Alpha Kids Preschool and Daycare Center

A session on child nutrition

The positive feedback on our first Parent’s Interactive Session of the year, held on the 7th July 2010, was truly encouraging.

Our expert Nutritionist Ms Lisha presided the event and the following are some important points she emphasized on child’s nutrition.

1. Ms Lisha spoke about food groups and the importance of maintaining a balance between foods kids like and, foods that they need to take for their growth.
2. She gave tips on making food attractive to the children. For instance if its a vegetable salad that needs to be eaten, then they could be cut in interesting shapes. Carrots in a shape of a leaf, or tomatoes cut like a flower, cucumber slices shaped like a diamond. Food needs to be visually appealing to children so we could play with colors and mix different vegetables or fruits to get interesting combination.
3. We learnt the importance of ‘fat’ in relevance to kid’s brain development. Fatty foods like ghee, cheese and the like must be given to the children in moderate quantities, as they are required for the development of the brain.
4. Emphasis was made on how important family dinners are to impact the food consumption of a child. A child looks at the food laid out on the table and learns by seeing an adult eat varieties of food.
5. Food should never be forced on children as they develop hatred towards it and may resent eating food even more. Kids should be given time and space along with different varieties of food and they will eventually start liking food.
6. There will be a loss of appetite in kids when they fall ill, just like the adults. It’s better to not force food on them but keep them on easily digestible food, in smaller quantities.
7. Food supplements are not advisable unless on prescribed by a Doctor.

A few questions that Parents asked:

Q. How much milk should be given in a day?
A. 2 Glasses of milk are more than sufficient as that is requirement of calcium in the body. Unlike other nutrients like vitamins, calcium if taken in excess does not get flushed out of the body and could lead to other problems in later stages.

Q. My child doesn’t like milk. What are my options?
A. Milk products can be substituted for milk. Cottage Cheese (Paneer), cheese, butter, ghee, curd are other options that can be given.

Q. Are there any specific foods that can be given to children to increase their height?
A. Height and weight of a child are mostly hereditary though some physical activities boost the growth. There are no specific foods for height increase.

Q. My child is too thin!
A. Children need not necessarily have to be fat to be healthy. As long as kids are eating right and are active that’s all that matters. In fact fat kids have higher chances of obesity and heart related problems or diabetes as they grow older. If they are under weight then their diet has to be improvised.