Grandparents key to nurturing a culture of health and well-being for a brighter future
HPB empowers seniors to inculcate healthy lifestyle practices
Singapore, 1 December 2012: One of the most important relationships in our formative years is that between a grandparent and grandchild. HPB is working to enhance the health literacy of our seniors and equip them with the necessary skill set to take care of their personal health and serve as positive role models inspiring their grandchildren to develop healthy lifestyle habits from young.
2. Grandparents often take on the role of caregiver to their young grandchildren. 35% of seniors over the age of 55 look after their grand children on a regular basis. One in four households with children under the age of 12 relies on grandparents as the main caregiver.
3. To help grandparents inculcate healthy lifestyle practices in their grand children, HPB has today empowered seniors to be healthier and to serve as role models for their grandchildren with the support of the Nee Soon Central constituency.
4. As part of the programme, seniors will be empowered to take care of themselves through various interactive workshops such as the Wellness Circuit and Healthy Eating, Oral Health and Mental Wellbeing. At the same time, they will learn how to nurture the health of their grandchildren through a series of workshops that will provide them with the knowledge and skills to help their grandchildren lead a healthier lifestyle, specifically:
o how to prevent childhood injury
o how to inculcate good mental health behaviours in young children
o importance of eating healthily and that healthier food can be tasty
5. Said Associate Professor Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Health and Transport, “This collaboration between the Health Promotion Board and the Nee Soon Central grassroots organisations marks the first step in bringing healthy living to the residents here. By involving the seniors, raising their health literacy and empowering them to also serve as role models for their grandchildren and children, we have planted the seeds of a pro-health social movement in the community. This will in turn, help to inspire and encourage everyone to stay healthy together.”
6. Said Ang Hak Seng, CEO, Health Promotion Board “Healthy lifestyles need to be inculcated and nurtured from young. More than a third of grandparents are involved in the care of their grandchildren. They are therefore well positioned to shape healthy habits among the young. It is therefore very important to help our seniors understand how they can maintain good health for themselves through our health literacy activities and at the same time, empower them to become healthy role models for their grandchildren, so that together, as a family, they can enjoy good health.”
7. Following on from today’s event, Nee Soon Central will be partnering with HPB to organise a series of follow-up workshops that will cover:
o Nutrition
o Infectious disease prevention
o Childhood injury prevention
o Communicating with children
Issued by Health Promotion Board