Children and Young peoples Plan - Be Healthy

Making York the best place where children and young people can grow up.

	Below are the key messages that came out of the consultation around the theme of being healthy. If you want to know more about what people told us you can download a longer summary for the 'be healthy' section.

Key Messages

Support sexual health:

There is a need to:

• Have more strategic joining up around agendas to prevent teenage pregnancies
• Equip all parents with skills and knowledge for sex and relationship education of their own children – targeting the more vulnerable and disadvantaged.
• Better support for young people to prevent teen pregnancy through advice and education (including boys)
• Better ongoing support to young parents

Healthy weight:

This is about both under weight and over weight and starting before birth (e.g. breast feeding and the awareness of its benefits).

There is a need for some education of what is healthy weight and awareness of the influences in society which can impact on healthy weight, for example, fat content in food, prevalence and marketing of high calorie foods, links to transport policy, work/life balance etc). There is a need to target here as obesity affects disadvantaged groups the most. Can exercise be more accessible?

Alcohol Use:

There was general concern about alcohol use.

Parent awareness is important – awareness of the dangers and signs of overuse, dangerous situations young people can get into when they are drinking and the practice of clubbing together for alcohol.

Evidence is showing that not all young people are drinking more but those that do, drink more heavily. Peer pressure is an important driver. Adult role modelling is important.

Concern about young people drinking heavily in public as they can be vulnerable to negative outcomes.

Emotional health

Need good universal and high level interventions in place to support emotional health and well-being. Ensure a continuum across all ages and levels of need by plugging gaps in between. Include support for parents, siblings and wider family. Improve all practitioners’ confidence in addressing emotional health and well-being of children and young people at an early stage.

Adult parent responses emphasise the stress on young people - and the need to be aware of - work/life balance for young people. Family stresses can have significant impact and there are signs young people stress about the future.
SEAL (Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning) is being introduced in schools but can there be better home-school links so that parents are aware of the social/emotional aspects of SEAL programme and young people can extend/practise their learning at home.

General Health

Playing in the natural environment improves children’s social, mental and physical development.