Nutritious Eating
The nutrition philosophy of The Wiggles is to promote healthy eating behaviours in young children while recognising that food can be tasty and fun. Establishing good eating habits early in life can provide the basis for food selection and dietary intake in older children, adolescents and adults. Young children have unique nutritional needs that must meet the demands of growth and development as well as daily activity. Learning to eat different food is also an important part of discovering the world around.
The Wiggles have shown an ongoing commitment to ensuring that positive messages about food and exercise are provided to both young children and their parents and carers. Over the years, The Wiggles have promoted healthy lifestyle messages through their songs ('Fruit Salad', 'Vegetable Soup', 'Lettuce Sing', 'Getting Strong'), videos, books, sponsorship partners (Australian Apples, Dairy), promotional arrangements (Boost Juice), consumable food products and cafés at their play centres and Wiggles Worlds (theme parks). In 2002, The Wiggles began working collaboratively with Accredited Practising Dietitian, Dr Fiona Pelly, to ensure that their nutrition messages were appropriate for their young audiences. As early childhood educators and entertainers, The Wiggles recognise the importance of keeping fit and healthy. The Wiggles have supported research investigating suitable nutrition labelling and better food choice in young children and their parents.
As some of the most trusted people in Australia, The Wiggles have a positive influence on parents and young children and can influence the food choices they make. This led to the development of a process of assessing menu options, by Dr. Fiona Pelly, at the Wiggly Play Centres and Wiggles World (theme parks) cafes to ensure that the menus provided balanced meal options. All food products that carry The Wiggles brand name undergo a rigorous process that assess the suitability for the 1-5 year old age group. Every food item must meet nutrient criteria that have been based on the Australian Dietary Guidelines for Children and Adolescents and the Nutrient Reference Values for Australia and New Zealand. Foods are categorised as those can be consumed regularly, foods that can be consumed daily in the context of a healthy balanced diet (healthier snack food alternatives) and those that should only be consumed occasionally ('treat' foods).
The Wiggles understanding of their young audience combined with their commitment to providing suitable messages about nutrition and exercise means that they can contribute to the well being of our future generations.
Parents can trust The Wiggles food products because:
They go through a very strict approvals process consisting of guidelines developed and reviewed by nutrition experts with one to five-year-old children in mind
These guidelines and criteria consider;
Serve and portion size appropriate for young tummies
Giving information on where this food fits into healthy balanced eating
The manufacturing process, the source of products and country of manufacture
The possibility of nut allergies and try to be nut-free where possible
The Wiggles have worked with world-class companies such as Brownes Dairy, Heinz, Vitaco/ Healtheries, Sanitarium and Parmalat to ensure that products are of the highest quality that parents can expect.