Visit our infant feeding page for information and advice for children under 2, including:
- breastfeeding support
- responsive bottle feeding
- free vitamins
- oral health
Healthy lifestyles for children and families
Healthy living can give you and your children more energy, improve mental health and increase self-confidence. We can support you and your family to live a healthy lifestyle, including advice on healthy eating and a range of sport and exercise activities to enjoy.
On this page you will find advice and resources on:
Healthy eating
The NHS recommends eating a balanced diet, with a wide variety of foods in the right amounts.
You can use the NHS Eat Well Guide to help you balance your meals.
Some other key tips include:
- swap fizzy drinks, juice drinks, and flavoured milks for water and plain, lower-fat milk
- reduce your number of sugary snacks – homemade snacks with fruits and vegetables are a great choice
- aim for a maximum of 2 packaged snacks per day
- give children smaller portions to begin with – remember they’re smaller than adults and if they’re hungry they will ask for more
- use the free NHS Food Scanner app to find out what’s in your food and find healthier options
School meals should meet the government’s school food standards.
Every primary school child in a Haringey government-funded school can get free school meals. Please see our free school meals pages for further information.
If you prefer to make a packed lunch for your child, have a look at our packed lunch guide for parents (pdf, 4 page(s), 3.11 MB) to help you create healthy and fun lunches.
Haringey's exercise and sport offer
Physical activity is incredibly important for children and adults to lead healthy lives. It is recommended that children do at least one hour of physical activity every day.
There are lots of sport and exercise opportunities for children and young people in Haringey, including discounted leisure centre membership for those under 16.
See our children and young people sport and activities page for information on:
- school holiday activities
- sports and activities in parks
- leisure centres
- our Get Out and Get Active (GOGA) programme for people with and without disabilities
Haringey’s Youth Hubs also offer a wide range of sports and exercise, as do local community spaces like the Selby Centre in Tottenham.
Other local sports and exercise opportunities include:
- free weekly football sessions for boys and girls from a variety of ages, run by the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation. Visit the Premier League Kicks Programme website or email THF.activities@totenhamhotspur.com for more information
- Junior Parkrun, a free weekly 2 km run, jog, or walk for 4-to-14-year-olds. Every Sunday at 9am at Priory Park. Read more on the parkrun website
- Tennis For Free offers free, fully inclusive tennis sessions for all ages and members of the community. Visit our tennis page for more information and to book sessions
- Dance Giants is a street dance, hip hop and mentoring programme for children in Haringey aged 9 to 14. Run by Streetz Ahead and based at Broadwater Farm Community Centre, sessions are 5pm to 6.30pm on Mondays. For more information, visit the streetz ahead website
- Haringey’s Weekly Wellbeing Walks are free to attend and led by trained walk leader volunteers, offering group walks across Haringey’s parks and green spaces
For any queries or additional information on sports and exercise available in Haringey, please email Get.Active@Haringey.Gov.uk.
Active Travel
We encourage children to walk, cycle, or scooter to school – which is better for their health and the environment. We support children to actively travel to school through:
- free cycling training for adults and children, families, and schools – along with cycle hire schemes and support with bike maintenance
- walk to school schemes and Walk Zone maps to help you plan walking journeys to school
- Schools Streets for dozens of Haringey schools, making it safer and more pleasant for children and families to walk and cycle to school
Healthy lifestyle and weight management services
You, or a health professional, may feel that your family needs more support to achieve or maintain a healthy lifestyle or to manage your weight. There are some local services that can support you.
Your GP
It is important that every member of your household is registered with a General Practitioner (GP). If you are concerned about you or your child’s weight, your GP can offer an assessment, advice, and guidance and refer to a dietician or specialist if required. Please contact your GP to make an appointment.
If you’re not currently registered with a GP, you can find your nearest GP practice on the NHS website.
Child Weight Management Service
The Child Weight Management Service offers support for 5-to-18-year-old children and families in the East of Haringey to have a healthier lifestyle by making healthier food choices, eating more balanced meals, and finding ways to exercise more.
You can ask your GP or school nurse for more information about the service to see if it is appropriate for your family.
HENRY Programme
The HENRY Healthy Families programme is a free group course for Haringey parents with children under 5. It runs across 8 weeks, for 2 and a half hours per week and focuses on whole-family nutrition, healthy weight and child development.
The HENRY approach brings together support for parents and families with emotional wellbeing and behaviour change, with information about nutrition, physical activity, oral health and more.
For more details, or to request a place, please email whh-tr.henryreferrals@nhs.net or visit the HENRY website.
