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Healthy Eating Tips for School Children:

School age is the perfect time for children to learn about healthy food, bodies, exercise & activity. This is the time when their social lives get busy, have pocket money & become more aware of their own lifestyle choices.

Children need a wide variety of foods for a well-balanced diet. The amount of physical activity they have in a day will be an important part of how much they need to eat. When children are busy & active, snacking is also important to keep energy levels high. A healthy breakfast & morning snack, a good lunch, afternoon treats & an evening meal is usually needed to support their busy lifestyles.

Some healthy snack suggestions include:

• yogurt as it’s a good source of protein & calcium.

• Fruit.

• popcorn as it’s nutritious whole grain.

• celery with peanut butter & raisins.

• Nuts & trail mix.

• Oatmeal etc.

Each child has individual nutritional & dietary needs so a healthy eating plan is something each whanau & their child can work on together.

Breakfast:

Breakfast is sometimes referred to as the most important meal of the day so when it comes to children, It is important to encourage. A good night’s sleep followed by food in the morning helps children stay active & promotes concentration, focus & motivation. It also means that children are less likely to be too hungry during the morning & should help with school performance. It’s essential that parents are role models so let your children see you eat breakfast too.

School lunches:

Many schools have a canteen that offers a range of food choices. Most schools follow government guidelines to encourage healthy food choices. Sometimes a child will choose an easy alternative that maybe high in cost & energy, but have very low nutritional value. Nutritional learning usually starts at home, so preparing a packed lunch from home with your children is a great way for them to learn about healthy food & nutrition.

Some healthy lunch box suggestions include:

• Sandwiches or pita bread with cheese, lean meat, hummus and salad.

• Cheese slices, crackers with spread, & fresh or dried fruits.

• Washed & cut up raw vegetables or fresh fruits.

• Frozen water bottle.

Unhealthy School lunches Should Be Avoided:

Highly processed, sugary, fatty & salty foods should only make up a very small part of your child’s diet.

Foods to limit in everyday school lunches include:

• Processed meats such as salami, ham, pressed chicken and Strasbourg

• Chips, sweet biscuits, muesli bars & breakfast bars

• Fruit bars & fruit straps

• Excessive instant noodle consumption as it can trigger obesity & metabolic ailments like diabetes, high blood pressure, hypertension & heart problems to name a few.

• Cordials, juices & soft drinks.

After-School Snacks:

Children may have swings in appetite depending on their daily activity levels, so allow them to choose how much they need to eat while offering a wide variety of healthy foods. Some children only eat small amounts at the evening meal, so make sure that the afternoon snack is nutritious, not just high in energy.

Snack suggestions include:

• A sandwich with a glass of milk

• Cereal & fruit

• A bowl of soup & toast.

• Mixed nuts

• Greek yogurt & mixed berries.

• Apple slices with peanut butter.

• Cottage cheese with flax seeds and cinnamon.

• Celery sticks with cream cheese.

• Kale chips.

• Dark chocolate & almonds

Family Mealtimes:

For school children, family mealtimes provide a chance to share & talk about the day’s activities & events. It also helps reinforce healthy eating habits.

Family mealtime suggestions include:

• Allow talk & sharing of daytime activities.

• Avoid distractions such as the television, radio or the telephone.

• Let your child decide when they are full – don’t argue about food.

• Allow children to help with preparing meals & shopping.

• Teach some simple nutrition facts such as ‘milk keeps your bones strong’ etc.

Drinks:

Hydration is just as important as eating. Hydration or drinking enough water each day is crucial for many reasons. It helps regulate body temperature, keep joints lubricated, prevent infections, deliver nutrients to cells, & keep organs functioning properly. Being well-hydrated also improves sleep quality, cognition, & mood.

Some hydration suggestion include;

• Children should be encouraged to drink plain water.

• Sweet drinks such as cordials or fruit juice are not needed for a healthy diet & are not recommended.

• A glass of milk equals a serve of dairy food. A general rule of thumb is that three serves are needed each day to meet a child's calcium needs.

Treats & Peer Pressure:

Peer pressure to eat particular ‘trendy’ foods such as McDonalds, KFC & Burger King at this age is strong. Let your child eat these kinds of foods occasionally, such as at parties, special events or when the rest of the family enjoys them. It’s best to limit the amount of money children are given to spend on food outside parental supervision.

The occasional lolly, bag of chips or takeaway food doesn’t do any harm. If they are not eaten too often.

Exercise & Activity:

Physical activity is an important part of good health. Try to encourage your children to do something active each day, such as a hobby, play a game or be involved in sport.

A general guideline is that primary school children require a recommended 60 minutes of activity each day, and no more than two hours of watching TV, DVDs or computer games.

To increase your child’s activity, try to:

• Limit the amount of time spent watching television, using computers, devices including gaming systems..

• Do something physical & active together.

• Go & watch your child play sports.

• Encourage daily activity, not just exercise.

• Use the car less & walk to places within close proximity.

Important Tips to Remember:

• Children need a variety of different foods each day.

• Snacks are an important part of a healthy diet for active children.

• Make snacks nutritious, not just high in energy.

• Plan to share meals as a family.

• Enjoy talking and sharing the day’s happenings at mealtimes.

• Let children tell you when they’re full.

• Give your child lunch to take from home.

• Let children help with food preparation and meal planning.

• Encourage physical activities for the whole family.

• Encourage children to drink plain water.

• It is important to encourage breakfast, because a good night’s sleep followed by food in the morning helps your child stay active and concentrate at school.

Disclaimer:

This article is only a guide to support healthy nutrition. Parents know their child's likes, dislikes, dietary needs & allergies. Such things as these need to be taken into consideration in the planning & preparing of breakfast, snacks, lunches & evening meals..

Other help & Resources:

https://health.tki.org.nz/Key-collections/Healthy-lifestyles/Nutrition-websites

School Public Health Nurse Service.

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