Growing Well Growing Healthy (GWGH) is an exclusive free service for the residence of Stockton-on-Tees which supports families to maintain a healthy lifestyle by preventing and treating childhood obesity.
Our Growing Well Growing Healthy 0-4 Infant Feeding Team offers support to new parents on the benefits of nutrition from your child’s earliest days. Our Infant Feeding Coordinator, Nurses, Health Visitors and Early Years Lifestyle practitioners offer a wide range of services from breastfeeding and formula support to nutrition and activity advice as our children grow into their school years.
Supported by the NCMP programme, Growing Well Growing Healthy 5-19’s Healthy Child Screeners asses children’s height and weight in schools across Stockton on Tees; to help identify where support is needed in the community.
Our 5-19 team are here to support children, young people, and their families to make healthy habits part of everyday life. We aim to help you make simple changes that are easy to stick with but make a positive difference for you and your family.
This team is made up of Lifestyle Practitioners from a wide range of experience including nutrition, sports science, teaching, public health and so much more!
Our menu of programmes can be delivered from the comfort of your own home, in the community or online. For more information about how Growing Well Growing Healthy can help your family live healthier, happier lives, read more here and follow our social media pages in the tabs above.
Debbie
Emotional Resilience Practitioner
Hi there, my name is Debbie. I am an Emotional Resilience Practitioner. I work alongside the Growing Well Growing Healthy Team to help children and young people who are struggling with their emotions, either with food or other difficulties including Anxiety, Low Mood, Stress. If your child or young person has been accepted for help with the Growing Well Growing Healthy Team and they feel like they need some Emotional Support, please let your Lifestyle Practitioner know.
Alice
Senior Lifestyle Practitioner
Hi I am Alice; I am a Senior Lifestyle Practitioner within the Growing Well Growing Health team in Stockton. My background is in nutrition, health improvement and weight management. I am passionate about supporting children, young people and their families to make healthier lifestyle choices that can improve their overall health and well being.
Hannah
Lifestyle Practitioner
Hi, I’m Hannah. Having spent many years teaching one-to-one, I now study clinical nutrition. I am passionate about the power that good nutrition has on physical and mental health; I love empowering families to make positive choices surrounding food and exercise; I also love giving one-to-one support and being there to motivate and encourage families on their journey.
Jo
Lifestyle Practitioner
Kayleigh
Lifestyle Practitioner
Hi I’m Kayleigh. I am a Lifestyle Practitioner within the Growing Well Growing Healthy Team based in Stockton. I am new to the role, however; I have experience working with children from 3-16 years old and I have a qualification in Health & Nutrition. After seeing the amazing benefits from making positive changes to my own lifestyle, it has inspired my passion to also help families make healthier lifestyle choices and empower positive thinking, confidence and mental well being.
Deb
Children's Health Screener
Hi I’m Deb. I am a children’s health screener in Stockton. I work on the National Child Measurement programme by collecting much needed information on children in the borough which helps Public Health shape services across Stockton. I have 20 years’ experience in screening and love working with young people across primary schools in the area.
Sometimes it can be difficult to get fruit and vegetables into your child's diet but it is important to try and increase their intake where possible. The Eatwell Guide shows us that we can in fact get more from our 5 a day in the foods we already eat. Frozen, tinned and fresh vegetables all count towards your 5 a day. This means sauces made from tinned tomatoes, microwave packet vegetables and everything you see in your local produce department all count!
Sugar from refined sources such as sweets, chocolate and fizzy drinks are considered empty calories. This means that these foods hold no nutritional value. Reducing sugar is an excellent way to start making healthier choices. One of the best ways to reduce your sugar intake is to look at making some sensible swaps. This can include switching to low sugar cereals at breakfast times, reducing fizzy drinks and swapping to reduced sugar varieties of items such as tomato ketchup and baked beans. Sugar is important to a healthy and balanced lifestyle and our children’s recommended intake should be met by eating fruit.
How much food your child requires is related to how much energy their body can use and therefore food intake differs from person to person. Factors such as age, gender, height and weight can affect how much food a person needs to consume. This is known as portion control. Portion control allows children to consume the right amount of food without over eating. To learn more about portion control and your child's energy requirements, check out our portion control section here.
