In this case a bit of “screen” time is a valuable way for local parents to improve their children’s eating and activity habits.

During Nutrition Month in March two local health agencies – the Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge District Health Unit and Peterborough Public Health – are teaming up to promote the Nutri-eSTEP (www.nutritionscreen.ca) online screening tool to families with young children.

“Nutri-eSTEP is an easy-to-use tool to assess how your toddler or pre-schooler is doing in terms of their daily eating and activity habits” says Laura Abbasi a registered dietitian with the HKPR District Health Unit.

“By completing a short online questionnaire parents and guardians can see how well their child is doing and determine habits that need to be improved” adds Erica Diamond a public health nutritionist with Peterborough Public Health.

Nutri-eSTEP offers screening for toddlers (18 to 35 months) and pre-schoolers (three to five years). Parents answer 17 short questions about their child’s eating and activity habits and then receive a personalized assessment on how well their child is doing and what areas need attention. Tips and resources are also provided to help make improvements.

If they want further assistance Nutri-eSTEP users are also directed to call the toll-free EatRight Ontario helpline at 1-877-510-5102 to speak to a registered dietitian.

“The online Nutri-eSTEP questionnaire takes less than 10 minutes to complete and it’s time well-spent for you and your child” Abbasi notes.

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