Proper Nutrition: All Growing Children Need a Well Balanced Diet

A good well balanced diet is what all growing children need unfortunately, with all the busy parents who do not have time to make a proper meal there are places like Mcdonalds and Dominos. While these places offer a cure for the hungry stomach they do not offer the growing body the vitamins, nutrients, and minerals that are needed. We must remember that just because kids have had plenty to eat, they might not have gotten what their bodies needed from the meal. An inadequate food intake can cause growing bodies to suffer tremendously. Not only do they have impaired physical growth and cognitive functions (responsiveness, motivation), but their immune response starts to mimic that of a child who is suffering from AIDS; fewer T lymphocytes and decreased secretory immunoglobulin are just a couple of the changes that can occur (Grisby ,2003) Poor nutrition is observed most frequently in the developing countries, but is on a rise in the U.S, where one out of every four children have some form of malnutrition (Grisby, 2003).

Some of the signs of malnutrition are: poor weight gain, slowing of linear growth, behavioral changes, fatigue, and dry scaly skin. In severe cases bloated stomachs and problems with organ function. Vitamins are essential to the growing body; they help with digestion, energy, immunity, alertness, cell division, and growth. Vitamin C will help boost the immune system, fight stress, and keep skin, hair and nails healthy. Iron is essential because it is a carrier of oxygen throughout the body and to help mental alertness. Vitamin D is important for strong bones, and teeth. Iodine will help prevent developmental delays. If you are not sure if your child is getting the right amount of nutrients in their body, then try keeping a record of what your child eats for a week and take it to your doctor or a nutritionist and they can tell you.

Children with the proper nutrition will show more self confidence, have higher energy levels and will be more alert than malnourished children (Feldman, 2006). If you have a picky child who won't eat meat then try offering him/her peanut butter on a whole wheat cracker instead; there is the same amount of protein in both (Poirot,1999). Making sure that children get their recommended dose of vitamins every day can be tedious, but it is important to help their growing bodies reach their full potential. Over 153 million children are malnourished, lets not add another one to that list.

References

Feldman, R.S. (2006). Development Across The Life Span(4th Edition). New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Grisby, G.D. (2003). Malnutrition. Retrieved February 2nd, from http://www.emedicine.com

Poirot, C. (1999). Parenting and Health-Guide†help sort out kids vitamins. Seattle Times. (p.C 2) Retrieved February†2nd, 2006, from Proquest Database(38896530).

Hunger and Malnutrition(2003). Retrieved on February 2nd from http://www.kidshealth.org?parent?nutrition-fit.