According to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, more than half of all U.S. children participate in the National School Lunch Program. In recent years, as rates of childhood obesity have risen, school lunches have come under scrutiny. Increasingly, parents and legislators are demanding healthier school lunch choices. Fortunately, shifts toward healthier food are already occurring and many schools have banned items like candy and sugary drinks. From teaching your child to prepare a healthy bag-lunch to promoting changes at your local schools, there are many ways you can promote healthy lunches to kids.
Be a Champion for Healthy School Lunch
Step 1
Serve wholesome, healthy foods at home. One of the best ways to promote a child's sound school lunch choices is to instill healthy eating habits at home. Kids can be influenced to appreciate, like and even crave wholesome foods, especially when they are young. Eliminating or restricting unhealthy sweets, soda, snack and processed foods from your house removes them as an option from your child's diet. Providing foods based on fresh, wholesome, natural ingredients for yourself and your kids sets an excellent example of a healthy diet.
Step 2
Share age-appropriate information about basic nutrition with your child. Teach him that healthy eating also means balancing food groups to meet nutritional requirements. As your young child eats food that you prepare for him, share and explain why you have chosen the foods that you are serving. Even very young children can be taught the basic differences between food groups and the importance of each group.
Step 3
Involve kids in preparing lunch as much as possible. Most children enjoy having choices and mastering skills. For example, if you teach your child to include one fruit and one vegetable in her lunch, set out some foods and allow her to choose what she prefers from the available options. It's important to praise kids when they make good choices and to reinforce the rationale for eating healthy foods.
Step 4
Stock up on healthy lunch ingredients. Use only whole-grain bread products. Substitute baked vegetable or potato chips for standard ones. Offer a variety of low-fat flavored yogurt from which kids can choose. Keeping lean turkey breast, soy-based deli meat substitutes, tuna fish, reduced-fat cheese and nut butters on hand and allowing kids to get creative can spur their interest. Creamy, mild mashed avocado is a tasty and healthful alternative to butter and mayonnaise. Your child will learn to like what is consistently available.
Step 5
Ask for and read a copy of your child's school lunch menu. KidsHealth recommends going over the menu together with your child. While the recently passed Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 mandates a change to healthy school lunches in all schools, parents have and can make a difference in their own communities. Across the U.S., local initiatives have spearheaded changes to school menus, among them the elimination of junk food, soda and vending machines. Knowing what your school offers children for lunch is an important first step toward change.
Tips and Warnings
- For young and school-age children, keep an ice cube tray filled with an assortment of cleaned, fresh, chopped vegetables in the refrigerator. These are good for snacking and for having ready to add to a bag-lunch. Low-fat string cheese is a healthy and convenient source of protein and calcium; most kids also find it fun to eat. The best beverage for kids is pure water. Using a straw or interesting cup can encourage kids to drink enough water. Drinking 100 percent fruit juice can be healthy for kids when consumed in moderation.
- Don't use food to reward or punish children. It's never a good idea to create power struggles of any kind over food. Children, especially young children, sometimes go through periodic and temporary food "fixations" as a normal part of development. You should alert your child's doctor to any concern or change in his eating habits. It's not advisable for kids to drink sugary sodas and other beverages with added sugar.
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