Better Health – Healthier Families
NHS Better Health offers advice and guidance, including healthy and easy recipe ideas. You can also sign up to their 8-week email programme to receive lots of low-cost easy tips, fun games, healthy food swaps, and tasty recipes on a budget.
Sign up to Better Health today
Haringey community children's dietitians
Haringey has 2 complex needs children’s dietitians, working in Child Development Services and Haringey Special Schools. They help babies and children aged 0 to 19 years with complex special needs and those with a life-limiting illness who require additional nutrition support.
They do not currently have a general dietitian for children without complex needs and cannot accept referrals for allergies or weight loss management. For further information, visit Haringey community children’s dietitians on the Whittington Health NHS Trust website.
Advice for schools
Schools are a key part of childrens’ health and wellbeing. They create opportunities for physical activity, provide food and drink, and teach children the key concepts for their physical and mental health and wellbeing.
Haringey Healthy Schools works with schools across Haringey to create healthier environments and improve health and wellbeing outcomes for children.
If you have any questions or need any advice or support, please contact healthy.schools@harinegy.gov.uk
School food and drink
All schools must meet the Department for Education (DfE) standards for school food, and we encourage schools to go beyond this to further support healthy eating and lifestyles.
Haringey Healthy Schools recommends that all schools:
- have a named senior leadership lead for healthy eating in your school
- adopt a Whole School Food and Drink Policy (including sugar reduction and how you meet or exceed the statutory DfE Standards). This should be published on the school website and reviewed by consultation every 1-3 years
- ensure healthy eating, including cooking and nutrition, is taught within the school curriculum and that links are made between these lessons, school food policies, and children’s lifestyles
- provide a welcoming, social, and attractive eating environment for pupils – this should be clean and hygienic and allow children to sit down and eat in a relaxed and sociable setting
- encourage pupils to eat healthily outside of lunch time offer by, for example, offering free fruit as snacks, having a healthy breakfast club provision, or through school events and trips
- promote Haringey Healthy School’s packed lunch guide for parents , and discourage pupils from bringing in unhealthy lunches or snacks
- ensure that there is free, clean, palatable drinking water available to students at all times – including at lunch time, in the classroom and in the playground
- become a water-only school, where plain water and reduced fat milk are the only drinks permitted (except for medical reasons) and other drinks are not sold at school and actively discouraged from being brought in – see the Mayor of London guide to becoming a water-only school
The Healthy Schools London website has a variety of resources to support your school’s healthy eating offer.
Physical education and activity
Physical education (PE) is part of the national curriculum and all schools must follow the statutory programmes of study and attainment targets for this subject.
We encourage schools to go beyond this to further provide opportunities for sports and physical activity.
Haringey Healthy Schools recommends that all schools:
- have a named senior leadership lead for PE, physical activity, and sport in your school
- have a physical activity policy (including PE, sport in and out of the curriculum and travel to and from school). This should be published on the school website and reviewed by consultation every 1-3 years
- include a minimum of 2 hours PE per week in the school curriculum
- provide dedicated curriculum time for physical activity outside of PE, such as via the Daily Mile or through regular movement breaks
- ensure playgrounds and outdoor areas are safe, supportive, and encourage physical activity, with energetic activities or sports that are available to pupils
- provide regular extra-curricular physical activity, e.g. after school sports clubs, dance or yoga classes, or school trips including physical activity
- make sure there are systems in place to track pupil’s participation in physical activity and encourage less active pupils to participate
- signpost students to local clubs and activities, such as youth hubs or local sports clubs
- promote active travel to and from school, through e.g. walk to school initiatives, cycling training, and providing facilities for bike or scooter storage
For further resources and support on physical education, sport, and physical activity please consult the DfE’s non-statutory guidance for schools or the Healthy Schools London website.
Further resources
Haringey-specific information:
- Infant feeding – for those with children under 2
- Healthy Child Programme – for those with children aged 5 to19
- Healthy Start – for eligible pregnant mothers and those with children under 4
- Health Visiting services – for those with children under 5
- Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) Local Services Directory
- Haringey Family Hubs – support for families from pregnancy, through childhood, and up to age 19 (or 25 for those with SEND)
External links:
- Talking to your child about weight – a guide for parents and caregivers of children aged 4 to 11 years (University of Bath)
- Eating well resources – First Steps Nutrition Trust
- NHS Better Health Get Active
- NHS Healthier Families – Recipes
- NHS Healthier Families – Food facts
- Early Movers – Physical Activities for Infants
- London Healthy Schools Resources
Download the Healthy Lifestyles leaflet for useful tips and local services in
Haringey to help you stay healthy as a family.