The Sticky Toffee Children’s Centre non-profit and UCT’s School of Public Health held a wellness day for primary school pupils and their parents on Saturday.
The event was held at the Observatory Junior School and attended by pupils and their parents from both that school and Dryden Street Primary.
Sticky Toffee ran song-and-dance sessions for the pupils and their parents and the parents had their blood pressure and glucose checked by Students’ Health and Wellness Centre Organisation (Shawco) volunteers and heard from a dietitian about healthy eating habits.
“We are mindful that by nurturing a child’s physical, emotional, and mental well-being alongside their moral and ethical foundations, we set the stage for them to become well-rounded individuals capable of thriving in all aspects of life,” said Sticky Toffee founder Dominique Schilder.
Dr Ntsiki Mapukata, from the UCT School of Public Health, spoke about the importance of having good communication between parents and children. “The school does a lot in teaching our children, but our parents also need to be present and they need to form the basics of communication that is understood by the family.”
Asa Allie said she was always working, but she would now prioritise finding time to spend with her son, and another parent, Khayalethu Nonkonela, said: “All the parents must get more involved with the children’s lives.”
Both Observatory Junior School principal Sofeya Moonsamy and Dryden Street Primary School principal Stanton Smith said the initiative had been beneficial to pupils and their families.