Empowering parents to nurture healthy, active kids in the digital age

We thank Mr Timothy Wong Shen-Jin for his feedback (“Go beyond screen-use guidelines to improve children’s holistic health, 23 Jan”).

We recognise the challenges of parenting in the digital age, and are committed to supporting parents to build healthy habits in children that will continue through to adulthood. The Guidance on Screen Use is part of Grow Well SG, a larger effort to raise awareness, empower families and build a supportive environment for early intervention, in key areas of nutrition, sleep and exercise and digital device usage.

Parents will be supported with resources to improve their children’s holistic health and well-being. For example, personalised Health Plans, starting with children in Primary 1 to 3, will help families and children be more aware of healthier behaviours. The Plan also includes actionable steps for building healthy habits.

These resources complement support measures and ongoing efforts to promote holistic health in schools, such as the conduct of regular Physical Education lessons and encouraging more physical activity beyond lessons. Outside school, we encourage parents to tap the Health Promotion Board’s Healthy 365 app and participate in healthy lifestyle programmes together with their children.

Parents can access the Parenting for Wellness website for personalised tips and strategies to build strong parent-child relationships, and strengthen their children’s mental well-being. They can also tap the resources on Parent Hub and the Families for Life parenting portal for tips on managing their children’s screen time and other habits.

At the same time, the Ministry of Education will work with Parent Support Groups to extend support within parent communities in schools. The Ministry of Social and Family Development will also work with the Families for Life Council and social service agencies to share parenting resources and tips on honing healthy habits through various online and offline platforms.

It takes a whole-of-society effort to create supportive environments where our children can thrive and sustain healthy living habits. Through these initiatives and the Guidance on Screen Use, we hope to empower parents to take small, gradual steps in nurturing healthy and active children, who can use technology responsibly and purposefully.

Mrs Tan Chen Kee
Deputy Director-General of Education (Schools) and Director of Schools
Ministry of Education

Dr Ho Kaiwei
Deputy Secretary (Services)
Ministry of Health

Ms Ong Ai Hua
Deputy Secretary (Family & Society)
Ministry of Social and Family Development