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Nutrition in Children
Nutrition is important for the entire population for a number of reasons. Not only is it the sustenance that our body needs to help us grow and carry out our everyday physical, mental and emotional tasks, but it is also the main source for preventing and managing the major diseases that affect our population.
Fruit and vegetables contain many antioxidants thus by eating plenty of them you can help protect yourself against many diseases. Research has shown that diets high in saturated fats and low in fruit and vegetables increase the incidence of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, some cancers, as well as diseases of the eyes such as cataracts. Maintaining a healthy diet does contribute to disease prevention and while we cannot control our biology we can control what we eat.
Children learn good eating habits from their parents thus if we want our children to be healthy eaters then it is important that we are good role models. Fruits and vegetables are healthy options that should be included in your family’s everyday menu. If you make eating fruit and vegetables a positive experience for your child then this should be easy. Here is some ideas:
- Start your own vegetable garden at home. Allow your child to help choose the type of vegetable and fruit plants to grow in your garden, assist you in planting them and in maintaining the garden. Picking vegetables once they have been grown can be very exciting to children.
- Make funny shapes and objects out of your fruit and vegetables before serving or eating them.
- Use vegetables in other ways than just as food for meal times. Paint a picture by using coloured paints and potatoes cut in different shapes as stamps. Or make pictures of animals etc. out of the different fruits and vegetables.
- Include your child in the decision process, for example they could help choose what veggies to have with dinner that night, or help you to cook or serve the vegetables.
Packing an interesting, yet healthy lunch for your child, will introduce them to a variety of foods while teaching them about healthy eating. The food pyramid is a great guide in choosing a variety of foods to create a healthy lunch. This also ensures that your child receives sufficient nutrition during their day to keep their minds and bodies stimulated for learning.
Daily amounts of foods required for children to reach at least 70% of their recommended daily intake:
| Food Groups | Breads, Cereals, Rice, Pasta & Noodles |
Vegetables & Legumes |
Fruit | Milk, Cheese & Yoghurt |
Meat, Poultry, Fish, Eggs & Nuts |
| Age Groups | |||||
| 4-7 years (3000kj) |
2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0.5 |
| 8 - 11 (4000kj) |
3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
Their lunches should include carbohydrates such as breads, fruits, vegetables, low fat dairy products and protein such as meat or cheese and your child should be encouraged to drink plenty of water throughout the day.
When your child is feeling hungry fill them up on healthy snacks including: cheese sticks, canned or fresh fruits, corn/rice thins, or vegetable sticks such as carrots, celery or capsicum cut into strips.
Visit our recipe section for school lunch and snack ideas!