Joven

Nutrition for Elementary School Age Children
Are you worried about your elementary school aged child's eating habits? When children begin school, they are faced with many new experiences andchallenges. One of these new experiences is eating lunch, and sometimes breakfast, at school. They will be making more of their own decisions about what foods to choose and how much to eat. This is a greattime to teach them about what makes up a healthy diet and why eating a variety of foods is important for good health. ❖ Encourage your child to eat breakfast every day, whether at school or at home.Without breakfast, many children become hungry mid-morning. This can affect their concentration. Even short-term lack of food can affect brain function. Cereal with milk is fast and nutritious and costsless than 50 cents per serving. Non-traditional breakfast, such as soft pretzels, string cheese and leftover cold pizza, may appeal to children who don't normally like to eat breakfast. ❖ Encourageyour child to choose and drink low fat or fat-free milk with meals. The calcium in milk builds strong bones and teeth and the vitamin D added to milk helps the body absorb calcium. Strong dense bonesnow may help prevent osteoporosis, or serious bone loss, later in life. ❖ Encourage your child to choose and eat fruits and vegetables each day. Five or more servings are recommended for all ages. Thevitamins and minerals fruits and vegetables contain include vitamin C, which helps cuts and bruises heal, and vitamin A from beta carotene. Vitamin A is important for healthy vision. Although avitamin supplement could supply vitamins C and A, there are many other things in fruits and vegetables which scientists feel are important for good health, such as the pigments which give the fruits andvegetables their color. These are called phytochemicals and research indicates they may play a role in lowering our risk of cancer and heart disease later in life. ❖ Encourage your child to eat foods...