Unit 12- Cache Extended Diploma in Child Care Essay Example
Unit 12
E1
Whilst working as a childcare practitioner it is essential that you as a practitioner are aware of how to maintain a healthy and balanced diet due to the amount of food that you will be preparing and serving to children. Even more essential is that you are aware of how important a healthy and balanced diet is too growing children. The food that children eat is especially important as it helps them to grow and gives them energy so that they can develop. Some scientists have also found that the food we eat in our childhood may affect our health in later life. A healthy diet in childhood is one indicator of high life expectancy. For our bodies to function and develop properly it needs nutrients. The body needs the five types of nutrients these are:- * Carbohydrates * Proteins * Fats * Vitamins * Mineral elements
To achieve all the nutrients we need the body has to take in a range of foods, this is what is meant by a balanced diet by including a variety of different foods and drinks (water is another important part of a balanced diet but it is not classed as a nutrient). There, some foods even contain a variety of nutrients. There are two main functions that nutrients contribute to providing us with which are; providing the body with material for growth and repair and to provide the body with energy.
Nutrition guidelines recommended for adults are inappropriate for most children under the age of five. This is because young children only have small tummies and so need plenty of calories and nutrients in a small amount of food to ensure they grow properly. While low-fat diets are recommended for older children and adults, under-fives need diets that contain good amounts of fat. This fat should come from foods that contain plenty of other nutrients like meat, oily fish and full-fat milk (semi-skimmed milk is unsuitable for children under the age of two, and skimmed unsuitable for under-fives), rather than from high-fat foods that contain
E1
Whilst working as a childcare practitioner it is essential that you as a practitioner are aware of how to maintain a healthy and balanced diet due to the amount of food that you will be preparing and serving to children. Even more essential is that you are aware of how important a healthy and balanced diet is too growing children. The food that children eat is especially important as it helps them to grow and gives them energy so that they can develop. Some scientists have also found that the food we eat in our childhood may affect our health in later life. A healthy diet in childhood is one indicator of high life expectancy. For our bodies to function and develop properly it needs nutrients. The body needs the five types of nutrients these are:- * Carbohydrates * Proteins * Fats * Vitamins * Mineral elements
To achieve all the nutrients we need the body has to take in a range of foods, this is what is meant by a balanced diet by including a variety of different foods and drinks (water is another important part of a balanced diet but it is not classed as a nutrient). There, some foods even contain a variety of nutrients. There are two main functions that nutrients contribute to providing us with which are; providing the body with material for growth and repair and to provide the body with energy.
Nutrition guidelines recommended for adults are inappropriate for most children under the age of five. This is because young children only have small tummies and so need plenty of calories and nutrients in a small amount of food to ensure they grow properly. While low-fat diets are recommended for older children and adults, under-fives need diets that contain good amounts of fat. This fat should come from foods that contain plenty of other nutrients like meat, oily fish and full-fat milk (semi-skimmed milk is unsuitable for children under the age of two, and skimmed unsuitable for under-fives), rather than from high-fat foods that contain