Eating healthy means having a variety of foods to make sure that the child gets the right amount of nutrients such as protein, carbohydrates, fat, vitamins, minerals, etc. Encouraging Children to eat a nutritious balanced diet early on is important for a number of reasons. Ensuring that they get the right vitamins and minerals in their diet will help them grow and develop optimally. they're also more likely to be more energized and motivated, supporting their ability to learn. Educating them on healthy eating during early childhood will also help them make healthy choices as they become adults. Water is also very important as it helps to maintain the body's vital functions. It is also very important that you make sure your child is not consuming too much food as this could cause your child to become overweight or cause health problems such as obesity. A healthy diet for a child is making sure they have lots of fruit and vegetables, starchy foods, bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, etc. Calcium and iron-rich foods are also important in a Child's diet such as milk, dairy, and other sources of protein such as meat, fish, and eggs. It is also important to make sure your child is not having too much salt or sugar within their diet.
The change4life Programme promotes healthy eating by ensuring that as many children as possible eat healthy school food, change-life Also provides a lot of guidance and resources on things such as healthier breakfast clubs, water provision, healthier vending machine options, healthier lunch boxes, etc. Change4life is the first-ever national social marketing campaign to reduce obesity. Change4life promotes healthy eating by advising people to reduce sugar intake, increasing consumption of fruit and vegetables (five a day), having structured meals especially breakfast, reducing unhealthy snacking throughout the day, reducing portion sizes, and reducing fat consumption. They also advise people to be active for at least 60 minutes per day. Doing all these things at an early age will reduce the chance of a Child becoming obese as they get older. This program provides encouragement, information, and support for families to get their children eating better and moving more. This initiative encourages families to think about making healthy lifestyle choices. This principle has been adopted in schools as all school lunches must now make nutrition-based standards to ensure they provide children the fuel they need to lead a healthy, active lifestyle.
Since 2003 The preschool learning alliance campaign, feeding young imaginations has campaigned for better nutritional support for under five. Feeding young imagination seeks to ensure that all children get a healthy start in life. They work in partnership with the nutrition foundation to help parents and preschool settings with practitioner guidance and development of food and nutrition. Although this is a good initiative and supports parents and gives information on how to give their children a more healthy diet I do believe that it shouldn't stop at five years of age.
The traffic light label was introduced in 2014 as part of an initiative by the government to improve public health. I feel this is a good initiative as it is really easy to use and gives a good understanding of what is inside the food products. The traffic light labeling uses different colors such as red, amber, and green, red shows products that are high in fat, saturates, sugar, and salt, and green shows what is low in fat, saturates, sugar, and salt. This initiative is there to encourage parents to look at what is inside the foods they're buying for their children and make healthier choices for them. It was designed to give consumers an immediate idea as to whether something is healthy (green) or not (red) in terms of fat, sugar, or salt.
When preparing food for children you must ensure that It is balanced and nutritious, whether you are preparing a meal or just a snack. It is very important to check if any of the children you are preparing food for have any special dietary requirements such as allergies, intolerance, or preferences before preparing the food for them. There are all different reasons why a child might have a special dietary requirement. There are many different types of medical conditions that they could have. For example, children with diabetes will need regular food to maintain insulin levels and children with coeliac disease will require a gluten-free diet. Allergies and intolerances are also very important to look into as giving an individual certain foods or drinks they can not have can result in that child becoming ill. You may also have children that Have dietary requirements based on cultural or religious beliefs, you must always respect this no matter what and always follow the requirements. It is important that children are given healthy food choices such as fruit and vegetables and are encouraged to eat healthy. When preparing meals for children try to restrict any foods that are high in fat, sugar, and salt such as chocolate and cake, etc. You must always make sure that fresh water is available at all times for the children to access, it is also very salient to encourage children to drink lots of water throughout the day.