussy eating is very common and often part of normal development for children.
What can impact eating?
- Growth rate
- As toddlers grow up they want to gain more independence and one way to do this is to chose what they will and won’t eat. Refusal is a completely normal stage and offering small guided choices through the day can help with this.
- Constipation
- Mealtime environment
- Other shorter term impacts on eating can include teething, feeling unwell, being over tired, being full from milk.
What are we aiming for? Balance and variety
We should try to offer something everyday from the 4 food groups.
It can be easy to fall into the trap of offering bigger portions of food groups children enjoy and this leaves little room in their tummies to try other foods. (Check out our information on the Eatwell guide) It’s important your child has an appetite to try other foods, which may also mean looking at timing of snacks too.
How much should my child be eating? (British Nutrition Foundation) Portion sizes | British Nutrition Foundation |
Food environment is just as important as what we eat….. Aim for Mellow Mealtimes
Sometimes it’s important to take a step back and think about what the mealtime environment is like before we consider what they are eating. The environment plays such an important role in how much they enjoy this time.
Pressure to eat (Child feeding guide) Pressure to eat | Child Feeding Guide |
Should I use food as a reward?
Try to avoid using food as a reward or distraction. Doing this can make sweets and chocolates seem much more appealing than the dinners you are offering. Try to use non food related rewards such as playing their favourite game together or a trip to the park.
Food Play!
Food doesn’t need to be limited to just mealtimes. The more children are exposed to foods the more likely they are to accept them. Get messy and enjoy food without pressure to eat!
Sometimes despite your best effort, your child is still struggling and you might want or need further help. Please contact your GP or the Children’s Public Health 0-19 Nursing Service if:
- You are worried about your child's growth (Your GP or Health Visitor should be able to advise you with this)
- There is a food group that your child eats nothing from
- Suffering from constipation
- Eat less than 20 different foods in total
- Eating non- food items
- You are worried about chewing or swallowing issues
- Your child doesn’t always have enough energy/is tired
- Extreme prolonged anxiety/fear around foods
In this session we cover different types of physical activity, information on why we need to be active and the amount of physical activity we need in a day. As well as give tips and information on where to find different physical activity ideas.
Sleep
In this session we cover why sleeps important for our health and tips on how to get a good nights sleep. We also look at sleep routines and how to create relaxed bedroom environments.
The Lullaby Trust - Safer sleep for babies, Support for families
Screen time
- In this session we cover the importance of not having loads of screen time and ways to cut this down. Also what the health implications are if we have too much.
Recommendations from World Health Organisation (WHO)
- No screen time for children 0-2 years old
- Up to 1 hour of screen time a day for children 2-4 years old
Top tips
- Turn off background TV.
- Limit your child’s access to the TV, iPad/tablet/computer and phone.
- Spend time playing with your child.
- Talk to your child about the world around them.
We work with you to choose the topics that your family will find most helpful.
How to access our service
You will need a referral to receive support from our service. To get a referral, you could:
- Contact your Children’s Health Advice Hub on 0300 300 0040 (Monday to Friday 8.30am to 5pm)
- Talk about a referral to us at your child’s next development review.
- Discuss with your GP.
If you would like to discuss a referral, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Groups sessions
The Children’s Public Health 0-19 Nursing Service offer a range of groups across Nottingham City to support you and your baby’s feeding journey throughout the first year of their lives.
Breastfeeding Support Drop-in Sessions offer:
- help with your own feeding journey
- a place to meet other parents
- support to build your confidence to feed your baby
- Find your nearest group
The First Foods Groups, aimed at 4-6 month olds will help you to learn:
- when to start weaning
- which foods to offer
- how to prepare healthy foods that your baby will enjoy
- how to manage choking
- much more!
The Balancing Milk and Meals Groups, aimed at 7-12 month olds will help you to:
- manage milk intake as part of a balanced diet as your child grows
- move to different textures of foods
- learn about a balanced diet
- take steps towards three meals per day
The Fussy eating groups, aimed at 1-4 year olds will guide you with:
- how to create a positive eating/food environment
- strategies to help if a child is a picky/fussy eater
- when to get further help
To book onto any of the groups ring the Children’s Health Advice Hub on 0300300040