Contents:
- Medical Video: Teaching Activities About Good Nutrition for Kids : Fresh Kitchen
- Elementary school children
- Pre-teens and teenagers
- Quick tips: drink a lot!
Medical Video: Teaching Activities About Good Nutrition for Kids : Fresh Kitchen
Adequate nutritional intake in children is not only beneficial for health, but also children's learning ability in school.
Elementary school children
Don't be surprised if your child suddenly starts a meat-eating strike and decides to become a vegetarian. This is common in children aged 7-6 years, when they already know and understand animals. No need to worry about protein intake for children. You can replace animal meat with rice, beans, eggs, milk, peanut butter, which is also rich in protein. If the child stays on a hunger strike for a week or even for life, they can still get enough protein from the product.
As parents, pay attention to the intake of sugar, fat, and sodium for children because they begin to have more food choices, especially in the school canteen. Snacks such as cakes, sweets, chips, and other snacks may be the choice of lunch. The body does need carbohydrates (sugar), fat, and sodium, but the amount must not be excessive. Consuming too much sugar, fat, and sodium can cause overweight (obesity) and other health problems. Let the child bring his own lunch from home, or encourage him to choose healthier foods for his lunch menu.
Pre-teens and teenagers
When puberty comes, children need more calories to support the various changes they will experience. Unfortunately, some teens are looking for extra calories from junk food or fast food that is very low in nutritional value. Meanwhile, other teenagers actually do the opposite by severely limiting calorie, fat, or carbohydrate intake.
Adolescence is the time when children begin to pay attention to their body image and body weight, so they are susceptible to eating disorders or other unhealthy behaviors. As a parent, you must be sensitive to changes in their diet, and make family dinners a priority once or twice a week.
As with calories, teenagers need higher calcium intake because the majority of bone mass is built at this time. However, only a few adolescents aged 9-13 years (under 10% of girls, and above 25% of boys) get enough or more calcium intake. Encourage children to consume milk, milk products, or alternative foods rich in calcium. Mothers can try various ways even by adding chocolate syrup to milk so that children like it more.
In addition to calories and calcium, the sex of the child also determines the dose of certain nutrients. For example because of menstruation, young women need more iron intake than adolescent boys. Meanwhile, teenage boys need a little more protein than teenage girls.
Although it is not easy to adopt a healthy diet (regardless of the age of the child), this is worth fighting for. A healthy child will also be a healthy adult, of course with your support and guidance as a parent.
Quick tips: drink a lot!
- Half of the children's weight consists of water. Water is needed to maintain the function of organs.
- There is no standard amount of water recommended for children. However, keep drinking water throughout the day, not only when they are thirsty.
- Babies generally do not need water during their first year.
- If the child does not like the taste of fresh water, add a little lemon or lime juice.
- Fruit and vegetables are also good sources of water intake for the body.
- Children must drink more water when sick, hot weather, or when doing physical activities.
