Are the days gone when kids don’t have pressures and just enjoy their meals wherever they are? Blame it on the changing times, if this is true. Modern lifestyle seems to be losing its touch on mankind’s need for an enjoyable meal, whether it’s a regular one or snacks. School children are most affected by the demands of their academic requirements and this should alarm parents, the academe including the systems and professionals, policy makers and local citizens. The effects could be wide ranging and irreversible, if this continues unabated. The good news is, schools have started to systematize academic schedules and re-create menus that will allow a more flexible time for school children to eat properly and enjoy their meals
A recent survey by the School Nutrition Association reveals that school children spend less time in eating their meals due to many contributing factors in their school set up. Factors may vary from one school to another, but the common one is the time allotted for school children to eat their meals. And this could be a reason for school children’s obesity problems. The obesity tendency is attributed to the short lunch time. This causes people to eat super quick meals and get hungry in such a short time. There’s not even time to really sit down and have lunch enjoyably.
The survey can very well serve as a lesson to parents, especially moms. Responsible parenthood is a calling that is geared towards raising generally healthy children. Physical health should go well with the psycho-emotional-social-mental state of a child. Developing the child’s health awareness and healthy system starts at home. Providing children with proper diet and nutrition is a good starting point to make them aware of the effects of food in their bodies. Educating the children is not just within the four walls of the classroom but also being hands-on in many aspects of child development. One is food and the other is time management in relation to establishing healthy eating habits.
Moms can do much in addressing the lunch problem in school. There are so many options to ensure that their kids achieve a healthy state. Make it a point to be proactive at home and in school. Putting a child in school requires a lot of preparation from the parents.
Get to know the academic environment where your kid will be, because this is the place where most of the kid’s time is spent. It is important that moms check out on the educational institution’s systems in general and this includes looking at the big and small things and details such schedules and cafeterias which could have an effect on their children. Mothers should be very meticulous in getting around their kid’s well being.
Food is a basic necessity, wherever and whatever you are. As mothers, the responsibility of providing healthy foods should not be a burden. If by chance, time is a constraint to prepare lunch or snack provisions for your school children, make sure you have checked out what your children will get to eat at school cafeterias. Make them smart foodies by developing their eating habits and educate them in choosing the right lunch or snacks that will make them develop their minds and bodies.
Children learn by examples. At a young age, they tend to imitate the older ones and the values they get will equip them at a later stage in their lives. Make it a point that meals become bonding moments where everyone sits down, enjoy the meal and share about many things.