Youth Development, Healthy Living and Social Responsibility
Youth

School Age Child Care

Nutrition plays an important role in the correct course of the physiological processes of a school-age child. The normal functioning of organs and systems of the body, its resistance to various disease-causing factors depends on proper nutrition.

With food, a teenager should receive all those substances that are included in the composition of his/her organs and tissues. These are proteins, fats, carbohydrates, minerals, salts, vitamins, water.

Protein is the main building block of every living cell. With a lack of protein in the diet, an adolescent feels weakness and lethargy, and resistance to various diseases decreases. This is reflected in the child’s academic performance and ability to work.

The most useful protein is milk and dairy products, meat, fish and eggs. Vege-tables contribute to the better digestibility of proteins, therefore it is recommended to serve meat and fish dishes with vegetable side dishes.

Fats and carbohydrates are a source of energy, our “fuel”. Fats improve the taste of food and provide long-term satiety. However, excess fat leads to metabolic disorders and obesity. Butter, fat of milk, eggs, cream, which contains vitamins A and D are well absorbed. Pork fat, beef and especially mutton fats are poorly absorbed and contain very few vitamins. 10-15 g of vegetable oil (sunflower, olive, corn) should be introduced into the food of schoolchildren every day.

The body of adolescents needs minerals. The lack of them can lead to various diseases. For example, a lack of iodine salts in food can disrupt the function of the thyroid gland. Vitamins participate in all metabolic processes in the body, increase the body’s endurance and resistance to various diseases. A lack of them makes the child irritable, he/she quickly gets tired, his/her working capacity and appetite decrease, growth slows down.

It is very important that school-age children get a variety of food. For example, schoolers from Primetime early learning centers take meals 4 times a day at approximately 4-hour intervals.

Milk and dairy products are especially beneficial for teens because they contain complete protein, fat, calcium and vitamins. Every day a teenager should drink at least 400-500 ml of milk.

It is impossible to give a diagram of a daily routine that is acceptable to every-one. It depends on many reasons: the conditions at school and at home, the possibility of parents employed at work. But using general recommendations, you can make up the child’s daily regimen on your own, taking your and the child’s capabilities for attention.

A well-organized adolescent’s daily routine is based on a certain rhythm, a strict alternation of certain types of activities. When performing certain elements of the daily routine in a certain sequence and at the same time, the central nervous system forms certain “habits” that facilitate the transition from one type of activity to another. Therefore, it is necessary to strictly adhere to a certain time of getting up and going to bed, cooking homework, meals, that is, to follow a certain established daily routine. All elements of the regime must be subordinated to this basic position.

When drawing up a daily routine plan for a child, Delran schools recommend considering the following nuances:

  • Alternation of work and rest;
  • Regular food intake;
  • Sleep of a certain duration, going to sleep and waking up at the same time;
  • Specified time for morning exercises and hygiene procedures;
  • A certain time for homework, with obligatory 10-15 minute rest breaks;
  • A certain length of rest with a maximum stay in the open air.

In the morning, be sure to devote 10-15 minutes to hardening. Gymnastics should be done in a well-ventilated room, with an open window or outdoors. It is better to do it in panties and slippers if possible so that the body simultaneously receives an air bath. Gymnastic exercises strengthen the work of the heart and lungs, improve metabolism, and have a beneficial effect on the nervous system. After gymnastics, the child should perform water and hygiene procedures in the form of rubdowns or douches. Therefore, the morning toilet, in addition to its hygienic value, also has a hardening effect, improves health, and increases resistance to colds. The entire morning toilet should take no more than 30 minutes. According to YMCA Burlington NJ, morning exercises followed by water treatments prepare the student’s body for the day at work.

After classes at school, it is not necessary to immediately do homework – the child’s head must “rest” from assimilating information. In general, we must try to ensure that the child has 1-2 hours of free time during the day for walks, games and being in the fresh air.

Homework should of schoolchildren in elementary grades should take about 1-2 hours, middle grades – 2-3 hours, senior classes 3-4 hours. “If homework is delayed, the learning material is poorly assimilated, children have to re-read the same thing over and over to understand the meaning, and they make a lot of mistakes in writing,” says Jessica Morgan, a Prime Time daycare teacher.

A child should have free time before bed. It is not recommended to do homework late and go to bed right away. In this case, the child’s sleep may be poor.