Food at School and Healthier Children.
Lunch matters. It has to fuel an entire afternoon of math, science, PE, and language arts. It keeps your child strong, focused and happy, therefore what you choose and how you pack it does and always will make a difference in your child’s ability to perform well in the afternoon as well as be happy and stay healthy.
With the news reminding us that this year’s flu season could be terrible, it is up to us, the parents, to keep our children healthy by bolstering up their immune system. Even if they still get H1N1 or Strep or just the common cold, they will be better able to fight back and get over it quicker. Make sure your child is getting plenty of Vitamins A, C, D and E everyday along with probiotics (stuff in yogurt) and water. These things will help for sure. The only sure way for your child to do well in school is to be in school. So keep them healthy by providing them with healthy and nutritious meals.
Do:
•Pack at least 3 servings of fresh and local fruits and veggies for snacks and lunch. This could look like a piece of fruit with the mid-morning snack and another with lunch along with carrots and celery sticks or a small salad.
•Choose whole grains for breads, pasta and rice dishes. Go brown; avoid the white and the enriched.
•Pack water, water, water. I had a teacher whose saying was, “the solution to your pollution is dilution.” It’s true.
•Include a wet wipe or hand sanitizer for your child to use before and after they eat. 60% of school aged children are not even encouraged to wash their hands before eating…YUCK!
•Pack cold things cold and hot things hot to avoid food borne illnesses. More on Food Safety
•Encourage your school to discontinue handing out candy for rewards. Suggest stickers or old monopoly money to be used to purchase bigger reward prizes later.
Don’t:
•Don’t’ pack soda, candy or sugary treats in lunch boxes. Sugar will lower your child’s immune system making them more susceptible to what is “going around.”
•Don’t pack processed foods and “junk food” as snacks; send real food to encourage real health.
•Don’t pack something for your child you yourself wouldn’t eat for lunch.
•Don’t plan classroom parties around cupcakes, candy and cookies. Be more creative than that and encourage healthier thematic foods. Again, sugar will lower your child’s immune system making them more susceptible to what is “going around.” Think back to last Halloween, how many kids do you know of that got sick within a week to ten days of the class party and the candy fest after trick or treating? Then there was the Thanksgiving party and the winter holiday party, Valentine ’s Day…
Please share your tips and suggestions or ask a question, I am sure one of the fantastic Twitter Moms has a solution to your dilemma.
With the news reminding us that this year’s flu season could be terrible, it is up to us, the parents, to keep our children healthy by bolstering up their immune system. Even if they still get H1N1 or Strep or just the common cold, they will be better able to fight back and get over it quicker. Make sure your child is getting plenty of Vitamins A, C, D and E everyday along with probiotics (stuff in yogurt) and water. These things will help for sure. The only sure way for your child to do well in school is to be in school. So keep them healthy by providing them with healthy and nutritious meals.
Do:
•Pack at least 3 servings of fresh and local fruits and veggies for snacks and lunch. This could look like a piece of fruit with the mid-morning snack and another with lunch along with carrots and celery sticks or a small salad.
•Choose whole grains for breads, pasta and rice dishes. Go brown; avoid the white and the enriched.
•Pack water, water, water. I had a teacher whose saying was, “the solution to your pollution is dilution.” It’s true.
•Include a wet wipe or hand sanitizer for your child to use before and after they eat. 60% of school aged children are not even encouraged to wash their hands before eating…YUCK!
•Pack cold things cold and hot things hot to avoid food borne illnesses. More on Food Safety
•Encourage your school to discontinue handing out candy for rewards. Suggest stickers or old monopoly money to be used to purchase bigger reward prizes later.
Don’t:
•Don’t’ pack soda, candy or sugary treats in lunch boxes. Sugar will lower your child’s immune system making them more susceptible to what is “going around.”
•Don’t pack processed foods and “junk food” as snacks; send real food to encourage real health.
•Don’t pack something for your child you yourself wouldn’t eat for lunch.
•Don’t plan classroom parties around cupcakes, candy and cookies. Be more creative than that and encourage healthier thematic foods. Again, sugar will lower your child’s immune system making them more susceptible to what is “going around.” Think back to last Halloween, how many kids do you know of that got sick within a week to ten days of the class party and the candy fest after trick or treating? Then there was the Thanksgiving party and the winter holiday party, Valentine ’s Day…
Please share your tips and suggestions or ask a question, I am sure one of the fantastic Twitter Moms has a solution to your dilemma.
Comment
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Comment by Lesley P on August 31, 2009 at 7:55am -
I just wrote a post on how you can save money by packing healthy lunches, and have linked to this great post.
You can read my posts at www.ShopDebtFree.com - Pack a Lunch, Save a Bunch.
thansk
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Comment by Heather Binning on August 30, 2009 at 5:05pm - I like to pack a variety of finger foods for lunch. The kids only get 22 minutes and really, that's their only time to really cut up and freely talk about the latest toy. So I mix and match 3 carrot sticks, 3 grapes, 3 chunks of cheese, maybe a yogart, celery with peanut butter and raisins, Nut Thins crackers, etc... so they can talk and eat at the same time. They don't get bogged down with thinking they have finish a "huge lunch" because they are "just snacking". Before they know it, they are done eating and I know they got some healthy stuff in.
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Comment by Dawn on August 28, 2009 at 3:37pm - Great advice and great reminders. I just taste tested "peeled snacks" and will be writing a review. I did it with 5 Mothers and about a dozen kids. Big thumbs up for the mango, banana and cherry versions as well as the mixed nut and fruit called: "Fig sated". I would recommend trying them in your kid's lunch box.
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Comment by Beth Ann Bentley on August 26, 2009 at 11:17am - Excellent advice ladies, thanks for you input.
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Comment by Cydney Smith on August 26, 2009 at 9:13am - I spend time early in the week (Sunday/Monday) preparing healthy snacks for the week ahead. I pack serving size containers with healthy snacks for lunches and for after school activities. Toss into lunch or activity bag during the week.
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Comment by Lesley P on August 26, 2009 at 8:18am
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Thanks so much, this is an excellent post & I will pass it on.
I would add a note on allergy awareness.
Know which foods cannot be sent to school -- and make sure the entire family knows, aka, if Dad packs the lunch only once in a blue moon, he needs to know about the class/school allergies.
Announce yourself!
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