With the digital revolution having completely transformed the way our children are growing up, it can sometimes seem a little overwhelming to find the balance between what we should allow and what we should push to ensure our children are healthy. Thankfully, we still have the core values and knowledge that have assisted parents for generations. With this good advice in hand, we delve into the importance of good nutrition and exercise for you as you navigate today’s world with your child or children.
Children need a minimum of 60 minutes of physical activity per day. A healthy, balanced diet, consisting of a variety of vitamins and minerals will ensure that they develop optimally and form positive habits to take into adulthood.
While it is up to us to ensure that our children get the best possible nutrition and physical exercise, it can be daunting to try and understand nutrition labels on boxes and packages. It can also be a little frustrating to try and separate children from screens to get them to engage in the recommended amount of physical activity per day. Read on to understand why we have to keep trying. You will also find some valuable information and some fun ideas to get you going and keep your family healthy and kicking… sometimes literally!
The Benefits of Good Nutrition for Children
Have you ever heard the saying, “Start as you wish to continue”? It was advice I heard many years before I even had children, but it stuck with me over the years and it has served me well as a mother and as a teacher.
When we consider the benefits of good nutrition for children, we must take into account the fact that we are not simply feeding them. We are providing fuel for their brains and bodies and all the activities they need to perform in their busy days. We are also building the framework of healthy eating to which they will refer for the rest of their lives.
Let’s have a look at some of the benefits of good nutrition for children.
- Healthy brain development
- Healthy physical and muscular development
- Good mental and behavioral development
- Good body image
- Good academic performance
- Stable energy levels
- Ability to cope with stress and regulate emotions
- More alert for extended periods
Children need a variety of vitamins and minerals each day to develop optimally. For children pre-adolescence, the following nutrients are essential:
- Protein
- Complex carbohydrates
- Healthy fats
- Minerals
- Vitamins
Children who are heading toward adolescence or have entered into adolescence require more nutrients daily to ensure healthy brain development. The following are their daily requirements:
- Protein
- Carbohydrates
- Iron
- Iodine
- Zinc
- Choline
- Folate
- Copper
- Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids
- Vitamins A, B6, B12, C, and D
The WHO has stated that a lack of appropriate nutrition in early childhood can have a lifelong impact which “may include poor school performance, reduced productivity, impaired intellectual and social development, or chronic diseases.”
Providing the essential nutrients for your child enables their body to fight illness. It leads to healthy growth and development and sets them up for healthy eating habits for when they are adults.
The Benefits of Daily Exercise for Children
Human beings were not designed to sit still for the majority of every day. We were meant to move. Perhaps this is why so much of our early development happens through just that… moving.
Studies have shown that children need a minimum of 60 minutes of physical activity per day. The great news is that the activity can come in any form, including things that you and your child enjoy doing.
Let’s look at a few benefits of daily exercise for children.
- Builds muscles
- Helps with special awareness
- Helps with problem solving
- Helps with gross and fine motor control
- Helps prevent chronic illnesses that appear in adulthood as a result of obesity, e.g. heart disease, certain cancers, etc.
- Builds social skills
- Builds confidence
- Builds balance and coordination
- Assists with weight regulation
- Energy management
What Can You Do?
Your role in the nutritional input and invitation to activity for your child is vital. You are their role model, the gate keeper of the food they have access to, their taste-setter, and the advocate for their healthy food and activity availability at school and in the community.
You can take an active role in the ongoing health of your child. Get active with them. Go for walks, ride bikes and dance to music in your lounge. Take your child to a sports club and show interest in their school sports activities. Do garden and house work together and give them gifts that encourage physical activity. Ideas could include Swingball, ice-skating or roller-skating tickets, tickets to a water park, a trampoline or bike, etc. Hang out at the park and take walks in the area after dinner, or in botanical gardens on the weekend.
Take your child shopping for groceries with you. Show them the healthy choices you make and explain the concept of a rainbow on your plate for each meal. Get your child excited to prepare and plan meals with you and help them to become as invested in the family’s health as you are.
Things to add to your shopping list, and to take note of:
- Fruit and vegetables
- Whole grains
- Lean proteins
- Low or non-fat dairy
- Healthy fats
- Milk and fresh fruit juice
- Read the labels on packaging to check the nutritional facts and check the amounts of sugar, fat, and sodium.
Let’s Wrap it Up
Our children are counting on us to give them the best possible start to their lives. As we learn more and gain knowledge about nutrition and what it means to help our children be active, let us strive to keep them healthy and happy as they grow and develop into strong, independent, beautiful individuals who will make healthy choices for the rest of their long, healthy lives.
Resources:
Latest Medical News | Family | Bestmed
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