Kaveri and her husband have always valued a healthy lifestyle and tried their best to set an example for their children. But like many parents, they found it challenging to get their kids fully on board. Her daughter, Ayana struggled with staying active, eating on time, and getting enough sleep—especially on weekends when routines were more relaxed.

When Ayana was given a personalised health plan from the school, Kaveri noticed changes in her child. Ayana started to take the initiative. Kaveri no longer has to prompt Ayana to be active, to eat her meals on time and sleep on time. Instead, Ayana began making her own plans on Physical activity, telling her parents what she wanted to do and how long she wanted to exercise and when she is planning on doing it. She is now exercising 4-5 times a week instead of 2-3 times previously. She also became much more mindful of her meals, planning her eating times more carefully and including vegetables and fruits in her meals. She also makes sure she got sufficient sleep by going to bed earlier – especially on the weekends, where previously she stayed up late.

Interestingly, Ayana’s journey didn’t stop with her. Her older brother, a Primary 5 student, was inspired by Ayana’s commitment and began adopting healthier habits too such as sleep early on the weekend. Before long, the entire family found themselves more aligned in making healthier lifestyle choices together. What started as a health plan for Ayana had a ripple effect, transforming the family dynamic and bringing everyone closer in their shared commitment to healthier living.

Before receiving the Child Health Plan, Mr Wong had already been encouraging Cara to lead a healthy lifestyle. Cara stayed active through her Aikido classes and daily 2.4km walks. As a family, they cooked most of their meals at home, and Cara regularly ate fruits and vegetables.

However, snacking was one area where Cara struggled. She enjoyed eating potato chips, often late at night, as she can’t go to bed feeling hungry. Mr Wong found it difficult to control her snacking habits. He didn’t want to deprive her or risk her going to bed hungry, and he also couldn’t always monitor what she ate at school, where friends often influenced her choices.

When Cara received her Health Plan, she set goals to exercise for two hours daily, eat two portions of fruits and vegetables, and avoid snacking. For Mr Wong, these goals weren’t surprising, as Cara was already maintaining a relatively healthy lifestyle. As a result, the family didn’t need to make much major change, but the plan served as a good reminder to stay consistent.

Mr Wong and his wife continued to support Cara by going on family walks together and encouraging her to play outside at parks and playgrounds with her friends to meet her health goals of exercising 2 hours daily. Mr Wong also encourages Cara to consume healthier snacks such as yoghurt and low-fat milk when she feels hungry at night. He observed Cara becoming more mindful about her overall lifestyle habits overtime and is now opting for healthier snacks such as dark chocolate, unsweetened greek yoghurt and cashew nuts.

Mr Wong hopes that Cara will one day become more intrinsically motivated to sustain her healthy behaviors. While he feels the Child Health Plan is a good guide for both children and parents, he acknowledged that its success depends on the child’s openness to change and the parents’ role in providing consistent reminders and support.