Healthy Youngsters, Healthy Dads

Healthy Youngsters, Healthy Dads (HYHD) is an evidenced-based program which improves the healthy lifestyle behaviours of fathers and their pre-school aged children. HYHD provides fathers with the knowledge, motivation and parenting strategies to engage with their children and become role models to improve physical activity levels, dietary behaviours and overall health of both themselves and their children.

The program involves 8 weekly 75 minute sessions. The HYHD sessions are broken up into two sections:

1. A 20-minute education session on the weekly theme (e.g. rough and tumble play, fruit, vegetables, sport skills, screen time etc.)
2. A fun and active 55-minute practical session, focusing on sports skills (e.g. throwing, catching, kicking), rough & tumble play and fun fitness activities.

Fathers also attend 2 x 2-hour ‘dads-only’ information workshops. These workshops teach the fathers evidence-based parenting skills to optimise their child’s physical activity, dietary behaviours and social-emotional wellbeing.