SUNT (im)PERFECT and NOline: Two Zi de BINE Programs Supporting Children’s Well-Being

Bucharest, August 21, 2026 – This summer, Zi de BINE Association ran two programs dedicated to children’s physical and emotional health. Although they address different challenges, both programs lead back to the same place: the family. SUNT (im)PERFECT, which focuses on children’s relationship with food and their own bodies, and NOline, a program designed to help children disconnect from technology and reconnect with the world around them, brought children and parents together to address two increasingly common challenges in teenagers’ lives: self-image and their relationship with technology.

Together, the two programs tell the same story: protecting a child’s health today goes beyond medical care. It also means paying attention to what happens in front of a screen and in front of a mirror. And we cannot expect children to make changes on their own when their habits, boundaries and sense of self are largely shaped at home.

“Children today are growing up in a world where pressure comes from many directions: how they look, their relationship with food, what they see on screens and how much time they spend online. SUNT (im)PERFECT and NOline address two different challenges, but they are built around the same belief: we cannot expect children to find balance on their own. This is why both programs bring children and parents together and focus on their relationship, family habits and how adults can be truly present in their children’s lives. For us, prevention starts here, within the relationship, before a worrying behavior develops into a real problem,” said Melania Medeleanu and Luciana Zaharia, founders of Zi de BINE Association.

SUNT (im)PERFECT: Food, Family and Self-Image

Scientifically coordinated by Dr. Florin Ioan Bălănică, a physician with more than 20 years of experience in psychonutrition and lifestyle medicine, the SUNT (im)PERFECT camp reached its third edition this summer. Nearly 200 children and parents have taken part in the program so far. Instead of starting with rules about the “right” way to eat, the program asks a more difficult question: why do we eat the way we do?

A child’s food choices often reflect what is happening within the family, and lasting change comes from reconnecting rather than restricting. The program also addresses habits deeply rooted in Romanian culture, from “you have to finish everything on your plate” to the ways in which food can become, without us even realizing it, an expression of love, control or punishment.

The context is serious: up to 80% of people with anorexia nervosa are unaware that they have an eating disorder or do not realize how severe it is, while anorexia nervosa remains the third most common chronic illness among girls and young women. SUNT (im)PERFECT focuses on helping children build a healthy relationship with their bodies from an early age.

At the end of the camp, the children were asked what the most important thing they had learned about themselves was. Their answers included: “That I can do anything,” “That I’m not the only one going through certain problems,” “That I need to learn new things,” “That I can lose weight even if I eat,” and “That I’m not just a fat kid and that I can go hiking in the mountains.”

The work does not end when families return home. The program continues with monthly meetings designed to help children and parents adapt what they practiced during the camp to everyday life at home and at school.

SUNT (im)PERFECT is supported by Lidl, E.ON and BIT Invest.

NOline: Seven Days Without Screens in Straja

At the same time, the second edition of NOline brought together 30 children aged 11 to 14 and their parents. The program began with workshops for parents at the Zi de BINE Community Center in Bucharest and continued with a seven-day retreat for the children in Straja, Hunedoara.

No phones, tablets or television. Instead, the children spent their time hiking, doing experiments, singing karaoke, camping in tents, discovering analog photography processes and taking part in team games.

The program starts from a reality that is difficult to ignore: statistics show that children in Romania generally receive their first phone at the age of 8, while a quarter of teenagers spend between 4 and 6 hours on their phones during a single weekend. Studies also show that well-being begins to decline after just four hours of screen time per day.

As with SUNT (im)PERFECT, the responsibility for change is not placed solely on the child. Parents took part in separate workshops led by specialists including Diana Stănculeanu and Mirela Oprea, because the solution is not simply taking the phone away. It is about setting healthy boundaries, spending quality time together and building trust.

“After the camp, I was surprised when my child suggested that we have breakfast at the table instead of in front of the TV, as she used to want. The phone was only used for Spotify, with the screen turned off. We went on long walks without any complaints and spent time together without her wanting to isolate herself in her room. We rediscovered the board games that had been gathering dust and started working on one of those puzzles with lots of pieces.

Thank you so much for all the care and support, because you brought back a child I had been missing. She discovered that she can manage without the safety net she has always had, that she can be resilient and brave, that patience can be learned and that things do not happen the moment we snap our fingers. I hope we can maintain what you have achieved. We have all learned from this experience,” said one of the parents who took part in the NOline program.

NOline is supported by E.ON, UniCredit Bank, Leroy Merlin and Schindler Romania.

Two Programs, One Common Ground: The Family

SUNT (im)PERFECT and NOline approach different challenges, but they share the same philosophy: they work with children and their parents and refuse to place the blame on the child. Whether the issue is a plate of food or a phone, an image in the mirror or one on a screen, Zi de BINE’s message remains the same: children need the adults around them to be more present in their lives.

Those who wish to support Zi de BINE Association’s projects can send an SMS with the word SUS to 8845, donate their birthday, or fill in Form 230 to redirect 3.5% of their income tax to a social cause, at no additional cost. More ways to get involved are available on the Zi de BINE website.

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