Diet is important for everyone but for children, it’s a key ingredient to development as much as it is a source of energy for the body. It all begins at the very earliest stages of a child’s life and runs through to about the age of 25 years when the brain fully matures.
But let’s take it from the beginning when a child’s formative years require them to eat the most nutritious foods to achieve academic success in the near-term and through their entire school experience.
Here are three ways a child is influenced by nutrition and why County Place Early Learning & Care Centre daycare in Sherwood Park takes them into account for every child.
Nutrition Affects Brain Function
Although there have been many studies in the past and they continue today, it is clear that nutrition plays a major role in brain development from a very early age.
A number of studies have indicated that nutrition has a direct effect on cognition. An iron deficiency can result in decreased dopamine transmission, impacting cognitive function. This is also the case for deficiencies in other vitamins and minerals, like thiamine, vitamins E and B, iodine, and zinc, which can inhibit concentration.
By increasing amino acid and carbohydrate levels in a child’s diet, you can improve their perception and reasoning, which is essential for academic success at any age. So providing the proper nutrient balance in the child’s diet can dramatically enhance their academic performance and intelligence.
Improve Behaviour and Learning Ability Through Nutrition
Give your child the best opportunity to learn and grow by feeding them the essentials they need. They will be healthy, energetic, and confident about all that they do, not just learning, so they are more likely to want to attend school.
It has been widely recognized that deficiencies in nutrition can lead to problem behaviors. The good news is that these behaviours can be counteracted by altering the child’s diet to include a healthy intake of protein, fat, complex carbohydrates, and fibre. This gives children the ability to think clearly and behave appropriately while in school with an eagerness to return each day. It also provides for a better learning environment with fewer interruptions.
Better School Performance Comes with Better Nutrition
It is the general consensus among sociologists that a student’s diet impacts academic performance overall. Mother always said to eat a good breakfast before writing your exams, and she was right. Actively promoting health in children increases their ability to focus and increase their test scores climbs and this can be found in all school-age children.
For these reasons and more, County Place Early Learning & Care Centre promotes healthy eating within our facility. With five meals/snacks served per day, which goes well beyond the norm among childcare centres, we can promote healthy eating from a young age with a great variety of foods that contain all the nutrients a growing child needs. When you start young, good eating habits can carry through to adulthood.
