Happiness is the Highest form of Health: Dalai Lama
EAT YOUR FOOD THE RIGHT WAY
Eating healthy is important but eating the right way is extremely important. Nutritious and balanced food is necessary for our overall growth but in today’s lifestyle where work becomes a priority, people skip breakfast, lunch, dinner, etc. Sometimes instead of eating, they gobble or gulp the meals in a hurry which is destructive to their health. Hence, here we are going to discuss, the right habits to be embraced while having our meals.
Having good food is essential but what is more essential is the way we consume our food. Digestion is crucial for good health; hence the way children eat their food needs attention. Study and work are important but if we destroy our health, then can we enjoy work or studies? If our health is good, we will surely do our work systematically and be happy.
As the new academic session is approaching, the mentors of Manav Rachna International Schools have to make their wards aware about how to have their lunch, the right way and discuss with their students, the right eating habits. MRIS mentors see to the wholesome growth of their students. Editor.
FROM THE AUTHOR’S DESK
Eating healthy food fills your body with energy and nutrients. Imagine your cells smiling back at you and saying: Thank you – Karen Salmansohn
In the today’s world, the struggle to feed children with consistent and nutritious meals is a daily challenge for schools and parents. However implementing a set of improved methodologies can make sure children do not remain hungry and are receiving the benefits of healthy lunchtime.
According to a new survey some schools do not provide enough time to their students to eat and enjoy their meals. With getting less time to eat the children are likely to prioritize the most delicious or appealing meal in their lunch box. This has impact on child’s health and on his/her ability to learn. Good nutrition is mandatory to help students thrive academically. So giving enough time to eat their lunch will be a positive move and potentially increase their ability to focus better in the process of their learning. Each child has a desire of enjoying an extended lunch break, where they can sit back and talk to their friends and enjoy their time. The longer lunch breaks can encourage kids to eat properly and healthy food as well.
Role of the school
School lunchtime accounts for a lot of the food that children eat in a day. Research shows that kids with healthy eating habits have better academic performance. The educators, parents and administrators can work together to refine nutritional options and encourage children to eat better.
The school can also set a food policy and share it with the parents. Making parents aware of school’s food policy will ensure consistent healthy eating messages and encourage all the students to eat together. It is imperatives for schools to collect and share details about children’s food allergies and intolerance in case they come in contact with foods unsuitable to them. . Schools providing meals should hand out warm and better quality foods that actually have proper spices and other flavors. The students will love the idea of having better food and it’ll help maintain uniformity in their meals. Students will also get into a habit of better eating habits. If schools start to provide students food with better quality from a a young age, they will get used to of eating nutritious food by the time they reach high school.
Foods like green leafy vegetables, salads with organic sugar can be added. Schools should have fruit and salad breaks. This is a very interesting means to start healthy eating habits.
Role of the teacher
Teachers can discuss with students and apprise them the benefits of eating healthy food and keep them informed about the benefits they can get from eating variety of foods. One can always quote an example- “I like eating Rajma because it’s good for my kidney. I like to eat walnuts because it’s good for my brain.” etc. The teachers can be a good role model and let their children see them eating nutritious food. This will encourage students making good dietary choices. Some videos of their favorite cartoon characters eating healthy food can also be played just few minutes before the lunchtime. This will encourage children suffering from anorexia, to eat. Make students aware of Farm and organic foods and encourage them to eat locally produced food items. The children nowadays have depression and anxiety from school-related issues such as exam stress or a big event coming up. Healthy and nutritious food is a big stress buster. According to John Hopkins’s research, tastier foods can involve parts of the brain and reduces stress. A recent research also stated that the brain sees tastier food as a reward and is always more appealing to the children.
Role of the parent
Nutritious food provides energy to the children throughout the day and helps them concentrate better. Not only this, it also helps in maintaining a good relationship between parents and children. The parents can involve children in the process of planning their meals. They are advised to take children for grocery shopping and let them have a say what goes into their cart. Giving this kind of autonomy can prove to be an additional benefit for the personality development of the children. Always surprise them with occasional treats like cereal bar, scone, pikelet, oat cookies etc. Give them theme based food like Halloween, Children’s Day, Christmas etc. As a parent, you should never insist your child to eat certain food which may actually cause them to eat less. Give freedom to the child to decide and choose their meals based on how hungry do they feel. Remember that variety is the key. The parents can try new recipes as the kids always like opportunities given to them to try new foods. The parents definitely have an important role in shaping their child’s eating habits. Positive environment can be created by them to help children develop healthy eating habits which can have a lasting impact on the health of the children.
Author: Preeti Sachar, TGT English, Manav Rachna International School, Sector 51, Gurugram.
