Australian children help prepare meals at home

New research released by Medibank, the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation’s Principal Partner, shows that more than half of primary school–aged children are currently helping their parents prepare a meal.

According to the Medibank survey, Australian parents think it’s beneficial for children to help prepare meals at home: almost three in four parents believe it provides them with an opportunity to bond, and four in five parents see cooking with their kids as an effective way to expose their children to healthy eating.

In partnership with the Foundation, Medibank has launched the Healthy Kids interactive online platform to encourage Australian families to grow, harvest, prepare and share meals together by providing them with recipes and garden activities.

Founder of the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation, Stephanie Alexander, believes access to the pleasurable food education philosophy through this online platform will help more children form positive food habits from a young age.

“By making small changes such as simply spending more time preparing and eating fresh meals together as a family, parents can help kick-start good habits and switch mindsets about healthy eating among their young ones,” Stephanie said.

Medibank Clinical Director Dr Sue Abhary said, “We know there’s still work to be done to ensure we’re instilling good eating habits in our children. With one in four Australian children overweight or obese[1], it’s clear that schools, parents and communities need to join together to improve the health outcomes of our children.”

“We know it can be difficult juggling the demands of family and work, and the new Healthy Kids site makes it easy to access simple, healthy recipes that are suitable for families to prepare together.

“At Medibank, we are supporting community initiatives that are educating children about healthy, active habits to address the growing issue of childhood obesity and help lay the foundations of a healthy, active life. By partnering with the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation, we aim to work together to grow healthy kids and work to improve the health of the next generation,” Dr Abhary said.

Visit www.medibank.com.au/healthykids for more information.