It is mid September and many children have started going to school already. Breakfast is said to be one of the most important meals of the day, but along with breakfast there is also lunch. I personally believe for young kids going to school, lunch is actually one of their most important meals. Lunch needs to be a good meal because that is what helps the child focus on the later half of the day which we all know is usually the most dreadful because everyone is waiting for the school day to end already. If you take a look at the school cafeteria, there has been many changes made to it within the last 15 years. There are more vending machines and unhealthy choices for food. Do you think schools should be allowed to have vending machines where junk food and soda is sold?
To start preventing childhood obesity, monitoring what your child eats at school is very important. As a parent/guardian, you should start giving healthy options to your kids for school lunch. For example if it is something such as a sandwich, make sure you start putting healthy ingredients such as low fat cheese. Also, no child likes eating healthy food, but one has to make it appealing so that the child actually eats it and doesn't waste money on something like a vending machine. Another thing is, try getting the kids involved in extra curriculum physical activities at school. At least with more physical activities involved, more calories the children can burn.
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Lunch is a really important meal for children, especially those in school because they need their energy to study and focus in school. Schools should be obligated to serve healthier lunch, because this can help ensure that the children are having at least one health meal a day. Not only schools but parents should also make an attempt to make a healthier lunch for their children. For instance replacing a candy bar with a fruit, and swapping soda for water or less sugary juice seems to be a small change, but it can help them stay healthy. Sometimes one health choice can lead to many healthy choices. For instance when I was younger my parents got me into an habit of eating a fruit every night before bed. Even now I eat fruits before I go to sleep. This seems like such a small effort to stay health, but compared to my friends who eat ice cream at night, it is a great step.
ReplyDeleteMonitoring what your child eats at school is a very important job. I feel like providing a lunch from home would be a good idea because that way you can influence what your child eats. I think in general, the way you are at home influences the child's behavior because the environment in which they are brought up in will influence their values. So, it's important for the child that the parent is also supportive in leading a healthy lifestyle. I do believe that parent's play a great role in the child's decisions that it is necessary for them to become great role models.
ReplyDeleteI used to watch the TV show which was transforming school lunch with cook Jamie Oliver. While watching the show, I was surprised that I was used to eating junk food or fast food for my lunch at school. School lunch is essentially important since kids eat them during school hour five days in a week. It's not like students have whole lot of choices of food so that they get to choose what is healthy for them. Thus, school should be aware of what is a healthy diet, and plan to provide lunch with important nutrients and get rid of junk food or soda.
ReplyDeleteSchool lunch is one of the most important factor that affects children's health. Children spend most of their lunch times at school so school should provide high quality of food system. I rememer that I used to have a low calorie meal for lunch when I went to elementry school and middle school in my home country, South Korea. However, when I went to highschool in America, I found the menu that had more greasy and oily foods such as all diffrent kinds of hamburgers. If school makes more effort on changing the menu, children will have less chance of choosing high-calorie foods.
ReplyDeleteI definitely think that school lunch and food options should be more strict. Schools are guardians to children during the day time, and while parents sometimes give unhealthy choices to keep kids happy, that is not what school is about. Schools are not for keeping kids happy, they are for teaching them. I tutored in a school in Dorchester which not only gave their students healthy meals, but also forbade them from going and getting a double cheeseburger at the McDonalds next door. As children and young adults learn about and how to enjoy healthy alternatives, they will live a healthier lifestyle outside of school.
ReplyDeleteI do not think schools should be allowed to have vending machines where junk food and soda is sold because kids do not know what is and what is not healthy. If a child is hungry at school, he/she will purchase what is most convenient for him/her to eat regardless of the nutritional content. Parents should not only focus on their children's breakfast but also on what their children eat for lunch since that is when children have many different options of food to choose from. If school lunch becomes healthier, childhood obesity will begin to decrease.
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