Reading Response Chapter 19:
Five Key Point from “Nutrition Education: Rationale, Concepts, and Lessons”
1. Rationale for Teaching Children About Nutrition
Young children have the ability to start creating lifelong habits and are more inclined to be interested in new ideas about food and food related practices. While we want children to learn about why what we choose is eat is important, there are so many other valuable reasons we should teach our kids about nutritional education. The teaching of nutritional education can promote a child’s language development and listening skills but being able to learn new words or phrases associated to food preparation or just food in general and be able to communicate with parents or teachers about a completely new topic. The teaching of nutritional education can also promote cognitive development in a child by having them learn step-by-step instructions to learn how to make a new recipe or even their favorite food, children may also be able to practice their math by learning how to measure out their ingredients, and of course science too will be learned along the way with their new understanding of solids and liquids done by heating, mixing, baking and such. Practices in nutritional education can also promote development in sensorimotor and social/emotional development.
2. Schools in Children’s Nutrition Education
To effectively make a difference and impact in a child’s nutritional education program, one must have the help and support of not only the teachers but the administrators, directors, cooks, and the children’s family. It is quite clear when an administrator or teacher doesn’t put nutrition as a priority for the children, and same goes for when an administrator or teacher does put it as a priority. Those that feel the nutrition education is of great importance will make sure that whatever needs to be done, whether it be finances, resources, or interfering obstacles that they do not interfere with the nutrition quality or children’s meals or snacks.
3. Basic Nutrition Education Concepts
As a school or children’s program, there is a responsibility to promote children’s health and nutrition. It is important to take the opportunities for their children to learn what they can from the start by providing them the proper experiences that reflect the four basic nutrition concepts which are: Nutritious food is essential for children’s bodies to grow and stay health, nutrients come from food that promote growth and health, a variety of foods should be eaten each day because no one food provides all the nutrients needed, and foods must be handed carefully before they are eaten to ensure that they are nutritious and safe. With these four basic concepts, there is a responsibility for a teacher to understand the basic knowledge of nutrition and be able properly implement that into a learning experience for their children.
4. Planning Guidelines
Just like every other curriculum or lesson plan, a teacher m...
