What Is The Active Families Programme?

A health intervention programme aimed at 5 - 18 year olds and their families living within the Dunedin area who are looking for support and guidance towards achieving a healthy balance of regular physical activity and good nutrition.

Who Can Take Part?

Families can be referred to the programme by their GP, paediatrician or practice nurse.  Families can also self-refer to the programme if they feel their health is suffering as a result of inactivity.

How Does The Programme Work?

• Interactive Educational Workshops.  All you need to know to kick start a healthier lifestyle for your family through the right balance of physical activity and nutrition.  Group games and family challenges help to explain the 'how' and 'why' to achieve a healthy lifestyle.

• One-To-One Consultations.  Face-to-face support and encouragement to help you make positive lifestyle changes, through goal setting and family action plans agreed during family meetings.

• Family Activity Sessions.  Physical activity sessions will provide opportunities for families to spend time together trying fun activities that encourage habitual change.  Team building activities will raise your child's confidence and self-esteem with emphasis on positive role modeling for your child's physical and social development.

• Practical Cooking Workshops.  Tips and ideas on healthy, low cost meal and snack options and how to encourage your children to eat more fruit and vegetables.  Cooking demonstrations and hands-on cooking experience for all the family to try.

Why Is Physical Activity And Nutrition So Important?

We are all designed to run and move around but over time with advances in modern technology this primary function has become redundant dues to cars, lifts, escalators and the internet.  People are becoming more and more sedentary and as a result our body is finding it harder to burn all the food we ingest.

Physical activity is important for a child's social, physical and emotional development.

For children physical activity is an essential building block.

Active play helps children to make sense of the world around them, through exploration and problem solving.

Through play they develop the social skills needed for adulthood, they learn how to communicate and play with others.  They master practical skills, gain in strength, flexibility and endurance and develop self-confidence and self-esteem.

Physical activity can be the bridge to strengthen family relationships and ensures quality family time.

For further information on Active Families and how your family can get involved contact Kimberley King on 03 474 6416 or click This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Active Families Holiday Challenge

Are you looking for something different to do these holidays?  Mum and Dad, do you want a good way to get the kids out of the house and being active?  Try the Active Families Holiday Challenge!  Just have a go at the six different challenges and send us photos of you giving them a go and you're in the draw to win a great Push Play prizes.  Click here for the entry form.

Active Families Articles

You can read Kims' articles about Active Families from our ACTiVATE magazine by clicking on these links.  (Note: these files are about 2 - 4mb and may take a couple of minutes to load on a slow internet connection.)

Autumn 2010

Summer 2010

Active Families Success Story

The Lloyd family joined the Active Families Programme in February this year with the hopes of changing their lifestyle for the better. Mitchell initially preferred to watch TV and play computer games than be physical active.

However, Mitchell’s competitive streak shone through during a family challenge back in December last year when he won the Jacobs Ladder challenge. Recognising the enjoyment Mitchell felt for the challenge his parents Fiona and Kelvin committed to the 2010 Active Families Programme and the setting of future challenges such as the Rail Trail bike challenge, weekly swims and walks. These goals were achieved and have since been improved on and now Mitchell bikes to and from school twice a week in addition to the weekly programme activities and home based trampolining.

Before starting the Active Families Programme Fiona struggled to get Mitchell to eat fruit and vegetables and was looking for advice and ideas to introduce more vegetables to evening meals. Mitchell entered the programme eating only corn, potatoes and carrots. Over time he has branched out and tried a wide range of vegetables such as peppers, zucchini, peas and broccoli. Fiona started by cutting up new vegetables into small pieces and adding them to mince in fajitas. Now Mitchell chooses new vegetables himself on family food shops and tries a new vegetable each week enhancing his taste buds and opening up a variety of potential meal options for him.

When asked about the benefits of the programme to their family, Fiona said:

“We have all learned something about both healthy eating and the need to get out and exercise as a family.  Mitch is open to trying a lot more varieties of food and his acceptance of different forms of exercise is also much better.  The challenge for us all is to keep it up, not as individuals but as a family.”

The Lloyd family has shown real commitment to the Active Families Programme by taking on the advice and feedback of the programme coordinator and through a near 100% attendance rate at programme workshops and sessions. Through self-reflection and dedication to positive change this family is now well on it’s way to being a role model Active Family!