What Does Your Child Eat at School
It is estimated that 1 out of every 8 children are overweight or obese, as the years go by these numbers are rapidly increasing. It is important that parents help their children lead a healthier lifestyle. This can easily be done at home but do you know what goes on at school?
A few simple steps to ensure your children are eating right at school.
Find out what food is served in the school canteen
Get in contact with your child’s school and find out what food is served in the canteen, there should always be a healthy option. If you aren’t happy with the school menu let them know. Most schools are quite happy to help in any way they can.
Ask other parents to get involved
Your child might not want to eat healthy food simply because their friends don’t so try and get other parents involved.
Is your child getting their 5 a day?
It is recommended that we all eat at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day. To ensure your child is getting their 5 a day you should consider speaking to the school and ask if they could make fresh fruit and vegetables available for your children.
Give your child a packed lunch
If you aren’t happy with the food that is served at your child’s school then give them a packed lunch instead. By doing this you can give them the healthy foods they should eat. It can also be much cheaper than paying for school meals.
Don’t give your children money for school
Children often take money to school and 9 times out of 10 it will be used in vending machines located on the school grounds. It is quite likely that the food in the vending machines is junk. If your child doesn’t have money to spend then they can’t buy junk food.
Your child may not wish to eat healthy but if you are worried about their weight it is important you take steps to prevent it from coming worse. You the parent can encourage them to eat healthy food at home and at school. It is important you involve the school to give every child the option to eat healthy foods.
With childhood obesity getting worse your child’s school should also take interest in changing their school menus. There should always be a healthy option for your child at school but it is likely they would opt for burger and fries. If food options like this were removed from the school menus altogether then your child would have no choice but to eat healthy, unfortunately that is unlikely to happen.
