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MOTHER’S WORD IS THE MAGIC WAND
Nutrition is a basic aspect to build and maintain healthy body. School going children need well balanced diet to process an immunized healthy body to fight against diseases.
Process of immunization:
A strong pile foundation ensures an everlasting stable multi-storied building. Similarly, a child who takes well balanced diet flourishes a healthy features. Besides, concentration power, memorizing capacity, intelligence etc are increased and their performance in the studies gets improved.
Mother’s Wand:
Children always relish oily and junk food blissfully than nutritious food. Generally, it is hard to persuade them to take nutritious food. Mother is ill at ease, at this hard task. Because she herself feels it tough to prepare nutrient rich and balanced food according to her child’s taste. However, intellectual mothers some how get their children relish sustained food. Their words of love and care are the wands that persuade them to comply with their mothers. Like honey bees go around the flower, children trail around their mothers, who are affection personified.
Mother’s Knowledge:
We see now in schools 25 to 35% of the children are obese due to idleness and inertness. It is vice versa that underweight children are active. Obese children are prone to get heart diseases diabetes etc in future. Underweight children may suffer from anemia, eye problems, teeth decay and to some extent rickets. Children in either case lack adequate concentration and remembrance in their studies. Overall, it is pertinent for mothers to analyse to the core what diet their wards need best. So mothers should have enough knowledge about nutrition and the quantity of food that their children require for their well being.
Essential nutrients:
The children need more carbohydrate, Protein, minerals and vitamins with less amount of fat. 70% of carbohydrate, 15 to 20% of protein and 10 to 15% of fat are required for energy consumption.
a) Carbohydrate : Carbohydrate rich food should be included in sufficient amount to meet the energy need. Sugar, grains, rooted vegetables are rich in carbohydrate.
b) Protein: Rate of growth at young age is high. Protein is the building block of our body. So Children require predominantly more complete protein per unit of body weight. It is more than that of the adults, who need just one gram of protein per kilogram of body weight. 15% of available protein get utilized to the daily need of energy and rest in used for growth of the body. Milk, milk products, ground nut, fleshy food, fish, egg, rice cooked with dhal are all complete protein. Milk is the best source of protein for growing children. Its requirement is essential to meet good a healthy growth.
c) Fat: 10 to 15% of fat is enough to meet their daily need. Encouraging more fatty substance increase their body weight unnecessarily.
d) Vitamins:
In the case of growing body, provision must be made for additional amount of vitamins and minerals to enhance proper growth of the tissues..
Vitamin-A is required for good eye vision, which is rich in carrot, milk, milk products, cheese, fish lever oil, ghee etc.,
There are many kinds in vitamin-B. They are essential for skin, proper functioning of central nervous systems etc. Its deficiency results in loss of appetite, numbness in legs and hands, soreness of tongue and mouth, reddish eyes, dermatitis (Inflammation of skin), scaly skin, diarrhoea, cracking at either edges of mouth, anemia etc.,
Vitamin – D plays an important role in the absorption of lime salt in the bone which builds them. It is found in liver oil, egg yolk, milk, butter, ghee etc. It is also formed in the skin by the action of sunlight. Its deficiency leads to rickets in young children.
Besides vitamin-A, vitamin-C and E are good anti- oxidants that induce immunization power in the body.
e) Minerals:
Minerals are also essential requirements for our body. In-fact, our body is made up of minerals. Children require more minerals than adults for their robust growth.
Teeth and bone are made up of calcium. It is rich in milk, cheese, butter, green leafy vegetable etc.
Phosphorus is closely related in the utilization of calcium and assimilation of carbohydrates and fats. It is rich in cereals, pulses, nuts and oil seeds.
A well balanced diet should include sufficient amount of iron which is needed for the formation of red blood cells. It is rich in green leafy vegetables, jaggery, flaked rice, dates, goat liver, green tomato, cumin seeds, dry sundaikai, dry yeast, figs etc.
The role of copper is important in transporting iron from intestine to blood, bone marrow, liver and to other organs. Liver is the richest resource of copper.
Deficiency of iodine results in goiter, which is prevalent in many parts of the world and seen even in children. Thus well- balanced diet should adhere all these factors with due consideration.
Habits:
Dental carries is caused among children by their excessive consumption of sticky sweets and chocolates. It promotes growth of bacteria and affects oral hygiene and causes tooth decay. The habit of rinsing the mouth after each meal should be encouraged in children.
The habit of going to bed much earlier should be encouraged from young age. It helps them to rise early in the morning and have sufficient time to have their breakfast and not to skip it, in the rush of going to school.
Ideal Breakfast:
Breakfast should have more protein to sustain their blood sugar level in peak for four hours at school till lunch time because carbohydrate and fat do so only for two hours. So protein rich food keeps them fresh and attentive in the class till lunch break.
Here are some varieties of breakfast:
- Idli or Dosai with vegetable sambar
- Pongal with brinjal gosthu.
- Vegetable white rava uppuma
- Instead of wheat and corn flakes, flaked rice with milk and sugar along with fruit Juice if affordable is the best breakfast.
- Poori with vegetable kuruma (or) Potato gravy
- Choose rest of the items from this guide book.
Delicious and Nutritious Lunch:
At school, usually children look sitting sad opening their lunch box. The food may be dry and hard even to scoop the spoon in. It curbs their interest to eat. Some close their lunch box without eating. Opening of lunch box should be such that, it arouses the appetite with delicious aroma and appearance. Properly prepared lunch should contain, more protein with high fibre, moderate carbohydrate, vitamins and minerals with less amount of fat.
Refreshing evening snacks:
Children return home tiredly in the evening. High protein and carbohydrate food preparations drive out their tiredness and refresh the energy system. It increases the intensity of their concentration in studies till dinner.
Kinship between mother and child are bonded with love. It is mother’s responsibility to habituate the child in taking nutritious food in addition to practicing quality principles and related activities.
Here are some delightful and nutritious recipes for you to nourish your children. The young age nourishment is what makes the foundation for a healthy long life.
