Schools’ out for summer!

While that means sleeping in and having fun, it also means kids are eating more at home. Schools provide lunch and breakfast based on regulations set forth by the government and programs like Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC). School meals are well balanced and designed to meet the nutritional needs of students throughout their development.

Parents may deal with picky eaters, worrying if their kids are eating enough or the right things, and if they are consuming enough water. There are many factors that can contribute to the stress of ensuring kids maintain healthy nutrition status.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), eating a healthy breakfast and adequate hydration is associated with improved cognitive function and promotes learning. Healthy eating in childhood and adolescence is important for proper growth and development and to prevent various health conditions.

Tips to maintain a healthy eating pattern

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020–2025 recommend people aged 2 years or older follow a healthy eating pattern that includes the following:

• A variety of fruits and vegetables
• Whole grains
• Fat-free and low-fat dairy products
• A variety of protein foods
• Oils

Supporting kids in their natural eating habits is important to maintaining their nutrition. For example, don’t overfeed infants and young children − they can usually self-regulate the amount of calories they need each day. Children shouldn’t be forced to finish meals if they aren’t hungry as they often vary caloric intake from meal to meal. Introduce healthy foods and keep offering them if they’re initially refused. Don’t introduce foods without overall nutritional value simply to provide calories (heart.org).

Give MyPlate method a try when teaching portion sizes

There are many ways to engage and encourage kids to eat healthy and make sound nutritional choices that will support healthy growth and development. Cooking with your kids is a great way to introduce different foods and get them excited about trying new foods. Making meal times “family” time is another way to engage kids in healthy eating habits.

Using the MyPLate method when plating meals can be a fun way to teach healthy portion sizes and encourage making healthy choice. The premise behind MyPlate is all the food you eat on a plate should be divided into certain categories − gruits and vegetables taking up one half of the plate. Meats/proteins and grains (ideally whole grains) each getting a quarter and on the side is a serving of dairy (healthychildren.org).

UH Samaritan is hosting a summer lunch program that can help relieve some of the stress when it comes to your child’s nutrition.

Grab a summer lunch at UH Samaritan

The program was designed to provide a well-balanced lunch to kids that will support healthy growth and development. UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital has partnered with several of the UH medical centers to bring healthy, well balanced lunches to the children within our communities.

The program provides children ages 1-18 a free, healthy lunch in the UH Samaritan cafeteria. Each meal will include a special entrée, vegetable, fruit, milk, and whole grain side. Registration is not required and the program is open to all children, but meals must be eaten in the hospital cafeteria to be eligible.

The summer lunch program will be held in the UH Samaritan cafeteria, 1025 Center St., Ashland. Lunches are served 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Monday-Friday through Aug. 16.

You can find more information on children’s nutrition and nutrition in general at healthychildren.org, dietaryguidelines.gov, and cdc.gov, and heart.org.

Christina Vanderpool, RN, BSN, is the community outreach nurse at University Hospitals Samaritan Medical Center.