Healthy kindergartens and playrooms: Obersieben on the road to success

Healthy kindergartens and playrooms: Obersieben on the road to success

In an impressive award, Kinderland Upper Austria recently awarded 24 playrooms and 11 kindergartens the title “Healthy Playhouse” or “Healthy Kindergarten”. This demonstrates the region's commitment to providing society's youngest members with a healthy foundation for their future. Among the award-winning facilities are two from the Vöcklabruck district: the Pfarrcaritaskrabbelstube Frankenmarkt and the Gemeindekrabbelstube Unterach am Attersee.

The awards were presented at a ceremonial event in Linz; the deputy governor and state councilor for education and health, Christine Haberlander, wanted to emphasize the importance of this development. "Children are our future. Politics and society must therefore take the concerns of the youngest very seriously," she explained, underlining the importance of a healthy diet and sufficient exercise from an early age. This approach is intended to lay the foundation for a healthy lifestyle, which can be promoted through playing and learning in the playrooms.

Awards and commitment

According to the current figures, around 60 percent of kindergartens in Upper Austria are already certified as “healthy kindergartens”. In addition, 47 crèches bear this title. A total of 434 kindergartens and 133 playrooms are currently actively participating in the project. "Our guiding principle: health throughout life. From the very beginning," continues Haberlander, illustrating the essential connection between the areas of education and health. The educational teams of the award-winning institutions as well as their sponsors and parents have worked over the last three years to implement the strict quality criteria in order to earn these certificates.

The award is given for a three-year start-up phase and empowers the institutions to adorn themselves with these titles. The entire community, including parents and caterers, was involved in this process. “A healthy diet and enjoyment of exercise are of central importance,” adds Haberlander, showing that the efforts come from many different directions.

• Insgesamt mehr als 560 Einrichtungen sind an dem Gesundheitsprojekt beteiligt, mit 434 Kindergärten und 133 Krabbelstuben.
• Fast 31.000 Kinder kommen in den Genuss dieser gesundheitsfördernden Programme.
• Seit 2019 sind neben dem „Gesunden Kindergarten“ auch „Gesunde Krabbelstuben“ Teil der Initiative.
• Das Hauptaugenmerk liegt auf der Gesundheitsförderung im Alltag der Kinder.
• Die Schwerpunkte umfassen tägliche Bewegung, gesunde Ernährung sowie die psychosoziale Gesundheit der Kinder.

The successes and months of hard work show that there is a strong community behind the “Healthy Crawling Rooms”. The award-winning facilities do everything they can to get children excited about healthy lifestyles in a playful way and thus anchor positive habits. As in the comprehensive report on www.tips.at can be read, this approach could not only influence the well-being of the children themselves in the long term, but also ensure increased health awareness in their families.