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THE SIGNIFICANCE OF NUTRITION EDUCATION IN TIMES OF COVID-19
Covid-19 has affected all aspects of our lives, everything has shifted online and we have been stuck in our homes. It seems like forever staying indoors. While adults have still coped with these changes, kids find it very difficult to adapt to them. School children are not allowed to go to schools, they are not allowed to play with their friends and so on. While staying healthy, exercising and keeping yourself fit became very challenging, kids just couldn't handle it. In these times of pandemic, it is very important to have access to the right amount of food with proper nutrition for children and a balanced diet.
Of course, children are more vulnerable to the environment outside as their immunity is still building. It becomes very crucial to make them understand about the significance of good food and educating them about this is very important. Why is it necessary to educate them when the parents can just feed them whatever they want? Right? A lot of parents come across this question, but it is very important to learn that kids can be fussy and giving in on their demands can deprive them of the necessary nutrition. Thus, teaching them about it will make it easier for them to accept the diet and why they need it. This is important to lessen the adverse effect on health due to the pandemic. Now, how do schools play a part in providing nutrition for children? Let us have a look at this aspect of nutrition and school children.
Firstly, kids learn the most about life in their schools, and if they know about the nutritional value of the food that they intake daily, they will even be aware of their health and they will be educated as to what is important for them. While this isn't a routine education structure in every school, it still exists in the name of nutrition education. Nutrition education simply means educating school children about nutritional sciences and teaching them about the positives of incorporating the proper diet in their daily lives. This is to help a kid make an eating habit and patterns. Also, a lot of parents only tell their children that if you eat this you will become strong if you eat that you will gain weight. However, there is a lot to nutritional education. By proper education, a kid will know which food affects what part of their body and how it is also related to mental health.
While this wasn't given much importance until we all got hit by a pandemic. It became very crucial to be aware of health and its wellbeing. Another factor of teaching nutrition for kids in school is that kids can equally participate in the process of strategizing their diets along with their parents. It will motivate them to eat healthily and maintain it throughout without any cheat days. Let us have a look at some of the benefits of teaching nutrition to school children.
Here is a list of benefits of educating school children about nutrition for children.
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It will help a kid in making a behavioural change and make a healthy eating pattern and habit for life-long.
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It will help a kid be aware of the health risk that comes along with unhealthy eating.
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It also helps fight the obesity problem on a national level.
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It will put light on mental health awareness.
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It will help in cognitive development.
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It will impart more knowledge about nutrition and its importance.
How will this be incorporated into the daily lives of school children?
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Schools can start with one lecture per week about the importance of nutrition.
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Schools can focus on what kinds of food is important on a daily basis and what food affects which part of the body.
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Teachers can educate school children with the help of charts and diagrams, pictures and drawings to help kids understand more about nutrition for children.
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Teachers can make structures and modules to carry out an easy educating process.
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Schools can also teach their kids about simple and healthy recipes that they can try and cook themselves.
So, these are some of the ways schools can incorporate in teaching nutrition or children. School children will have a great exposure if every school starts with nutrition education. The main reason is to step by step incorporate the importance of nutrition education in every kid's life to help them build a habit of healthy eating right from a young age. So, help your kids learn the most about healthy and nutritional eating.