MORE INITIATIVES FOR INFANTS AND TODDLERS UNDER GROW WELL SG AND ASSESSING LONG-TERM IMPACT ON CHILDREN'S DEVELOPMENT

NOTICE PAPER NO. 54

NOTICE OF QUESTION FOR ORAL ANSWER

FOR THE SITTING OF PARLIAMENT ON OR AFTER 26 SEPTEMBER 2025

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Dr Choo Pei Ling

MP for Chua Chu Kang GRC

Question No. 422

To ask the Coordinating Minister for Social Policies and Minister for Health (a) whether Grow Well SG will include more initiatives for infants and toddlers; (b) what support is available for first-time working parents to adopt lifestyle practices under the five focus areas of Grow Well SG; and (c) what qualitative indicators are used to assess Grow Well SG’s long-term impact on children’s emotional, cognitive and physical development.

Answer

1. Parents play a vital role in their children’s growth and development, and healthy habit formation from birth. Therefore, Grow Well SG initiatives for infants and toddlers focus on educating parents, including first-time parents, about age-appropriate healthy behaviours and how to inculcate them. For example, we have introduced the Childhood Health Behaviours Checklist as part of the Childhood Developmental Screening visits from age 0 to 6 years old, to raise parental awareness and encourage behaviour change early. Complementing this is a range of practical guidelines and resources, available through multiple platforms like Parent Hub, Parenting for Wellness, Families for Life programmes and resources, and ECDA Beanstalk. In addition, the Early Childhood Development Agency’s revised Early Years Development Framework and its Educators’ Guide guide educators in preschool to provide meaningful experiences that promote children’s overall well-being, learning, and development.

2. While parents are doing their best, we know that parents today face new challenges in managing children’s digital use due to the growing prevalence of social media and technology. We will continue to enhance Grow Well SG to provide greater support to parents in this digital age.

3. The indicators we use to assess the impact of Grow Well SG will cover the lifestyle habits of children, such as time spent on screens, physical activity and sleep. We will also conduct surveys to measure parental awareness on healthy habits to evaluate and refine our initiatives.