Course Work Example on Children's Nutrition

Part 1: Foods for different age groups

AGE GROUP RECOMMENDED FOODS (List at least 6 for each group, except infants.) FOODS TO AVOID OR GIVE SPARINGLY (List at least three for each group.) REASONS FOR RECOMMENDING OR AVOIDING THESE FOOD CHOICES

Infants Breast milk

Toddlers

Carbohydrates such as plantain, rice, cereals, potatoes, and pasta

Soft fruits like banana, kiwi, papaya, and vegetable ranging from broccoli, cauliflower to cabbage

Protein and Iron-rich foods three times a day like fish, eggs, beans, ground or chopped nuts.

Dairy products in three portions a day such as a yogurt, cheese and full-fat milk to complement breast milk

Vitamin supplements like vitamin D

Give whole grains foods such as porridge sparingly

Control the consumption proportions of sugary and fatty foods like sweets, cakes, ice cream and biscuits

Limit the intake of salty foods like crisps Breast milk contains vitamins and nutritional values vital for the toddler to grow, for example, long-term illnesses and all for allergies. Unless instructed by the doctor a mother should continue to breastfeed a baby to the toddler age

Whole grain foods and cereals are more filling hence the toddler may stop eating before he/she has enough calories and nutrients.

Vegetable and fruits provide vital mineral and vitamins for growth. One should experiment with different types to make it a regular portion of dessert

A toddler only requires 2g of salt daily hence do not add salt in toddlers food, be keen to use natural spices to flavor food instead.

Protein provide iron essential for hemoglobin formation and repair of cells while dairy foods are a good source of calcium essential for strong bones and teeth

Preschoolers

Grain foods for breakfast such as bread, whole grain pasta, and cereals

Low-fat dairy products

Proteins like meat, fish, whole nuts, and lentils

Alternative healthy snacks and desserts such as grated carrot or fruit-flavored snacks or bread

Fiber-rich vegetables, soups, and water

Fruits Limit saturated sugars, and salty food like crisps, refined juices, cakes and sweets

Avoid caffeine-rich products like chocolates, tea or coffee.

Limit intake of carbonated drinks and refined foods like sodas Sugary and salty foods contain bad fats that could risk occurrence of obesity and type-2 diabetes.

Wholegrain foods keep the child full and boost their energy levels throughout the day.

Proteins are essential for muscle development; they also contain mineral and vitamins like zinc, iron and omega 3 useful for brain development

Caffeine inhibit proper absorption of calcium in their young bodies

Snacks help keep the child full, infusing some fruit in them will serve to add extra vitamin in their tasty snacks

Refined foods and carbonated drinks contains very low nutrients and high unhealthy sugars and byproducts that are not healthy for a child

Water helps flush out toxins and keep the body hydrated

School-age Children (Kindergarten through Grade 3)

3-7 servings of carbohydrates; both wholemeal and whole grain such as bread, cereals, pasta, rice or noodles

Two servings of legumes and raw or cooked vegetables

One serving of canned, dried or dried fruits each day

High protein foods like red meat, fish, kidney beans and eggs twice a day

Reduced-fat dairy products such as milk and yogurts

Snacks with low sugar content in between meals

Supplement the intake of manufacture juices with fresh juice

Limit consumption of saturated sugars and salty foods

Avoid giving hard foods like hard nuts and sugar cane Soft drinks are often carbonated which may cause constipation in addition to containing artificial chemicals.

High sugar intake promotes tooth decay

School-aged children are very vigorous; proteins help in body repair, Vegetables and fruits provide vitamins that prevent diseases.

Providing snacks in between meals helps keep them full and keep them energized throughout the day

A childs teeth are weak; therefore, hard foods may cause breakage or hurt the gums.

Part 2: Two Learning Activities for Children

Activity 1

LEARNING ACTIVITY TEMPLATE

Age Range:

Identify whether the activity is for preschool or school-age children. Pre-school age activity

Topic: What are healthy foods and healthy food?

Learning Goal:

Summarize what you want children to learn. Children should learn to identify foods by names

Children should be able to differentiate healthy from unhealthy foods and snack

Children should learn how to develop healthy eating habits

Learning Activity:

List and detail the steps of your activity, from planning through completion. First and foremost, gather materials such as pictures, recorded videos, books, and toys to play with and learn.

Hold daily lessons of naming, labeling foods. Compose and sing songs about nutrition which they can easily learn to make it exciting for them.

Divide the children into groups where they can consult and help each other identify foods, remind each other and compete in the food challenges.

Give daily tasks to the children. For example washing fruits, identifying the components of their meals, drawing food pyramids and modeling food names.

Materials Needed:

Identify and discuss any resources, such as handouts or other materials you would use during this lesson. Pictures and charts to demonstrate healthy diet combinations

A meal-maker game for the children to play and have fun

Food labeling quizzes on books

Food dictionaries to explain new terms and words.

Plastic food toys to practically demonstrate the healthy and unhealthy foods.

Home/school Connection:

Explain how you would share the activity with families. The children could share the activity with families by encouraging them to allow the children choose or suggest what to have for meals. In addition to playing food challenges with their children (Sakvig, et al., 2005) Cite the Source:

Use APA format. Saksvig, B. I., Gittelsohn, J., Harris, S. B., Hanley, A. J., Valente, T. W., & Zinman, B. (2005). A pilot school-based healthy eating and physical activity intervention improve diet, food knowledge, and self-efficacy for native Canadian children. The Journal of Nutrition, 135(10), 2392-2398.

Part 2: Activity 2

LEARNING ACTIVITY TEMPLATE

Age Range School-age Children

Topic: Where do healthy foods come from?

Learning Goal:

Summarize what you want children to learn. Develop healthy eating habits

By planning and growing, foods children will expound knowledge

Learning Activity:

List and detail the steps of your activity, from planning through completion. Collect containers to plant in, soil and fast growing vegetable seedlings like coriander and kales to plant.

Have the children prepare the cans with different soils and plant the vegetables

Give the children tasks to monitor the number of days it takes for each vegetable to grow, have them water and pluck any weeds

Assign the children small research tasks. For example, asking them to find out how other fruits and vegetables are grown and the time.

After the vegetables are ready, involve the children in harvesting and later eat them with larger meals.

Materials Needed:

Identify and discuss any resources, such as handouts or other materials you would use during this lesson. Cans to plant in

Soil

Seedlings

Watering cans and a regular water source

Home/school Connection:

Explain how you would share the activity with families. To enhance learning, I would encourage parents to engage in small gardening activities of fast growing vegetables and fruits such as berries and kales. Not only will children have fun in the garden the good diet practice will be fully instilled in them (Hermann, et al., 2006).

Cite the Source:

Use APA format. Hermann, J. R., Parker, S. P., Brown, B. J., Siewe, Y. J., Denney, B. A., & Walker, S. J. (2006). After-school gardening improves childrens reported vegetable intake and physical activity. Journal of nutrition education and behavior, 38(3), 201-202.