Good Nutrition Starts at Home

Good Nutrition Starts at Home

Your child needs a variety of food to fuel his growth, strengthen his immune system, and support his brain and nervous systems. Food also provides him with the energy to learn, play and do the activities he likes. To fulfil his potential, it is important that he eats the right foods, in the right amounts.

Healthy Eating Starts At Home

Inculcating healthy eating habits and good nutrition should start from young. The best place to learn about healthy eating is at home. As a parent, you are the best person to help and guide your child to eat healthily, so that he can enjoy the benefits now and through the course of his life. But first of all, you need to learn how to feed your child properly. So read on to find out what foods and how you should feed your child.

Meeting Your Child’s Nutritional Needs

Your child’s body has multiple needs that are fulfilled by different nutrients. No single food can provide your child with all the nutrients he needs. Feed your child with a good mix from these 5 food groups to give him the nourishment he needs for growth and development.

The 5 food groups are: Cereal and cereal products Vegetables Fruits Fish, meat, poultry, eggs and legumes Milk and dairy products Learn more about these foods in the interactive Food Pyramid under "MySchool" section.

Balance, Moderation and Variety

How can you ensure your child obtains the optimum nutrition he needs while avoiding nutritional excess or deficiency? Well, the answer is Balance, Moderation and Variety! Balance Give your child a balanced mix of foods in his diet by including foods from all the 5 food groups. But remember to keep fats and oils, salt and sugar to a minimum. Moderation Eating too much or too little can cause health problems. Feed your child in moderation. The best thing you can do is teach him to eat in moderate amounts, e.g. stop eating once he feels full. Variety The types and amounts of nutrients differ from food to food. That’s why your child needs variety in his diet. You can do this by including different types of food within the level of the Food Pyramid, e.g. chicken on Monday and fish on Tuesday, kangkung for lunch and sawi for dinner. To learn more about the 5 food groups, the nutrition they provide, and the amounts needed to be consumed daily, refer to the interactive Food Pyramid in the "MySchool" section