Nutrition and Children

Good nutrition and eating habits are important to all children because it helps them to grow up healthy, it reduces the risk of disease and death, and it prevents obesity. By using the nutrition guidelines from the My Pyramid Food Guidance System and the My Pyramid for Kids, parents, teachers, and children, can refer to them to see the requirements for a healthy diet. The My Pyramid for Kids allows parents and teachers to learn what is required for children based on all of the food groups and the children’s activity level (Robertson, 2010, p.219). This guide was made especially for children and it even can be used by children because it has colorful pictures and the website has coloring pages that children can color as well as, games and interactive activities pertaining to healthy eating. Good nutrition also helps a “child maintain health and fight off infections, colds, and other communicable diseases” (Robertson, C. 2010, p.246). Families can help their children to prevent catching a disease, become sick, and to grow healthy by making sure their child brings nutritious foods to school every day. Teachers can help maintain a child’s overall well-being by creating fun, informative activities and hand-outs for the children that show how good nutrition is important.
Adults should actively help children develop healthy eating habits by offering them healthy foods from all of the food groups as suggested by the My Pyramid for Kids, and offer them fun ways to include them in the preparation of healthy meals. This is so important because we are role models for children, and children see what we eat and they develop the same eating habits as we do. It is important for a child’s overall health and development to learn about the benefits of fruits and vegetables, and to practice healthy eating habits to pass the risk of death and disease.
Parents can help a child to practice healthy eating by buying groceries and preparing meals that include all of the foods suggested by the My Pyramid Food for Kids. “The adult is responsible for controlling what food comes into the house and how it is presented to the child” (Robertson, C. 2010, p. 307). If a parent is accustomed to eating out all of the time, the child may not want to try foods that are not prepared at home such as vegetables, fruits, and whole grains because the food is unrecognizable and has a different taste. Instead, parents can take the child shopping with them to purchase food, and let the child be an active participant in the picking of fruits and vegetables. This teaches the child the importance of eating healthy foods.
Teachers can create fun lesson plans that allow the children hands- on experiences with healthy foods such as through reading books, and preparing recipes where the children can be an active participant. “The teacher can foster good nutrition by involving preschoolers in selecting and preparing foods” (Robertson, C. 2010, p. 315). Children can also help out by setting the table, or they can make recommendations on what to eat. By allowing children to be active participants they can gain confidence, and develop an interest to try new things.
Pyramid Tortilla
This is a fun snack or lunch for kids to make. It has food from all of the food groups.
For each tortilla you will need:
(1) 8-inch tortilla
1-2 ounces thin sliced turkey or ham
2 Tablespoons shredded cheese
¼ cup shredded lettuce
1 Tablespoon raisins
Low fat mayonnaise, cream cheese or margarine
Give each child a tortilla. Have them spread with mayonnaise, margarine, or cream cheese. Then layer on the turkey or ham, cheese lettuce, and raisins. Roll up and enjoy. This sandwich could also be made using a slice of bread or an English muffin.
Resources
University of Illinois Extension: Food for Thought: Ideas for Parents of Preschoolers
http://urbanext.illinois.edu/foodforthought/0209.html.

Magical Fruit Salad
(1) 20-ounce can pineapple chunks in juice
½ pound seedless grapes
2 bananas
1 ¾ cups low fat milk
1 small package (3 ½ ounces) instant lemon or vanilla pudding mix.
Drain the pineapple chunks. Put the chunks in the bowl. Rinse the grapes. Pat dry with a paper towel. Add the grapes to the bowl. Peel and cut the bananas in to bite size pieces. Pour the milk over the fruit. While slowly stirring the fruit mixture, sprinkle in the pudding mix. Let the mixture stand for 5 minutes.
Best eaten soon. Refrigerate any leftovers.
Makes 8 servings.
Nutritional information per serving: 160 calories, 1g fat, 5 mg cholesterol, 180 mg sodium, 36mg carbohydrate.
Resources
University of Illinois Extension: Food for Thought: Ideas for Parents of Preschoolers
http://urbanext.illinois.edu/foodforthought/0212.html.

Banana Milkshake
(1) Cup low fat milk
1 large banana sliced
Mix milk and banana together for a delicious milkshake. Serves 2. Nutrition Information: 110 calories, 2.5 g fat, 10 mg cholesterol, 50 mg sodium, 19 g carbohydrate.
Resources
University of Illinois Extension: Food for Thought: Ideas for Parents of Preschoolers
http://urbanext.illinois.edu/foodforthought/0301.html.

The Pyramid Tortilla has grains, meats, dairy, fruit, and vegetable groups all in one. This is a great recipe for feeding a child all of the foods in the pyramid in one meal. The children can help with the preparation of this recipe by ripping the lettuce, spreading the mayo, cream cheese, or margarine on the tortillas, topping the tortillas, and rolling up the tortillas. Of course the children can also help by tasting the finished product.
The Fruit Salad is a great way to get the children to eat fruits that they love. Also, the children can help to add the fruit to the bowl and with mixing.
The Banana Milkshake is a great way to enhance dairy products such as milk; also it makes a cool treat for any child to enjoy in the summer, or as a quick snack. The children can participate by breaking up, or cutting the banana and placing it in the blender, also to pour the milk in the blender, and push the button.

Resources
3
Robertson, C. (2010). Safety, nutrition, and health in early education (4th ed.).
Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning.
University of Illinois Extension: Food for Thought: Ideas for Parents of
Preschoolers http://urbanext.illinois.edu/foodforthought/.