Health for kids is an interactive website designed to engage children with various health issues. It is split into four sections, Staying healthy, Illness, Feelings and Getting Help. Each section is a set of chapters in its theme.
There are several ways of approaching the site: Spin the wheel on the homepage and go to pages that interest you from this, go to each world and work through the topics, or click on the navigation bar at the top of the homepage to see what topics are covered in each world. Friendly characters help children along the way
Staying Healthy covers:
- Jungle Boogie which asks children to dance along with a video of Zumba for kids to exercise and have fun
- Stopping Flu
- Washing hands
- Sneezing, coughs and colds
- Alcohol
- Be smart in the sun
- Having a blood test
- The way to go
- Looking after my teeth
- Moving about
- Why you should avoid smoking
- As I grow
- Sleep
- Eating healthily
Most of these have riddles at the end of the information shared.
Illness covers many issues that children may want to read about and understand but may be too embarrassed to ask about:
- Poop Shooter – where a monster eats the planet and needs a little help digesting it!
- Asthma
- Diabetes
- Problems with wee
- Headlice
- Allergies
- Living with an allergy
- Being sick
- Problems with poo
- Flu
- Migraine
Feelings may be a useful section to call on to deal with specific issues such as bullying or a death.
It covers:
- Feelings activity sheet
- Bullying
- When someone dies
- Lanterns (a nice idea, in this game children choose a paper, write their feelings and watch it float away)
- Feeling worried or anxious
- Feeling okay about myself
- When things change
Getting Help looks at:
- Knight nurse – a game where children guess the right answer, get it wrong and start again!!
- Who should I call for medical help
- My school nurse
- The doctor
“Health for Kids introduces a new and different way for primary school children to learn about their health.
All the content has been produced by our health experts, often re-written from other trusted NHS information such as NHS Choices. The website is primarily a health promotion website, covering subjects that promote a healthy body and mind. It is not about managing serious illnesses for which more specialist websites already exist.”(Health for Kids)
The site was created for primary school children, including parents and carers, by the Leicestershire Partnership Trust, Hertfordshire Community Trust and Coventry School Nursing with Diva Creative.