School Lunch: Are Children Getting Nutritious Food at School?
Child nutrition is a matter of great importance and depending primarily upon school lunch for your children’s may hamper their growth.
All parents want their children to eat healthy and nutritious food. But because of the busy schedule of parents, they are often unable to focus on the quality of lunch for their children. They leave that up to the school.
What many parents overlook is the fact that they have great influence in the building of their children’s habits. If parents are of the “eat-oatmeal” and “ride-bicycle” type, the children are also likely to be of the same type. And if the parents are of the “eat-junk” and watch-TV type, here too the children are going to be like their parents. As such, parents need to set a good example for their children, and actively participate in the process, instead of leaving it up to the school.
Here is a list of common food items in which you can find some of the essential nutrients:
- Protein - Meat, poultry, eggs, fish, nuts, beans, and dairy products.
- Carbohydrates - Bread, cereals, rice, crackers, pasta, and potatoes.
- Fats - Whole-milk dairy products, cooking oils, meat, fish, and nuts.
- Calcium - Milk, cheese, yoghurt, ice-cream, egg yolk, broccoli, spinach, and tofu.
- Iron - Red meat, liver, whole grains, iron-fortified cereals.
- Fiber - Chickpeas, lentils, kidney beans.
- Vitamin A - Carrots, sweet potatoes, spinach, cabbage, apricots, fish oil.
- Vitamin C - Citrus fruits, strawberries, tomatoes, melon, cauliflower, papayas, mangos.
If parents are of the “eat-oatmeal” and “ride-bicycle” type, the children are also likely to be of the same type. And if the parents are of the “eat-junk” and watch-TV type, here too the children are going to be like their parents.
Eating a balanced diet is about choosing the right food and eating the right amount. In general, a balanced diet for children over five years should contain forty five percent carbohydrates, twenty percent protein, and no more than thirty five percent fat.
Consider the following typical lunch menu provided at top-level schools in Nepal:
- Sunday - Egg, rice and lentil
- Monday - Pasta, boiled vegetable, tomato pickle and mushroom soup
- Tuesday - Rice, meat, boiled vegetable and soya sauce.
- Wednesday - Soybean, lentil, rice, yoghurt and paneer.
- Thursday - Meat, rice, lentil and paneer.
- Friday - Pasta, boiled vegetable and broth.
Here we find that some of the actual nutrients a child needs on a daily basis are included in the food provided at the school. But it lacks fish and fruits. Scientific research have shown that oily fish such as salmon and tuna are vital for brain and eye development, and including them in the diet may help to improve the performance of children with learning difficulties.
In order for children to grow properly they need nutritious and well-balanced diet. As such, it is essential to know whether or not your growing children are getting nutritious and balanced lunch at school. It is too important a decision to be left only in the hands of the school, simply because you are busy at work. While some schools do provide nutritious and balanced lunch, there is no harm in being extra involved.