The health behaviors and health risks of children change alongside with the changes in society.  Today’s rapid changes in society with greater knowledge and variety of opinions; busy lifestyles and  changing values; and choices between healthy and unhealthy behaviors also influence on parents, engendering a complex decision-making climate for them in their upbringing task (Christensen, 2004; Ginsburg, 2007; Jackson & Tester, 2008). Previous studies have indicated that the major risks for children and adolescents’ health include sedentary behavior, lack of exercise, overweight, nutritional problems, adolescents’ binge drinking and increased cigarette smoking. Studies have also reported that the health behavior is formed during the child and adolescent years, after which it is difficult to influence the habits in a significant way. Various risky behaviors usually start during childhood or early adolescence (e.g., unhealthy eating, inadequate physical activity), during the transition to or during adolescence (e.g., tobacco use, alcohol and drug use, unhealthy sexual behaviors, violence), or when major developmental tasks related to puberty and sexual maturation, cognitive development, and identity construction occur (e.g., Suvivuo, Tossavainen & Kontula, 2008).

 The optimal age to influence on health habits of children is therefore before the active start of puberty, which brings mental and physical changes. At approximately the age of 10-11, the children also are cognitively capable to receive and reflect health messages and build their skills, knowledge, and attitudes towards health. We already know that the role of peers in health behaviors is significant, especially among adolescents and young people (e.g., Green & Tones, 2010; Kalavana, Maes, & De Gucht, 2010; Kiuru, Burk, Laursen, Salmela-Aro, & Nurmi, 2010), and therefore the timing with pre-adolescents is important. Parents and teachers are still in a high priority in children’s lives and the joint actions of home and school can be significant.

 It is important to acknowledge the factors that protect children and adolescents from unhealthy behaviors. Protective factors, according to Cattelino (2005 p. 81), are “the combination of variables and personal and contextual characteristics that are able to limit adolescents’ involvement in risk behavior.” Such factors are usually tied to the family, school, friends, knowledge, and free time. For example, talking to each other, having meals together, and knowing adolescents’ friends represent family closeness, connection, communication, and engagement and positively influence adolescent well-being. Additionally, parental supervision, rule-setting, and modeling healthy behavior are connected to better health-promoting behavior (Youngblade et al., 2007). At school, teachers take care of children’s well-being, not only by implementing their formal educational task, but also by influencing children’s lives non-formally, through daily guidance and supervision (e.g., Edling & Frelin 2013).

 This school health intervention was a part of the larger project “Addressing challenging health inequalities of children and youth between two Karelias (AHIC), 2013-2014”, which was co-financed by the Karelia ENPI CBC Programme. The overall objective of the project was to promote health and well-being of children and adolescents in the North Karelia, Finland and the Republic of Karelia, Russia, and to influence the differences in health between the two regions in the long term.

The intervention aimed at developing new effective practices for promoting the health and well-being of the children and for preventing harmful risk factors by participative processes between children, schools, homes, and project personnel.

Cattelino, E. (2005). Protective factors. In Bonino, S., Cattelino, E., & Ciairano, S. (Eds.). Adolescents and risk. Behaviors, functions and protective factors (pp. 81-97). Milan, Italy: Springer. Christensen, P. (2004) The health-promoting family: a conceptual framework for future research. Social Science & Medicine, 59, 377–387. Edling, S. & Frelin, A. (2013) Doing good? Interpreting teachers’ given and felt responsibilities for pupils’ well-being in an age of measurement, Teachers and Teaching: theory and practice, 19(4), 419-432 Ginsburg, K. R. (2007). The importance of play in promoting healthy child development and maintaining strong parent-child bonds. Pediatrics 119, 182-191. Green, J. & Tones, K. (2010) Health Promotion: Planning and Strategies, 2nd edition. Sage Publications, London. Jackson, R. J. J. & Tester, J. (2008) Environment shapes health, including children’s mental health. Journal of the Academy Child and Adolescence Psychiatry, 47, 129–131. Kalavana, T. V., Maes, S., & De Gucht, V. (2010). Interpersonal and self-regulation determinants of healthy and unhealthy eating behavior in adolescents. Journal of Health Psychology, 15(1), 44-52. Kiuru, N., Burk, W. J., Laursen, B., Salmela-Aro, K., & Nurmi, J-E. (2010). Pressure to drink but not to smoke: Disentangling selection and socialization in adolescent peer networks and peer groups. Journal of Adolescence, 33, 801-812. Suvivuo, P., Tossavainen, K., & Kontula, O. (2008). The role of alcohol in a sexually motivated situation. Health Education, 108(2), 145-162. Youngblade, L. M., Theokas, C., Schulenberg, J., Curry, L., Huang, I-C., & Novak, M. (2007). Risk and promotive factors in families, schools, and communities: A contextual model of positive youth development in adolescence. Pediatrics, 119, S47-S53.