Healthy eating
Helping your children to eat well
Find out about healthy eating for children, five fruit and veg a day, healthy meal recipes, eating well for less, free food and diet and nutrition services.
It can be tricky to get children to eat well. Adverts for sugary and processed foods surround us and we see such mixed messages in the media about healthy food, it can be hard to know what 'healthy' actually means.
The following resources can help you understand what is in the food you buy for your kids, ways to get them to eat more healthy foods, and where to get more help for you and your family if you need it.
The NHS provides online resources for families to help their children start healthy and stay healthy:
- Start4Life provides help and advice during pregnancy, birth and the early years of parenthood
- Change4Life provides help and advice for parents, to help your kids stay healthy
Facts about what’s in your food
Find out about sugar, fat and salt in food and get tips on healthy snacks and drinks.
Is your child getting their 5 a day fruit and vegetable servings?
Some kids eat more than twice as much sugar daily than is healthy for them. Find out how to make healthy choices to reduce the amount of sugar your kids have in their food and drink.
Find out more about what is in the food and drink that you buy using Change4Life’s food scanner app. Please note that this will tell you how much is in the entire packet or jar of food, not portion size.
Meal ideas for the family
Get recipe ideas for healthy meals for your family.
Change4Life’s Smart Recipes app
The free Smart Recipe app from Change4Life has quick and tasty meal ideas that even the fussiest eaters will enjoy.
Eat well for less money
Healthy eating doesn’t have to be expensive. See some tips on eating well for less.
Apps like Olio show people who are giving away food (which you can then collect). You can download the Olio app to find out about free surplus food locally.
Free healthy food: Healthy Start
Find out about the national scheme for families to get free healthy food.
Free school meals
Find out if your child is eligible for free school meals
Get support on accessing free or low-cost food.
Children and family centres
Southwark’s children and family centres provide a range of support to families to help them live well, including:
- recipes on a budget
- positive mealtimes
- cook and eat classes and more
Specialist nutrition and dietetic support
The nutrition and dietetics service in Southwark provides support to families of children with a wide range of weight and eating conditions.
Your GP can refer you to the nutrition and dietetics service, which will help you to improve your child’s nutrition.
Alive ‘N’ Kicking
Alive ‘N’ Kicking is a free 12-week course that helps whole families to make healthier choices around food and exercise. The course will help you make small, easy changes to lose weight and improve your health, through increasing physical activity and eating more healthily.
Alive ‘N’ Kicking is for children (4 to 17 years) and their families that live in Southwark, who are overweight or obese. If you think this is you, call the team on 0333 005 0095.
Page last updated: 09 July 2024
