With the start of the new course, in many institutes throughout Spain you can see healthy vending machines, loaded with foods such as fresh fruit, whole wheat bread or non-fried nuts. Gone are the industrial pastries, packaged juices or sweet and chocolate snacks.
Luckily, more and more awareness about how important it is maintain healthy eating habits, especially when we talk about growing children and teenagers. But there is still a way to go, both by families and schools.
Healthy lunch for everyone
As reported by Antena 3, this measure carried out by a large part of the Spanish institutes, obeys the Law on Food Safety and Nutrition approved in 2011, which was intended to take care of the children's food by prohibiting the sale of food and beverages high in saturated fatty acids, trans fatty acids, salt and sugars in Kindergartens and schools.
Following this law, most institutes began to withdraw their vending machines or to exchange products for other healthy ones as is the case of the Valencian Community, where a decree law is being prepared to offer foods such as skimmed and semi-skimmed milk, sugar-free yogurts, whole wheat bread or fruit.
In the stages of children and primary school there are many schools that invite parents to prepare a healthy lunch so that children can ** take it at recess **. To the classic sheet prepared by nutritionists who distribute some cabbages with guided snacks, nutritional talks for parents that some centers or municipalities give in order to take care of the feeding of the little ones have been added.
And nutrition experts do not get tired of highlighting what important that it is to maintain correct eating habits since childhood, which help prevent overweight and the development of certain associated diseases, both in childhood and in adulthood.
So,
- The good example of parents and other family members
- A correct and complete breakfast to face the day well
- Maintain a healthy and balanced diet
- And practice physical exercise, are key to lead a healthy life from childhood.
But what if the school does not contribute to maintaining the healthy habits that we have at home?
I remember a while ago, at the beginning of the course, that my son came home with a note from the school that indicated that lunch on Mondays and Wednesdays should be fruit. "Fruit day," they called it.
At first it seemed an excellent measure for encourage the consumption of fruit among those children who usually did not. Seeing the rest of classmates eat fruit and not being able to opt for other alternatives could be really positive for many students. But immediately I thought, why not establish this measure all week instead of limiting it to just two days?
And it is of little use the healthy habits that we maintain families when the school does not accompany in the same way, establishing even healthier measures for mid-morning snacks.
On the other hand, some school canteens also have much to improve to make their menus healthier and more balanced, and act in coordination with families to, among all, take care of children's food.
I was reading this news from a school in Malaga that, in the face of the low work of the cook, had to order Burger King menus from your students, something that the parents of the children affirm, is not the first time it happens. Was this really the only possible solution?
And finally, as issues to improve, I would also highlight the celebration of students' birthdays. Some schools, although the least, choose to distribute goodies, others celebrate it with unhealthy salty snacks and others resort to packaged juices.
There are many parents who, aware of the feeding of their children, they propose healthier alternatives, which, however, are not always supported by other families who see it as "exceptional events", "fun for the little ones" or those that "do not give any importance".
Personally, I believe that everyone - parents, teachers and school directors - should row in the same direction when it comes to the food and health of the little ones, and always opt for healthy measures: for their health today, and tomorrow !IStock photos
In Babies and More Prepare the healthiest snacks and snacks for your children, Encourage in children the practice of exercise, In front of a healthy vending machine we could tell the children to choose what they want, Seven breakfasts full of energy for children, Fruit day at school ... doesn't it have to be every day?
