Importance Of Healthy Eating For Children And Regulations In Education And Care Services

Child’s Menu

Examples of foods that fit into the group (Moss, Dahlberg, Penc, 2014).

Food Group	Example
Whole grain Carbohydrates	Wheat flakes, Penne, Muesli, and Polenta. Save Time On Research and Writing Hire a Pro to Write You a 100% Plagiarism-Free Paper. Get My Paper
Vegetables	Spinach, Cabbage, Kales.
Legumes	Beans, Peanuts, Chickpeas.
Fruit	Apple, Banana, Orange, Pear, Kiwi fruit, Plums.
Diary	Milk, Yoghurt, Cheese.
Protein	Meat, Fish, Eggs.

 

Age	VegetablesLegumesBeans	Fruit	Grain. (whole grain and cereals)	Poultry, Fish, eggs, nuts and seeds, legumes, beans.	Milk, Yoghurt, cheese and/or alternatives.	Approx. Number of additional serves from the five food groups or discretionary choices.
1-2	½ cup of beetroot	1 piece of medium sized fruit e.g. apple, orange, mango etc.		65-100gm cooked meat/chicken. (e.g. ½ cup mince/2small chops/ 2 slices roast milk)	½ cup of evaporated milk.	1 med piece of plain cake.
2-3	½ cup of beetroot	2 pieces of smaller fruit. (kiwi,plum,figs)		80-120g cooked fish fillet.	40g .(2 slices of cheese)	60gjam, honey (1 table spoon)
4-8		About 20 grapes or cherries.		2 small eggs.	250ml (1 cup) custard.	30gpotato Crips, slice pizza-2 extra.

Week 1	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
	Meat	Cereals	Fruit	Vegetables	Bread
Week 2	Vegetables	Nuts	Bread	Cereals	Meat
	Fruit	Milk	Eggs	Vegetables	Cereals

     i).I have selected Wednesday.

    ii).The child who does not take meat will be provided with menu given on Thursday.

Day (Thursday).	Menu
	Vegetables.
	Cereals.
	Vegetables.

                                    Bread.

                                     Milk.

                                     Meat.

• Food with greatest fat content and label.
  • Meat 1.71%.
• Food with greatest sugar content and label.
  • Bread 1.32g.
• Food with greatest amount of sodium and label.
  • Milk 0.32%.

1. Legislation that covers food safety and handling requirements in my state;

1. How poor diet contributes to;

Tooth decay-Tooth decay is at times referred to as dental caries; it is a condition that causes changes and damage to the tooth structure. Poor diet causes tooth decay. This is often as a result of some tiny particles of foods which are called plaque, remain on the surfaces of the teeth after eating. There are germs in the mouth that with time turn these little pieces of food into acid that eats the tooth causing pain and decay (Moss et al, 2013).

Poor concentration-The children’s brain has been known to develop so rapidly. The brain growth and development depends so much on the nutrition and the diet that the baby is given. A poor diet therefore tends to affect the growth of the brain of the baby and this is usually translated into poor concentrations later on in the baby’s lifetime.

Out of character behavior- Poor diet involves eating a diet that is not balanced. For instance eating a lot of rice or bread and forgetting essential elements such as fruit and vegetables. Children who do not eat a proper diet are likely to behave abnormally, but children that get a proper diet behave very normally. A diet that consists of a glucose load facilitates brain performance mostly on long duration tasks. Kids who do not have a chance to take such foods will behave totally differently (Oberhuemer, Schreyer, Neuman, 2010).

1. Health conditions/illnesses that would impact an educators ability to handle food safely

Pertussis. For pertussis it is recommended that all the educators responsible for taking care of young children be vaccinated of pertussis. A buster vaccination should also be administered with time since the vaccine decreases gradually.

Hepatitis A. This is very tricky and the children can be infected even without showing any signs and symptoms. It is therefore recommended that a vaccine against hepatitis A is taken (Moss et al, 2013).

1. Roles I can play to assist promoting healthy eating to children

Healthy eating is very important for children. To assist promote this I would come up with a policy where every child has the right to provide with healthy food and nutrition.

The eating of fruits and vegetables on a daily basis, this makes the children grow healthy and even stronger

Provision of healthy snacks in between the main meals. Such snacks can consist of milk, yoghurt or cheese

Education and Care Services National Regulations

Providing plenty of water to the children, because water is the best drink for babies.

By limiting the regular intake of foods that contain added sugars and also those containing saturated fats (McDevitt & Ormrod, 2010).

1. How furniture, utensils and environment contribute to children’s positive involvement at mealtimes

The mealtime environment is very crucial towards the child’s positive mealtime involvement. The physical space that is set aside for eating should be very appealing in terms of the sight, the layout and even the smell. This tends to attract the child and make them eat well.

The state of the furniture should also be well to promote the child’s positive eating attitudes (Oberhuemer et al, 2010).

1. Why it is important to identify and cater for individuals dietary requirements.

It is very important to identify and cater for individuals dietary requirements. This promotes a number of factors such as the general health and wellbeing of the children or individuals.

It also has the effect of reducing the risk of diet related conditions and illnesses. For instance, some of this diet related conditions are high cholesterol issues, high blood pressure, and obesity among others.

There are also some chronic diseases that are likely to occur when one does not identify his/her dietary requirements, there are also some known types of cancers that are caused by this (Lamb, Sternberg, Hwang, Broberg, 2014).

