According to the National Institutes of Health, media and peer pressure can cause children to develop poor nutrition habits, which can lead to malnutrition. Malnutrition is a medical condition that involves your body not receiving enough nutrients. Malnutrition can cause dizziness, fatigue and weight loss, as well as more serious medical complications, including death. Poor nutrition can also cause obesity. Fortunately, parents can help children become aware of media and peer pressures, and thus more likely to make healthier nutrition choices outside the home.
Identification
Proper nutrition for children means eating a wide variety of food. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture released the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. These guidelines include nutrition advice for children. The guidelines recommend that children eat fruits, vegetables, low-fat or fat-free milk and other dairy products, poultry, fish, lean meats, beans, nuts, eggs and whole grains. It is particularly important for children to receive adequate calcium so that their bones and teeth can become strong as they grow into adults.
Features
According to Medline Plus, providing children balanced nutrition typically involves offering five servings of vegetables and fruit each day. Make sure to give children healthy protein sources such as nuts, lean meats and eggs. Do not allow children to eat too much junk food, including fast foods. The amount of each food children should eat, however, depends on the age, gender and level of physical activity of each individual child. See Resources below for a link to My Pyramid, a USDA website that offers individualized nutrition advice based on these particular factors.
Significance
All children need to have good nutrition habits in order to grow strong and healthy. Proper nutrition also enables children to have enough energy, maintain a normal physical weight, avoid related diseases (such as type 2 diabetes) and experience a general sense of well-being.
Considerations
Parents play a major role in helping shape child nutrition habits. The National Institutes of Health report that when adults eat a variety of food that is low in sugar and fat, children learn to like these kinds of foods as well. If you work outside of the house, other child care providers also contribute to shaping your child's nutrition and eating habits. Make sure your child care provider gives your children well-balanced snacks and meals. Find out whether your child's school offers nutritious breakfast and lunch programs. If this is not the case, pack a healthy lunch for your child to take to school instead.
Prevention/Solution
There are ways you can prevent your child from suffering from nutrition-related illnesses. Ensure that your child eats breakfast every day. Possible breakfast options include oatmeal, low-sugar cereal, fruit, milk, toast and low-fat granola. Provide your child a variety of foods with less fat--bake, poach or roast food instead of frying it. Reduce the amount of sugar in your child's diet by providing low-fat milk or water instead of fruit-flavored or sugar-sweetened sodas. Instead of offering artificially sweetened snacks, provide your children fresh fruit, vegetables, rice cakes and whole-grain crackers as snacks. Be a role model of good nutrition habits for your children to follow.
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