Healthy Eating for Children

This talk is about children’s nutrition and giving them a healthy, balanced diet.
Some people don’t really know what is meant by a healthy, balanced diet. A balanced diet is meant to consist of certain proportions of food and these proportions all need to be eaten in balanced quantities.
There are 7 different nutrients a child should have for a balanced diet, these are:-

1. Carbohydrates (staple food): - which are found in either starches found in potatoes, pasta, rice etc. or sugars found in fruit, milk, sweets etc.

2. Fats: - which are normally either saturated fats or unsaturated fats. Saturated fats can be found in butter, cheese and meat, where as unsaturated fats are found in olive, vegetable and fish oils, sunflower seeds, corn and wheat germ.

3. Vitamins: - these vitamins are
A – liver, oily fish, butter and margarine
B – whole cereals, yeast, yogurts, milk, meat, fish, bread and potatoes.
C – potatoes, tomatoes, citrus fruit, green vegetables and salads.
D – oily fish, fish liver oils and liver.
E – Wheat germ, whole wheat flour and bread, sesame and sunflower seeds and oils.
K – Present in most vegetables.

4. Minerals: - are found in
Calcium which is in milk, cheese, tinned fish, bread and flour.
Iron which is in liver, kidney, red meat, nuts etc.
Sodium which is in slat, meat, fish, bread.
Fluoride which is in water.

5. Fibre: - is found in oats, whole wheat bread, beans, leafy vegetables, prunes and apples.

6. Water: - is found in all food and drinks.

Food is important for children because they learn through play, so food is particularly important for children because they need the energy from food that is eaten to grow and develop. Parents, carers and child care providers need to make sure that children get the right amount of nutrients for a balanced diet because young children are incapable of doing this them-selves.

The main food groups we have should be given each day within proportion. Here I am going to explain how much of something we should have, what nutrients are in it. Food group | Nutrients | Portions Per Day (PPD) | Staple food | Fibre
Vitamins
Minerals
Carbohydrates
| 3-5 PPD
One of the foods given at each meal time,
E.G, cereal at breakfast, potatoes at lunch and rice for tea. | Fruit and Veg | Fibre
Vitamins
Minerals
Carbohydrates | 3-4 PPD
Either as part of a meal or pudding or as a snack through out the day. | Milk/ milk products | Protein
Fats
Vitamins
Minerals | 2-3 PPD
1 pint of milk
1small yogurt
28g of cheese | High protein food | Protein
Fats
Vitamins
Minerals | 2-3 PPD given as a meal either for lunch or for tea. | Fats and oils | Essential fatty acids | Only give small amounts and not frequently. |

From talking about healthy food I am now going to talk about junk food and how it can also supply a child with the right nutrients if given correctly.
As we all know eating fast food all the time is not good for you and is often dismissed as not providing a healthy diet however ‘junk food’ can also provide a useful contribution to a child’s diet. Fast food/ junk food can be included in a healthy diet by balancing it out with fresh fruit and veg.

How can you encourage children to eat their food?

You can encourage children to eat their food by making meal times an enjoyable event in their daily routine. A meal time can also be used to help children learn about different things like:- * Counting how many people are at the table with them or counting how many things are on their plates. * What different colours are used for foods. * What shapes there are at the table * What to set on a table. * How to share things * Using their left and right hand * Understanding what a solid and a liquid is * Understanding the concept of halves and quarters
All of this can also help their social behaviours as well as showing them what an acceptable behaviour is while they are eating.

We incorporate this into carousel by asking the children what different colours are on their plates or by asking them to count how many children there are at the table with them.
We encourage healthy, balanced diets through offering the children fresh fruit and vegetables at snack time as well as some other things like pitta bread to give them a range of the vitamins and energy that they need through out the day.