25 Apr How Proper Nutrition Affects A Child’s Development
The effects of nutrition on child development is something that’s really worth looking at.
In the US, for instance, most 3-year-olds are not quite as healthy as they used to be more than two decades ago.
In fact, a survey revealed that 90% children had fair-poor health, with 31% having to make regular hospital visits.
It is, therefore, critical for parents to understand how a balanced diet can affect their child’s early development.
Instilling Good Eating Habits in Your Child
Poor nutrition in the early, developmental years of a child can have drastic long-term consequences and significantly affect healthy physical growth and brain development.
Even though it goes without saying that a balanced diet is something that we must adhere to throughout our lives, it is especially important in the early childhood years.
Preschoolers between 2-5 years old, on average, grow anywhere between 6 and 9 inches and gain between 12 and 15 pounds.
This is when significant brain development occurs.
By instilling healthy eating habits in your child and providing healthy nutritional choices from an early age, you are ensuring that normal development can take place in the following ways:
Physical – Your child will grow normally in terms of weight and height by eating the right foods.
Emotional and social – The way children mature and learn to form meaningful and productive relationships has a lot to do with smart diet choices in the early years.
Cognitive – Your child may find it very difficult to develop the ability to learn language skills, make connections in a conversation or make improvements in short and long-term memory, with poor nutritional choices or generally inadequate nutrition.
How Good Nutritional Habits Affect a Child’s Development
Parents who are strict about instilling sound nutritional choices in their children are more likely to see them develop good cognitive abilities.
This means, scoring higher on school tests, generally doing better at school, the ability to develop relationships, and easily overcoming hurdles when it comes to learning speech.
As long as your child is eating nutritiously, he/she will grow at an optimal rate and gain weight a lot faster than other kids – this is not only important for proper physical development and athletic abilities but also brain power as well as adequate social and emotional skills.
Physically and mentally stronger kids are better able to fight illnesses and infections, and do well later in life.
By practicing a simple ritual of getting everybody involved at the dinner table, for example, you can help your child develop specific social and emotion-learning skills.
The need for good nutrition goes well beyond the womb.
Parents need to teach their children from a very early age that they must eat everything that they are asked to, and this should especially be stressed on when it comes to breakfast.
Along the way, you will undeniably face many challenges, but if you want your child to develop in a normal and healthy way, then you must pay extra attention and in still good eating habits from the outset.