Abstract
The below mentioned paper is an education paper which talks about importance of good nutrition and developing good eating habits especially among children. It also talks about a few nutritious recipes for families and explains the nutritious values for each.
- Summerize why good nutrition and eating habits are so important to children in each age group. Cite evidence from chapter 6 in your text and other resources to support your claims.
Nutrition is important for every individual, but is especially vital for children for their proper growth and development. Various nutritional elements such as iron, calcium, vitamins etc. play different role in a child’s overall development. For example iron is an important mineral which helps to generate energy for children to partake in every activity. It is also important for brain development as it is the building block for neurotransmitter. Similarly Vitamins are important for the child’s cellular, physical and mental development, especially in the formative years of 1 to 8 years of age. In order to benefit from these nutrients, a balanced diet that consists of all the nutrients in appropriate amounts is important.
- Refer to chapter 8 in your course text and explain why adults should actively help children develop healthy eating habits and at least two ways this can be accomplished.
At a young age, children are highly attracted to fast foods and other unhealthy foods such as oily fried food, sweets, chips etc. In such a case it is the responsibility of the supervising adult to make inculcate healthy eating habits in the child. Proper and balanced food right from small age will also help children to maintain a healthy lifestyle throughout their adult life. Two of the most important aspect of healthy eating is portion control and reducing the intake of fatty foodstuffs
Making children eat healthy is a major task due to the current trend of unhealthy fast food habits. Most children do not like to vegetables and are also selective about the fruits they eat. Yet, adults need to take charge and make sure that children adapt to better eating habits. Following steps can be undertaken in order to ensure that children inculcate healthy eating habits
- Appearance plays a major role in making the food appetizing; therefore assemble a dish in shapes and styles that would attract a child. For example, a salad sandwich can be made interesting and fun by cutting it into a shape of a smiley face and adorning it with food embellishments to resemble a happy face. This will make the food much more appealing for the young one.
- Taste is another major aspect that deters children from eating healthy, thus provide some fun dips such as mayonnaise, ketchup or a chocolate dip.
- Provide three nutritious recipes that family members can prepare with preschoolers and explain the nutritional value of each. Offer strategies and suggestions to make cooking together an enjoyable learning experience for children.
Following are some nutritious but fun recipes that adults can make with preschooler’s;
- Chocolate-Banana Sundae: Ask the child to take a bowl and you can scoop in a vanilla ice-cream in it. Now ask the child to peel a banana and cut it into pieces using a butter knife and put it into the bowl. Now put a spoonful of chocolate sauce and let the little one decorate it with coconut shavings. This recipe is easy to make and children will love it. It is nutritious as it contains banana and vanilla ice-cream, both a source of calcium.
- Tomato-Cucumber Salad: Give the child diced tomatoes and cucumbers and place a large bowl in front of them. Ask them to put both these ingredients while you add 2 tablespoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon rice vinegar and fresh chopped basil. Now ask the child to toss it and serve them in small bowls. By involving them to gather ingredients and washing the vegetables, they will be involved and will also like to eat their own creation.
- Fruit Salsa: Ask the little one to gather various fruits and wash them while you cut them into pieces. Utilize varied fruits such as berries, banana, apple and mango. Now ask the child to put them into the bowl while you add a teaspoon of honey to it. Serve it with whole wheat pita chips for an interesting twist. Children love the colorful look along with the pita chips.
References
Resolution WHA55.23. Diet, physical activity and health. In: Fifty-fifth World Health Assembly, Geneva, 13--18 May 2002. Volume 1. Resolutions and decisions, annexes. Geneva, World Health Organization, 2002 (document WHA55/2002/REC/1):28--30.
Talking Food (2004). Schulmilch zwischen Anspruch und Wirklichkeit. (http://www.talkingfood.de/presse/presseschau/, accessed 15 September 2006).
