Clinician’s Guide to
Healthy Kids

Clinician’s Guide to Healthy Kids is a podcast series that aims to equip healthcare professionals with expert insights, empowering them to collaborate with children and their families to build healthy habits together. The podcast series explores a diverse range of topics including sleep, nutrition, physical activity, healthy growth and disordered eating in children. By offering practical advice tailored for health professionals, this podcast series strives to promote the overall health and wellbeing of children and their families.  

Throughout the season we will engage in informative discussions with Queensland health experts to learn about strategies to approach prevention in clinical care. 

Our first season is a special 8-part series that focuses on the practical side to integrating prevention or first-line treatment into daily healthcare moments. Throughout this series we will explore how to raise health concerns with families, how to complete brief health behaviour assessments and how to provide advice and support for families across Queensland. 

Clinician’s Guide to Healthy Kids is an initiative of Health and Wellbeing Queensland.

How to listen

Listen to Clinician’s Guide to Healthy Kids at the links below, or find episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Pandora or your favourite podcast app.   

Health practitioner sitting across from woman with child

Episodes

The right tools for the job
Episode 1: The right tools for the job
Featuring Dr Kristie Bell
Growth charts, BMI charts, z-scores and WHO versus CDC. Knowing which growth chart to use can be confusing. This episode deep dives into what we should be using to guide our growth assessments with kids and how we can start to recognise and discuss unhealthy weight trends early.
Let’s talk about weight
Episode 2: Let’s talk about weight
Featuring Dr Danielle Carter
Measuring growth in children is an important part of a health check-up, as it enables early recognition of unhealthy weight trends. It can also enable regular discussions around healthy behaviours. Feeling comfortable to integrate routine growth assessments into clinical practice can feel routine, but what do you do with these measurements once you have them? This podcast will show you how to navigate those conversations with empathy and practical solutions.
Beat the bias – having healthy, impactful discussions around weight
Episode 3: Beat the bias – having healthy, impactful discussions around weight
Featuring Dr Kim Hurst
The language around weight can be difficult to navigate. We want to encourage health to be the focus, but this can be difficult to do alongside weight stigma or bias. Learn more about how we can create conversations that are weight-neutral and body positive.  
Healthy growth with healthy diets 
Episode 4: Healthy growth with healthy diets 
Featuring Dr Natassja Billich
Nutrition can often be difficult for experienced health professionals to “get right”. Use this podcast to learn how we can support the families we see to be healthier through food and nutrition, whilst keeping an eye on the clock!
Move more, sit less.
Episode 5: Move more, sit less.
Featuring Dr Kathryn Fortnum
Moving is key for health but beyond sport, it can be difficult to suggest practical ideas for busy families to get their kids off the couch. This episode is all about movement and how to help families be healthier through being active.
Sleep as a superpower
Episode 6: Sleep as a superpower
Featuring Dr Honey Heussler
Sleep is a superpower. Inadequate or poor sleep has been linked to negative mental health and linked to depression and anxiety. Find out the best tips to support families towards better health through improved sleep with our sleep expert, Dr Honey Heussler.
Give me strength!
Episode 7: Give me strength!
Featuring Dr Sally Crane
Working in primary care can be a tough job. Weaving conversations about nutrition, physical activity, and sleep into a 10 minute consult can be even harder. Dr Sally Crane discusses how she does this routinely and how she motivates her patients to make small behaviour changes that work and are sustainable.
Disordered Eating in Higher Weights
Episode 8: Disordered Eating in Higher Weights
Featuring Dr Michelle Boyd
Disordered eating is prevalent in our society, and when we discuss health, we want to approach conversations in ways that promote healthy relationships with food. Learn from our expert, Dr Michelle Boyd what to ask and what not to ask, and what red flags you should keep in mind when discussing health behaviours with families.