Nutritious Activity for Kids, Two

Nutritious Activity for Kids, Two

Wouldn’t it be a great idea if your pre-school teacher or school encouraged a Healthy Lunch Day in a class? The kids can call it “Show & Share Lunch”. They could bring different healthy items to eat once a week and the homework would be for the parents to explain why is each item good for their child. Bring anything you think is healthy, no judgment, and receive a collection of opinions. For instance, Jenny has carrots today, Jenny says carrots are good for eyes, so her eyes can wink whenever Jenny wants and they can see far away into horizon. When kids learn the actual importance of each item it becomes more meaningful and tastes better.

So far, we have a pizza day in our school on Friday. I think the Healthy Lunch Day is in dire need!

Unfortunately, most of the children’s books I’ve seen so far send a clear message that foods like pizza, cookies, or ice cream are the best treat ever and should be highly desired! I was lucky to find one book in a library that was all about veggies and fruits and I grabbed it!. The saddest part is that kids are the sponges that take in any encouragement SO EASILY and we use it to send the wrong messages! I realized it from my own experiment with my first child, when my toddler was just getting exposed to the world around her. When there was someone in the book excited to eat pizza, then she thought it was wonderful to eat pizza, especially if she clearly got that message outside of the family all the time. On the other hand, when I told her a story about a happy lettuce that got on a boy’s plate and how the boy enjoyed it, my toddler would respond with enthusiasm thinking it’s so great to eat lettuce. It was especially clear how easy a child gets a message when we went to the zoo and fed giraffes with the lettuce – the reinforcement outside of the house – she called herself giraffe for several months and ate the plain lettuce with pleasure. It's not easy to stay consistent especially when you are trying to build in the habits that are not mainstream but it is possible. As parents, we can model a certain behavior at home, and as long as we are consistent and show our confidence we can expect the child to follow.

If you can recommend a good children’s book that supports green living, love for greens, veggies, and fruits please share it with us readers in the comment section!