As conversations around health, wellbeing and preventive care continue to grow across Australia, it appears the next generation is listening.
In a sign of just how embedded these themes have become in everyday life, Oxford University Press has named “vitamin” as Oxford’s Australian Children’s Word of the Year 2025.
The announcement follows analysis of more than 3.4 million words drawn from over 46,700 children’s stories submitted to Oxford’s Writing Legends program this year. The shortlisted words included exercise, vitamin, diet, skin, muscle and energy, with most of these terms used at least 127 per cent more frequently than last year.
The findings suggest children are increasingly writing about looking after themselves, weaving ideas about energy, strength and healthy habits into everyday narratives about identity, routines and aspirations.
“Children aren’t just writing about dragons and adventures anymore. Across thousands of stories, we saw children write about self-care as something you do to feel good, stay energised and grow strong, rather than as appearance-driven body talk. It’s a sign of how present self-care has become in our society,” said Lee Walker, Product Director at Oxford University Press ANZ.
Dr Amanda Laugesen, Director of the Australian National Dictionary Centre at the Australian National University, added that children often reflect broader cultural conversations.
“Children’s writing is where big cultural conversations show up early, which is probably why we’re seeing them echo familiar conversations about what practices to adopt to optimise health. Adults are constantly talking about needing more energy and wanting to feel better, so it’s no surprise children have picked these up,” she said.
