Games to make healthy eating fun

The games are used to teach about healthy eating and food safety

Board and card games are to be used to teach school pupils in Dundee and Moray the importance of healthy eating and food safety.

The educational resources, masquerading as toys, are delivered to schools in a container shaped like a big banana.

The pilot project will last 26 weeks and will target three to 12 year olds at volunteer schools.

Public Health Minister Shona Robison attended the launch of the initiative at Kingspark in Dundee.

The project is being run in conjunction with the Food Standards Agency (FSA).

Subtle messages

The games include Bubbles and Slime, which is based on Snakes and Ladders but asks questions about food safety.

Ms Robison said: "We know children learn best through play, when they're having fun, and although the messages are getting through it's in a subtle way.

"You can see the children beginning to think about the foods that are good for them and are not good for them.

"It's more likely to stay with them, than perhaps it being a bit of a dry subject that's being taught to them."

Kingspark Headteacher Laura Smith added: "The games are excellent, we have a lot of children with a lot of different difficulties and we've been able to adapt the games and use them in the form that they've come in for all children in the school."