Pre-schools to be Health Promotors

by Carol Aloysius

Pre-schools island wide are to be made 'Health Promoting Schools' according to a new concept by the Health Ministry.

"The aim is to create a healthy future generation. The ultimate beneficiary will be the pre-school child," Deputy Director Health Education Bureau, Dr RDFC Kanthi told the Sunday Observer. "We will be working closely with parents and school teachers to achieve our goal of converting every single pre-school in the country as Health Promotors".

Activities included in the program include a wide ranging field of health related subjects such as: personal hygiene, the importance of oral care, correct hand washing techniques, regular exercises and healthy eating habits." We expect teachers to inculcate these good habits in the pre-schoolers attending their schools", she said...

The Health Ministry has also developed a five-day diet sheet for children attending state run pre-schools, in consultation with their parents.

"According to this time table, children in pre-schools will be served home cooked meals containing local grains instead of oily, starchy foods such as rolls etc. The food they bring to school from home will be according to the child's taste and hygienically prepared", Dr Kanthi said." We are also developing a video to motivate parents and to be used as training material".