Start early for better health
Build healthy habits in our children with Grow Well SG.
Last updated on 22 August 2025
Staying Informed
You may refer to the following websites to access resources and programmes relevant to Grow Well SG:
What is Grow Well SG?
Grow Well SG is a national health promotion strategy to enhance preventive care and inculcate healthier lifestyles in children and adolescents. This multi-ministry strategy, led by the Ministry of Health (MOH), Ministry of Education (MOE), and the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF), aims to promote the health and well-being of children, starting with children up to 12 years old. We plan to extend to older age groups in future phases.
By working closely with families, supported by preschools, schools, healthcare institutions and the community, we aim to create a supportive environment that encourages children to build healthy habits, enabling them to thrive in today’s digital world.
Why is Grow Well SG important?
For better health, children should
Eat Well - Fuel for growth and learning. Good nutrition can support growth and enhance overall health and development.
Sleep Well - Rest for success. Healthy sleeping routines can improve concentration, mood and physical development.
Learn Well - Engage in diverse learning experiences for holistic development. Excessive screen use and unrestricted access to digital technology may hinder our children’s learning and affect their mental well-being.
Exercise Well - Active bodies, active minds. Regular physical activity can strengthen bodies, sharpen minds and boost self-esteem
These four areas lay the foundation for healthy habits early and pave the way for a better future for our children. An equally important area is “Bond Well”, the cultivation of strong relationships within the family and social connections with friends. Bonding well supports and reinforces healthy lifestyles, and contributes to a child’s overall well-being.
Yet often, families face issues from sedentary lifestyles with excessive screen time, insufficient physical activity, poor nutrition and inadequate sleep. For example, while there are numerous benefits to using technology well, excessive and unrestricted screen use can have detrimental effects on the cognitive and social development in children.
Grow Well SG is the multi-ministry effort to help families build and sustain healthy habits from young for long-term health benefits. This effort also draws from local cohort studies such as Growing Up in Singapore Towards Healthy Outcomes (GUSTO) and Singapore Longitudinal Early Development Study (SG Leads); these have all highlighted the critical importance of starting early for good health.
What can you expect?
To strengthen the adoption of healthy habits in children early in life, Grow Well SG will help our children develop good health through three main initiatives:
Purposeful Screen Use
The updated Guidance on Screen Use in Children aged 0-12 years old (opens in new tab) provides clearer and more actionable guidance on screen use practices in children. A summary guidance for parents has been included to help parents better understand why the recommendations are important and how they can impact their child’s health.
The revised Code of Practice for the Early Childhood Development Centres includes appropriate management of screen use in preschools. As part of the Early Years Development Framework Educators’ Guide, preschool educators are also guided to provide meaningful experiences instead of sedentary activities such as screen time.
More detailed guidelines on managing students’ use of smartphones and smartwatches in primary and secondary schools are in place, tailored according to each school’s student profile, school context and curriculum efforts.
The Digital for Life (DfL) portal (opens in new tab) offers an array of bite-sized resources to equip parents and caregivers with the skills and knowledge to guide their children’s online interactions and support their digital well-being. These resources cover topics such as managing children's screen use and safeguarding them from online risks like cyberbullying and sexual grooming. By exploring these materials, parents and caregivers could foster a safe and healthy digital environment for their children.
A Health Plan for Every Child
Grow Well SG supports children, families and schools to build supportive environments that reinforce healthy lifestyle choices.
Personalised Health Plans (opens in new tab) are introduced for children, starting with Primary 1 to 3 students, as part of HPB’s annual school health screening programme. Every child receives a Health Plan that consists of a lifestyle prescription, school health screening results, vaccination reports and referrals to public healthcare institutions when necessary. The Health Plan also provides families with resources to help their children foster lifelong healthy habits.
The Childhood Health Behaviours Checklist (CHBC) covers four lifestyle domains, namely Screen Use, Sleep, Physical Activity and Nutrition. This checklist is used at the Childhood Developmental Screening visits for children aged 0-6 years old, to help raise and sustain parents’ awareness of healthy behaviours that children should adopt from an early age.
Additional resources such as the Parenting for Wellness (opens in new tab) website on Parent Hub enables parents to conveniently access personalised tips and strategies to build strong relationships with their child and support their mental well-being.
Enhanced Support for Schools
Grow Well SG supports schools to improve student health, particularly for students who are at-risk and require additional assistance.
All primary schools receive a comprehensive Student Health Status Card which includes health and lifestyle data of their student population. This complements schools’ current efforts to identify health needs and interventions required for their students, and educate them on appropriate healthy behaviours.
As well-balanced meals are important for good health in children, the updated HPB Healthy Meals in School Programme’s guidelines reflect the latest nutritional recommendations for sodium and Nutri-Grade for sugar-sweetened beverages in schools. Support is provided to school canteen vendors to offer healthier options for students. We are also exploring partnerships with healthcare clusters to provide additional support in schools to promote healthy behaviours, such as working further with canteen vendors to make healthier food options more appealing and expand their range of healthy recipes.
Join us in building a healthier future for our children!
MOH welcomes the support of interested groups to promote Grow Well SG. Requests for use of the Grow Well SG brand can be submitted here. (opens in new tab)