As part of the research, JOGG spoke with parents across the country. What did they find? By far the majority of parents experience positive changes as a result of the JOGG approach. JOGG makes the greatest difference in the school environment. Examples include free fruit and vegetables, a water-drinking policy and additional opportunities for physical activity. Parents greatly appreciate these initiatives. This gives children the opportunity to become familiar with healthy choices that are less self-evident at home. Parents say, for example, that their children ask for snack tomatoes at home because they tasted them at school. Dinner is also less of a struggle because the children have already eaten vegetables during the day.
Parents sometimes feel powerless
What parents clearly indicate is that they want a healthier living environment, but cannot achieve this on their own. Raising children in a healthy way does not happen only at the kitchen table, but also at school, at sports clubs, in the neighbourhood and through the everyday options available to them. Parents say they sometimes feel powerless in the face of environments that actually encourage unhealthy behaviour.
Many parents advocate an approach that is not patronising, but supportive. They emphasise that a good balance between healthy and unhealthy choices is important. The aim is for healthy choices to become the obvious choice, not an obligation. They notice that children choose fruit more quickly when it is simply clearly visible and attractively presented.
Where do parents see further opportunities?
Although schools are often praised for their visible and positive efforts to create a healthier living environment, the sports environment is lagging behind. Parents often describe sports club cafeterias and swimming pools as ‘unhealthy territory’.
Parents also feel that sports clubs lack healthy options. One mother said that her daughter is somewhat heavier, but that it is difficult to give her a banana when the other children around her are eating only sweets. Particularly in places that contribute to a healthy lifestyle, parents expect healthier choices to receive better support.
JOGG will continue to work towards this – together with municipalities, schools, sports clubs and parents themselves. Because helping children grow up healthy is not something you can do alone.
Read here the full study on what parents think of their children’s living environment and the impact of JOGG.