Contents:
- Medical Video: Care Connection: Connecting Kids to A+ Health Care
- Bringing healthy supplies to school
- 1. Can provide nutrition needed by children
- 2. Helps control children's intake every day
- 3. Increase the energy and performance of children in class
- Already delivered lunch, but the child does not want to eat?
- 1. Problems with eating places
- 2. Children get bored
- 3. Food is difficult to eat
Medical Video: Care Connection: Connecting Kids to A+ Health Care
Snacking in school is a habit that we often encounter in school children. In fact, snacks at school are not necessarily healthy and clean, even some contain ingredients that are not supposed to be in food. The method of storing food and its presentation is far from the standard of cleanliness. Although there may already be a canteen in the school, many school children prefer snacks outside or on the roadside. More varied and interesting food may be a magnet for children to buy.
Bringing healthy supplies to school
One way to reduce random snacking habits in children is to bring their children to school. This provides many benefits for children, especially for their health. Provision of a healthy lunch can provide fulfillment of children's nutrition and also support the formation of a healthy lifestyle in children.
1. Can provide nutrition needed by children
It is important for children to get a healthy lunch because lunch can meet 1/3 of a child's calorie needs. Children who are used to receiving healthy lunches have a higher nutrient intake, compared to children who do not receive healthy lunches.
During this growth period, children need many important nutrients, such as protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, and calcium. By bringing lunch to school, you help your child to meet these nutritional needs. You can create your own provisions for children with a healthy and complete menu of nutrients, consisting of:
- Food sources of carbohydrates, such as rice, noodles, bread, whole wheat bread, pasta
- Vegetables
- Food sources of protein, such as meat, eggs, fish, chicken, beans (including peanut butter), dairy products (cheese or yogurt)
- Fruits
- And, don't forget to always bring water or milk to children
2. Helps control children's intake every day
Because you are creating your own children's supplies, you can arrange what foods your child must carry and eat as food. In this way, you know what foods your child is eating, so you can also control your child's food intake, including controlling fat intake. Indirectly, you can also prevent children from obesity.
The American Heart Association recommends that children get fat at 25-35% of their total calories per day, especially polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats. You can get this type of fat from various nuts, fish, and vegetable oils. Preferably, put this food in your child's lunch menu. These foods can support the growth of children, help fulfill their nutritional needs, and are also very beneficial for your child's heart health.
In addition, also bring children supplies with foods that contain high fiber, such as fruits and vegetables. These foods can make children full longer, so they can prevent unwanted weight gain in children.
3. Increase the energy and performance of children in class
Children need enough energy to carry out their activities in school, especially for learning. Children who do not eat lunch find it more difficult to concentrate at school. In addition, they are also more likely to snack on unhealthy and not filling snacks. Therefore, bring food for children to lunch at school, which can provide enough energy for children to do all their activities at school and after school.
A study published in the Journal of School Health in 2008 reported that school children who ate vegetables, fruits, proteins, and fewer calories from fat performed well in the literacy test compared to children who had high fat and salt intake.
Already delivered lunch, but the child does not want to eat?
This event may occur frequently, so you become lazy to bring your children to school. However, you should not despair, keep bringing your children to school. But, before that, it's a good idea to find out in advance why the child doesn't eat his lunch.
There are several reasons children do not want or do not spend their lunch, namely:
1. Problems with eating places
Maybe the place to eat children is less attractive like other friends, so the child is reluctant to open the place to eat. Or, it could be a place to eat a child is too big, so that makes the child feel full before he can spend his food. If the child is always unable to spend his lunch, maybe you can shrink the portion and put the food in a smaller eating place. Preferably, choose a place that is suitable for children, so he is also happy to take it to school.
2. Children get bored
Bringing lunch to school with that food every day certainly makes children bored with their lunch. For young children, maybe you can create food into funny and interesting forms. Design children's lunch menu every day, try to make a different menu every day.
3. Food is difficult to eat
The reason children don't spend their lunch is just something. Children may not eat the lunch because for example the chicken is hard to cut, the fruit makes the hands sticky, and so on. For that, you have to know what your child's tastes are. Make it easy for the child to eat the lunch. For example, you have brought supplies with food that has been cut into small pieces, so that the child can immediately eat it.
If you already know the reason the child does not spend his lunch and you have fixed it, but the child still cannot spend his lunch, then you can still fulfill the child's needs through breakfast or dinner at home. You can still bring a child's stock in the form of fruit or a loaf of bread, which is important for the child to be able to spend it. This can help children reduce snacking habits at school.
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