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OUP Australia

Oxford's Australian Children's Word of the Year

Language shows how children are embracing their health

The latest Oxford University Press research reveals 'vitamin' as Oxford's Australian Children's Word of the Year 2025, as Australian children are writing about looking after themselves. Although it’s capability-focused, it does highlight our current obsession with being the "healthiest generation”.

Based on over 3.4 million words (a 51% increase from 2024) from over 46,700 children’s stories (an 82% increase from 2024) submitted through the online Writing Legends program, OUP’s shortlist for 2025 paints a vivid picture of how strongly wellbeing language is landing with mostly mid- to late-primary school students across the country. The shortlisted words included: ‘exercise’, 'vitamin’, ‘diet’, ‘skin’, ‘muscle’ and ‘energy’, with five out of the six being used at least 127% more frequently than in 2024.

Together, the shortlist suggests children are actively absorbing messages about looking after themselves via school, family and the wider media/social media environment, and weaving those ideas into narratives about daily life, identity, routines and aspiration.

Read the report


Our experts comments on Oxford's Australian CWOTY:

“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.” 

Dr Amanda Laugesen, Director of the Australian National Dictionary Centre, Australian National University

“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.” 

Lee Walker, Product Director, Oxford University Press ANZ

Trending Themes

  • Health

    Students are writing about health and how important it is to look after yourself so that you grow up healthy and strong. They wrote about eating well, exercising and playing sport so that you can become fit, healthy and strong. Words such as “vitamin”, “exercise”, “energy” and “muscle” had an increase in frequency.

  • Emotion and connection

    Students are writing about their emotions and relationships, and the ways in which they connect with others. Words such as “love”, “teamwork”, “community” and “confidence” increased in frequency. But words such as “doubt” and “pressure” were also more frequent. The notable slang words that appeared in students’ writing related to how students may perceive each other and relate to each other, for example, “sigma”, “bff” and “bestie”.

  • Society and learning

    Students are writing about information and how they understand and digest it. Words such as “fact”, “opinion”, “research” and “exploration” increased in frequency, which could be a result of the current media and social media landscape. Students get most of their information about society from social media, which often raises the question about whether something is factual or not.

  • Animals/Environment and nature

    Pollution and the environment continue to be topics that students are concerned with, particularly the impact on animals and the ocean. Words such as “ecosystem”, “adaptation”, “pollution”, “recycling” and “extinct” increased in frequency, which suggests an interest in how ecosystems and animals adapt and survive in the students’ writing.