Week 4 Assignment 2 - Healthy Food and Nutrition

·         Summarize why good nutrition and eating habits are so important to children in each age group. Cite evidence from Chapter 6 in your text and/or other resources to support your claims.

Infants – When it comes to infants getting good nutrition and  eating habits, its all up to what mom eats.  The first 6 months of their lives, infants are breast fed and get all of their nutrients from their mother’s milk, therefore, their mother’s need to have a nutritious and well balanced diet to produce quality milk.  “Today, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is involved in an ongoing effort to increase the number of babies who are breast fed, increase the time they are exclusively breast fed to four to six month, and to increase the time they are breast fed to the first 12 months of life.” (Robertson, 2013, p. 293).  As the infant is growing and reaching milestones, the once newborn has become a young/older infant. Solids and finger foods are introduced between ages of 6/9 months old.  Pureed vegetables/fruits/meats/poultry/grains/cereals and yogurt can be added onto the list these younger infants can eat. The older infant 9/12 months can be introduced to “meats, eggs, breads, crackers, cottage cheese, pasta and rice.” (Robertson, 2013, p. 302; Table 8-5).  This will be the start of their good nutritional/eating habits.

Toddlers – Toddlers need to keep on with the healthy setting they learned from being older infants. “These foods should be nutritious and include milk, fruits, vegetables and whole grains, and should be given in a variety of forms so that the children have a chance for a broader food preferences as they go through life.” (Robertson, 2013, p. 306). Self – regulating is also very important at this age, toddlers give you hints when they are full, whether its pushing the food away or signing “all done.” “It’s important for children to learn to distinguish between feeling hungry and being full.” (Robertson, 2013, p. 307).

Pre-Schoolers – With Preschoolers, allowing them to be involved in the process of menu planning, is acknowledging what they are learning from their parents/teachers/peers on nutritious foods and good eating habits.  They are influenced by what they see on t.v. , also by what their peers/parents/teachers eat.  “Teachers and friends at school also influence preschoolers.  These young children feel secure eating familiar foods, but if encouraged to explore, they may try new foods.” (Robertson, 2013, p. 313). “Childrenof this age can assist with helping to plan meals, set the table, and help with meal preparation if encouraged.” (Rose, 2009); (Robertson, 2013, p. 313).

School – Age – The needs of early elementary school age children, ages 5 to 8, vary greatly “from those of infants, toddlers, and pre-schoolers. Growth is slower during this period and not as observed as in the earlier infants-toddler growth spurt or  the adolescent growth spurt that will occur later.  However, the vigorous activity level that most school-aged children require makes the need for adequate nutrition important.”  (Robertson, 2013, p. 316).  Offering good nutritious snacks to children this age is easier, once they are taught how to make good or better healthy/nutritious snack, it’s easier for them to keep up the healthy habit.

·         Refer to Chapter 8 in your course text and explain why adults should actively help children develop healthy eating habits and at least two ways this can be accomplished.

By learning, bonding, guiding and understanding, also appreciating their child’s independence and age.  With learning how to choose yummy healthy fruits and vegetables, parents can make a grocery trip be a sensory activity. Like: how to smell the fruit/vegetable, what the color of the fruit/vegetable is, how the fruit/vegetable feels, how the fruit/vegetable tastes, and as the parents do this with their child, it becomes a bonding/guiding experience.  Cooking a meal can also turn out to be a guiding/bonding activity.  When cooking a meal with the child, explain how the process of cooking the meal is going to be.  How cooking the fruits/vegetables/meats/fish/etc change as they are on the skillet/oven/etc and whether the child thinks it would make the food yummier/stay the same.  How nutritious it is to mix and match vegetables/fruits, add rice to a dish, herbs, oils.  Parents are role models and children mimic what they do, so, if a new ingredient is being tried onto a plate, parents must set the example when it comes to eating.

Provide three nutritious recipes that family members can prepare with preschoolers and explain the nutritional value of each. (To locate recipes, look through the various suggested Web sites or do research as needed.) Offer strategies and suggestions to make cooking together an enjoyable learning experience for children.

Bananas in a Blanket:  http://www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org/banana-in-a-blanket

This recipe can be served as breakfast or as a snack.  Talking to your child about trying this recipe and cooking a “somewhat messy and fun” breakfast/snack, will surely pick your child’s interest.  Everything about this recipe screams fun and mess, there is just no way that one can stay clean when cooking with peanut butter, bananas, maple syrup, honey and crunchy/nutty cereal.  Nothing like having fun with your child, getting messy and reliving how it’s like to be a child. Soy butter, almond butter, cashew butter can be substituted for peanut butter, whether its for a change of texture, allergy restriction or special diet preference.

T-Rex Tortilla Pizza:  http://www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org/t-rex-tortilla-pizza

This recipe can be used for either lunch or dinner, and have the whole family be involved in making their own “T-Rex Tortilla Pizza.”  3 to 8 year olds can have fun and use their imagination when giving their “T-Rex Tortilla Pizza” shape, and parents can use/substitute other ingredients on the pizza, as a “exploring new colors/taste” activity.  Ingredients I recommend for substitution are green peppers, grape tomatoes, black beans or garbanzo beans for the eyes; they could use this as “sides” to make the pizza come “alive” in their plate or “3D” effect.  Children can help with cooking by putting the cheese and salsa on the tortilla, for older children with the guidance of a parent, they can stir the chicken, turkey. 

Symphony of Fruit Pizza:   http://www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org/symphony-or-fruit-pizza

This recipe, just the title of it deserves a dramatic interpretation/flair.  May be you and your child could   choose a dramatic song or look up operas, to have the right ambience as you cook.  As this very yummy recipe is being made, act it out to the song that has been chosen.  There is nothing “cooler and fun”, than enjoying a “dramatic moment” with your child(ren).  Yes, its messy, but everything about it calls for that, starting with the title of the recipe. This is a easy recipe, that children can help throughout the whole process of making.  To change up the flavor of the pizza, tropical fruits can be substituted.

References:

Robertson, C.(2013) Safety, Nutrition, & Health in Early Education (5th Edition), Belmont, CA:  Wadsworth/Cengage Learning

http://www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org/ ;  http://www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org/kid-friendly-healthy-recipes , Retrieve on Wednesday July 2, 2014.