Staying healthy for school children

Your child’s health and development

Healthy eating and being active

Healthy eating and being active is important for your child’s good health, growth, development and mental health. Teaching your child to make good food choices now also makes them more likely to make healthy choices as they get older.

Find out about healthy eating for children on the Health Direct website.

Children over 5 and young people should be active for at least 60 minutes a day. This could be walking, riding a bike or scooter, playing, running or sport. You can also build physical activity into your child’s day by walking to school or the bus.

Find out more about physical activity and exercise guidelines for children and young people on the Department of Health and Aged Care website.

Smoking around children

Children exposed to second hand smoke have a greater risk of serious health and developmental problems. You can reduce your child’s exposure to second hand smoke by quitting smoking, or by making your house and car smoke free areas.

Find out more about smoking and tobacco and children on the Department of Health and Aged Care website.

Concerns about your child’s development

If you’re concerned about your child’s development, talk to your child’s doctor, educator or child health nurse. If they agree there is a concern, you can seek help through the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

NDIS early childhood partners can work with you and connect you to supports if:

• your child is younger than 6 with developmental delay
• your child is younger than 9 with disability.

Children younger than 6 don’t need a diagnosis to get support.

If your child is older than 9 with disability, the NDIS can support you through their local area coordination partners.

Early childhood and local area coordination partners can:

• provide information
• connect you to services and supports in your community
• connect you with other families
• help you apply for the NDIS.

Find out more on the NDIS website about:

• the early childhood approach if your child is younger than 9
• local area coordination partners if your child is older than 9.

Your child’s health information

You can use your child’s My Health Record to keep track of their health information.

You, and your chosen health care providers, can record things like your child’s allergies and medicines. My Health Record keeps your child’s health information secure and can be accessed at any time.

Find out more about My Health Record for children on the Digital Health website.

Helping your child if they’re being bullied

If your child is being bullied, you can work with their school to stop further bullying. 

Tips for working with the school:

• Make a time to speak privately with the teacher.
• Write notes based on what your child has told you, so you can be clear about what happened. If it involves cyberbullying, take screenshots of the social media posts or messages.
• Ask what steps will be taken to prevent further bullying.
• Ask if there are any at home strategies they recommend.
• Understand that the school needs time to investigate the situation.
• Keep a record of when you contacted the school, who you spoke with and how it will be managed.
• Stay in touch with the teacher and let them know if the bullying continues, or if something new happens.

Find out more about responding to bullying on the Bullying No Way website.