Nutrition Through Life Cycle – The School Age

Introduction

In the post Nutrition Through The Life Cycle – Preschool Age we discussed nutritional needs and growth of children after grouping them according to their chronological age. You can also call the school age period as ‘Middle Childhood‘. We cannot clearly define the age limit for the school age period. The school age period begins at 6 years and ends at the onset of pubertal changes. Therefore, the end of this period varies between sexes and between individual children. This is because girls mature earlier than boys, and even among girls, some will mature earlier than others.

However, for convenience you can say that school age children are those who are between 6 and 12 years. After 13 years, children enter their adolescent years. You may call them teenagers.

Some people have called the school years of a child, the serene or calm period because you have fewer problems with the child than you would have either in the preschool period or during adolescence. You will see that physical ability of the child improves and makes the child more skillful. Thus the child may take more active part in sports. He/she will be more independent than before.

In this post, you will see a steady increase in their height and weight. One important aspect in the child’s life is the daily routine of school and perhaps extracurricular activities. You want the child to perform well in studies, concentrate in school. For all this adequate food intake is a must. Not just that, but you must ensure that the child has adequate nutrient stores for the growth spurt that will follow. In this post we shall discuss about the growth of the school age child and its nutritional needs. We shall also consider the relevance of packed lunches and school meals for this age group.

 

Growth Of School Age Children

Children between 6 years and the onset of the adolescence grow relatively slowly. In the first few years i.e., about 7 to 9 years, you may not find great differences in growth rates of boys and girls. However after this, girls will grow faster than boys and sometimes you may find that by 10 or 11 years a girl may be taller and heavier than a boy of the same age.

One characteristic that you will notice is that there is individuality in growth rate of children in these years. There is little growth in head size, but the trunk and legs grow [remember brain growth is completed during the preschool years.] Skeletal maturation occurs during these years. Annually the increment in height may be approximately 5 to 6 cm, with girls gaining a little more than boys. Weight increases are usually between 2 and 3 kilograms per year.

You must take care to ensure that the child should gain appropriate weight as per his age and height.

 

Nutritional Needs Of Children

As such, children in this age group have no special nutritional needs. Since children are growing at this age, they require all the nutrients. Give them a well-balanced diet Children who play a lot, and are very active, will need more energy than children of the same age who are less active i.e., one who spends a lot of time in reading, or watching television or painting or drawing.

If the child is getting an adequate diet, school age children have a low risk of having nutritional problems. However, any inadequacy in a child’s diet will affect him/her more quickly and more severely than it would an adult. Blood formation keeps pace with the need for increased blood supply for the child’s growing body. Children from this age group have more resistance to disease than the preschoolers.

Another important point to bear in mind is that girls should have an adequate iron intake so that they have sufficient iron stores before they reach menarche. Undernutrition may have serious consequences. If the child is undernourished, he/she will become easily tired and will not be able to perform well in school or be able to do the physical activities well or fully. Such a child may be more susceptible to infection also.

Remember that different children will have different appetites and needs. So use the suggested daily portions as a rough guide. Up to the age of 10 or 11 boys and girls do not differ much in the food needs. We have given you here a sample menu for a school going child.

• • Breakfast: Paratha/Upma, Milk/Egg, Banana/Guava/Orange.
  • Lunch: Chapati, Leafy Vegetables And Pulse Preparation, Carrot [Salad], Curd/Lassi.
  • Tea: Tea Biscuits/Chikki/Bread And Butter.
  • Dinner: Rice, Chapati, Vegetables, Pulse, Milk/Curd, Salad.

