5 Healthy Diet Tips for School Going Children

School going children implies an age group of 3 to 15 years of age. This is the time when children need to be shaped with healthy food habits or a balanced diet comprising of all nutrients. Two major factors that bother parents are the intake of right nutrients and suffice the appetite with optimal eating practice. Here we discuss some healthy tips to keep up both and let the child grow better.

Food plan - Track the nutrition on a daily basis
Nutritional needs to grow up healthy are:
- Protein
- Vitamin
- Essential fatty acids
- Calcium
- Iron
- Fiber
- Carbohydrate

The necessary calorie intake for school children is 1000 to 2000 kcal. This needs to be divided under above-mentioned heads relevantly to accomplish balanced diet. Set different food options to derive the specific nutrition values so it doesn’t get boring. You may use a food tracker to track details on a regular basis which will promote a healthy food habit.

A lot of water and fluid should be taken to keep hydrated and flush out toxins. Flavor and sweetener added juices may be avoided. Replace that with homemade fruit juice and water. As children spend a major time at school so it is better if school provide meal options to children as it can be fun to eat together with friends and get the right nutrition.

Is it optimal or overeating – Best way to hit the balance:
School going children has the highest growth rate hence appetite is generally seen to be more. As it takes 20 mins from stomach to brain in reaching the message that tummy is full so it is always better than kids themselves get this message analyzed as it is difficult for parents to understand. Two specific ways of doing so are:-

- Chew properly & concentrate - Let your child learn that the food should be chewed properly and then being swallowed. Not to have too much fluid like water or juice during eating. And on top of all let them concentrate on the food while eating. During the meal, they should not get engaged with TV or games or any other such engagement that dives their concentration away and let not recognize the alert of tummy filled from the brain.

- Question themselves for an answer – Let your child have food by own. Help them to question themselves if the tummy is filled or having some more can let to overeating and thus uneasiness in the body.

Set 5 times healthy food habit in their biological clock:
Habit is developed by practice from the very childhood. From the very beginning, your child develops the habit of having 3 meals during breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And 2 healthy snacks habit during morning and evening. School going children are often influenced by friends and mates to explore food array which is labeled as restricted and unhealthy. To keep away from such an expedition, offer them all category of foods by preparing at home in good taste.

Foods should be creative and tasty but not be a pressure:
Food for children should be nutritious but tasty. Garnish the food with different vegetables that connect with a fantasy of colors. Garnish it in a way that makes them fascinated to eat. But never pressurize with daunting food practice. Along with that make them aware of the nutrient value of each food that can help them to be stronger and help compete the world. Psychology of the children needs to be understood and let them be convinced in their terms.

Eating together & being an adventurous cook:
Dining together accomplishes a proper food habit and strengthen the family bond. Sit together with the family and have food is a good practice that motivates for healthy food habit. Also sometimes encourage them to make food at least once a week or have an insight on different cooking options, nutrient values of food taste.

You may also grow some vegetables in the garden and engage them in doing so. When someone knows the root source and then process it to food automatically that develops an inclination to explore and keep healthy.