Encouraging healthy habits by playing with the child in the family milieu: the snakes and ladders game

Abstract

In recent decades society has been undergoing many changes and these have had a strong incidence on infant morbidity and mortality. Diseases that have practically vanished due to the impact of vaccinations and the improvement of the standard of living have given way to others derived from the changes in eating habits and life style; accidents, on the other hand, have come to be the first cause of morbidity and mortality after the first year of life has been passed. Strategies must be directed towards avoiding the causes of this new way of falling ill. We present a Spanish version of a game similar to “snakes and ladders” called “the healthy goose”, which encourages healthy living habits. In order that the child should internalize safe habits by means of the game, certain squares in the game have been replaced by positive drawings, in which the child carries out healthy activities, receiving prizes for these, and others in which risky activities are performed, which are penalized. The areas dealt with are: habits (nutrition, sleep, study, games, etc.), Accidents at home, road safety (pedestrian, cyclist and automobile traveler), and swimming pools. The game starts with a child of 3-4 years and the goal is reached as a healthy adolescent. Given that the variation in personalities is enormous, we believe the family milieu should be the complement to legislative and educational measures and general campaigns in the means of communication, since it is what the child knows best and where he learns his deepest attitudes. This game could be a help to parents in this difficult task.