In the day a child should get the following foods in addition to an adequate intake of cereals:

• • Serving Of Milk
  • Serving Of Pulse
  • Serving Of Vegetables [Including 1 Of Green Leafy/Yellow Orange Vegetables]
  • Serving Of Fruit
  • Sugar [According To Taste]
  • Oil, Fat [Added While Cooking]

 

Meeting Nutrients Needs

During the early part of this age span, you may find that the child has a poor appetite like the preschooler. On the whole, however, the child will be eating more amount of food and in most cases will accept a wider variety of dishes. Usually you find less feeding problem with the school age child. Likes and dislikes have been established by this time but remember that they are not necessarily permanent. Therefore, establish good healthy eating habits. Do give as wide a variety of foods as possible.

Starting school [Especially Full-Time] can bring a number of changes in your child’s eating habits. A large part of the child’s time will be spent in school. Therefore, the meal timings should be adjusted according to the child’s schedule. You must see that the child has a good breakfast. Remember, a hungry child cannot concentrate and participate fully in the learning experience. Include not only cereal but also a protein-rich food and a fruit which supplies some vitamin C at breakfast time.

Lunch should supply about one-third of the child’s requirement. For many children, it is necessary to provide a packed lunch. When the child comes home from school [Depending On The Time] you should give some snacks.

Often you will find that the child becomes so involved with other activities that it is difficult to get him/her to sit down and eat. Also when you force them they may eat a little and rush back to whatever they were doing. Later they may feel hungry, and want a snack. If you do give snacks, encourage the child to eat nutritious ones instead of chocolates or wafers. Do not give fizzy drinks. Children learn by example. So if you take the attitude that such foods as wafers or chocolates are to be eaten occasionally and you put a definite limit on the amount of sweets you will develop healthy eating habits in the child.

In the daily diet include 2 to 3 servings of fruits or vegetables and try and include green leafy or yellow vegetables abut 3 to 4 times a week. Make sure you include a citrus fruit or some other good source of ascorbic acid. Many children may dislike vegetables. However you must try and get them to eat these foods. One way of doing so is by preparing colorful and attractive, tasty dishes. Another important aspect is that at this age they may need to eat four or five times a day.

Permanent teeth start erupting at about 6 years. You must guard against caries formation in children at any age but especially in school children because they have permanent teeth. Caries formation occurs because of poor dental hygiene especially after consumption of sweet foods. You can prevent this by ensuring that the child brushes and cleans his teeth well in the morning and night. Also do not give too many sweet foods.

 

School Meals And Packed Lunch

For most children, lunch time will be during school hours. You already know that the lunch should provide the child with one-third of his/her daily nutrient needs. Most of the time you will have to provide a packed lunch to your child.

You Must Keep A Few Points In Mind While Planning A Packed Lunch.

• • It should be easy to eat and not spill over or leak. Avoid any oily or liquid preparations [unless you give it separately in a bottle]. Oil and liquid will leak out of the box and spill over your children’s books. Chutneys, etc. should be as dry as possible.
  • Let the food be as dry as possible [your child may/may not have a place to sit down and eat and wash hands as he can at home].
  • Many things which taste good when they are hot are not so tasty when they are cold. A packed lunch will always be cold. Hence make it as attractive as possible.

If you or other adults in the family already take a packed lunch, you will have some experience. Many people take chapati/roti and some vegetable. This is alright. But it is not enough. You need to add some fruit [which will not get mashed] and sometimes a Chikki piece or Biscuits/Laddu for your child. Laddu, Chikki, etc. can be made beforehand and kept; fruits like Banana, Guava, Chickoo, Mausambi, Orange, Apple are all easy to carry.

If you give a salad vegetable like tomato, do not cut it into small pieces. A small whole tomato [the size of a lemon can be put in the lunch box]. Chutney, e.g., coriander or mint chutney can be put in a separate small container inside the lunch box.

Some schools also provide lunches to the students under school meal program. However, you must make sure that the lunch the school gives is well balanced. Many schools may just give a snack especially fried snacks.

Even among snack foods like Idli, Sambar, Chutney, Vegetable Sandwiches or Dhokla are better than biscuits, etc. Some schools may provide a full lunch as you would at home such as Rice, Dal, Chapati, Vegetable. This is very good.

 

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