Parents can greatly influence their child's growth. Something as simple as food preparations can impact kids' school performance and improve it.
The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation celebrates the Kids Eat Right Month initiative every August. The initiative makes sure that schoolchildren eat proper and healthy food so they can have growth and success in their studies.
Parents have a hand in instilling healthy eating habits to their children even though there are overwhelming peer pressure and TV commercials that encourage them to eat junk food. Healthy food can improve kids' minds and stabilize their energy and moods.
Caroline Passerrello, the Academy's spokesperson, said children should always eat and choose nutritious meals, The Huffington Post reported. Learning these things at such an early age can benefit them as they mature.
Passerrello advised parents to feed their child a hearty breakfast containing fiber, protein, whole grains, and with little extra sugar. An example of a healthy breakfast is peanut butter on whole grain toast, an egg sandwich, bananas, and oatmeal with fruit or raisins.
A healthy breakfast can help kids stay focused in school and make them more productive than their peers that don't eat breakfast. Eating a wholesome breakfast can also strengthen children's memories and help them have higher scores on tests, according to HelpGuide.org.
Preparing a hearty breakfast for children isn't enough. Passerrello advised parents to send their kids with a packed lunch that contains fruits, vegetables, dairy, whole grains, and lean protein like poultry.
Packing fruits and vegetables can be challenging for parents since kids could throw them away in garbage bins secretly once they reach school. BBC advised parents to cut up vegetables and fruits like melon, mango, and grapes into bite-sized portions.
Of course, healthy meals should extend until dinner time. Studies found that families who eat together form a stronger connection and helps children gain self-confidence and have better school performance. If there's no ample time for a homemade meal at night due to a busy workday, Passerrello advised parents to prepare meals on the weekend and reheat them at night.
Parents should be good role models for their kids as well. Teaching them to eat healthy meals if you're a subscriber of junk food wouldn't make sense to children's minds.
If there's time, parents can get their kids involved in shopping for groceries and preparing meals, HelpGuide.org added. This way, they would learn about different kinds of food and how to read food labels. Using food as reward or bribe should be avoided by parents also because this can encourage obesity and overeating.
