“In families with lower socio-economic status (SES), overweight in children is more common than in other parts of the population.” The aim of the project, known as ‘Samen Happie!’, is to prevent this and to help parents provide their children with healthy nutrition and a healthy upbringing.
The project includes an app, a website and group meetings. Samen Happie! has a dual focus: ensuring that parents are comfortable in their role and developing and enforcing healthy parenting practices around eating, drinking, sleeping and screen time. “They learn to enforce such practices even with toddlers in the ‘terrible twos’, or in other stressful situations.”
During the development of the project, they maintained contact with the target group and listened carefully to the reactions. “When we suggested giving water to a child who is thirsty instead of a sweet fizzy drink, some mothers responded by saying that ‘water is for the dog’. They were, however, open to giving their children flavoured tea.”
The ‘if-then’ plan
Larsen and her colleagues, including external PhD candidate Levie Karssen, one of the driving forces behind this project, conducted two studies into the app with group meetings at several day-care centres. The participants included nearly 500 parents, (sixty percent with low SES) of young children.
Samen Happie! now consists of a website plus a free app. The website mainly shares experiences from parents; with the app parents can receive feedback and reminders. In this way parents are invited to create an ‘if-then plan’, in which a certain action is linked to a specific time of day or event. For example: I give my child water with dinner and after breakfast we go for a walk together. Or, if my child whines for sweets when we are shopping, I will not give in. “Don't give in to temptations too quickly,” said one of the advisers. “This also applies to the parents themselves. Or at least don’t give in when your child is present. That way you can set a healthy example.”
Tip: Practice a mindful lifestyle
“For me, mindfulness has really been life-changing. Be where you are and enjoy the moment, for example when you are in nature, when you are having a good conversation or are watching a good film.”
Junilla Larsen (Gouda, 1976) holds a Master’s degree in Psychology (cum laude) from Utrecht University, where she also obtained her PhD (2004). She is an associate professor at Radboud University.
Photo: Kelly Sikkema via Unsplash