1. How to support children to learn personal hygiene practices when handling food

It is always very important to support children learn personal hygiene practices when handling different types of foods. There are a number of ways of doing this. For instance; one can always encourage the children to always clean their hands before handling any food to avoid contamination.

It is also a recommendation that the children not be allowed to share individual staff such as utensils e.g. spoons during eating (Moss et al, 2013).

The children should also be thought to turn away from food in the case that they happen to cough or even sneeze while they eat.

1. Key skills attained when children are involved in;

 -Assist in setting the table-This creates a positive feeling to the children and makes them eat well.

-Hand washing prior handling food and eating-The children are able to avoid contaminating the food with germs causing diseases (Oberhuemer et al, 2010).

1. Product 1 is much notorious than product 2. The following are some of the nutritional advantages that product 1 has over product 2;

       Product one has a high energy content

      Product 1 has fiber content and a considerable amount of sodium content.

      The fat content in product 1 is minimal compared to that in product 2

	Product 1	Product 2
Energy	17.2	8.9
Dietary Fiber	5.3	2.1
Sodium	0.8	0.05
Total fat	13	34
Saturated fat	1.2	2.4
Sugar	0.7	1.1

1. Yes it is sufficient to offer children water during regular times at the day since water is the best drink for babies.
2. It is a recommendation that menus, mostly weekly menus are placed on notice boards at each and every education care.
3. False. It is not okay for alcohol to be consumed at a family day care service.

     Consumption of alcohol is harmful for children.

1. The element talks about what to be done when a child seems to be unwell.

The section states that incase a child seems unwell, they should be separated from the rest of the children. The child’s parents should then be contacted if the child happens not to be in a position to play with others. While the sick child waits for their parents they should be monitored and the place they have used to rest while waiting be cleaned afterwards (Reynolds, Temple, Ou, Arteaga, White, 2011).

1. This element aims to protect the rest of the population from contracting the sickness that was being suffered by the sick child
2. Article 27 states that a child has a right to food, clothing, and a very safe place to live and to have all the necessary basic needs.
3.  (Reynolds et al, 2011).

Question	Answer
What foods are recommended for children to bring a lunchbox from home?	Starchy foods such as crakers, fresh fruit, vegetables and sandwiches.
What snacks to be left out of lunch boxes?	Energy drinks, creamy filled biscuits.
What drinks are recommended for children?	Water, Milk, Yoghurt etc.
When should you use these national guidelines?	Always, so as to ensure proper growth and development.
What column should you use to compare similar products?	Their column of their nutrient content.
What are the levels recommended for; Salt Fat Saturated Fat Carbohydrate sugar	For salt, 3.75g per day For fat, 44g-77g per day For saturated fat, 22g or less per day For carbohydrate sugar, 50-100g per day

For the case of too much food, the child should not be given all of it, some of it should be taken away and for the case of little food, the educator should provide more and inform the issue to the parent (Moss et al, 2013).

1. Guidelines to display;

Germ prevention. Washing of hands before eating or handling food and the use of gloves where necessary.

Heating and cooling of food. The children should be made aware of the dangers of fire before being exposed to fire.

Serving food. There should not be sharing of utensils among the children.

Infant feeding requirements and guidelines. Children should be fed properly to avoid contamination (Spodek & Saracho, 2014).

1. The educators are monitoring the children as they are having their meals.

B.Talk to them.

The educator should also be eating.

RELIGION	DIETARY REQUIREMENT
Christianity	No dietary restriction, but at times individuals may choose to forgo alcohol.
Islam	Only eat lawful foods and not prohibited foods (haram) such as pork.
Hinduism	Vegetarians, avoid eating meat and eggs.

CASE STUDY I

I would advise the parent to set some ground rules, he/she should let the child know what happens if they don’t eat. The parent should also not be tempted to think that something is better than nothing, but instead don’t offer other alternative foods because the child will learn how to refuse to eat (Spodek &Saracho, 2014).

CASE STUDY II

1. No, the teacher should not under any case whatsoever bribe the child into eating the vegetables.

	What Item of food must be substituted	Why	Suitable substitute
Peter	Sausages	Contains some fat.	Fruit.
Ana	Sausages	They contain pork and meat.	Vegetables.
Saadat	1.5litre stock made with beef ox cubes	It is not prohibited.	Ordinary beef.
Maria	2 Bay leaves	They contain gluten.	Not gluten containing material.

1. Milk, meat, fruit, vegetables, fiber (Spodek & Saracho, 2014).
2. Documenting the individual needs of each child.

Cooperating with the children’s parents accordingly.

The educators taking charge of the individual dietary needs.

Reference.

Lamb, M. E., Sternberg, K. J., Hwang, C. P., & Broberg, A. G. (Eds.). (2014). Child care in context: Cross-cultural perspectives. Psychology Press.

McDevitt, T. M., & Ormrod, J. E. (2010). Child development and education.

Moss, P., Dahlberg, G., & Pence, A. (2013). Beyond quality in early childhood education and care: Languages of evaluation. Routledge.

Oberhuemer, P., Schreyer, I., & Neuman, M. (Eds.). (2010). Professionals in early childhood education and care systems: European profiles and perspectives. Verlag Barbara Budrich.

Reynolds, A. J., Temple, J. A., Ou, S. R., Arteaga, I. A., & White, B. A. (2011). School-based early childhood education and age-28 well-being: Effects by timing, dosage, and subgroups. Science, 1203618.

Spodek, B., & Saracho, O. N. (2014). Handbook of research on the education of young children. Routledge.