Chapter Contents
Healthy Eating
What is a healthy diet?
Children need regular meals and snacks to provide the energy and nutrients they need for growth and development. Meals should include items from the following food groups:
- Starchy carbohydrates such as potatoes, bread, pasta, rice, breakfast cereal (ideally wholegrain varieties)
- Fruit and vegetables (5 or more each day)
- Milk and dairy products such as yogurt and cheese
- Protein, such as meat, fish, eggs, beans, soya
Foods high in sugar should be avoided wherever possible and are best served with meals to protect dental health. Foods high in fat should be limited, although fat is an essential part of the diet, particularly aiding the absorption of vitamins A, D and E. Oily fish, milk, avocados and nuts are good sources of fat. Salt should not be added to children’s food and foods high in salt should be limited, e.g. potato crisps and ready meals.
Children should ideally drink water or milk to protect their teeth from decay. Fruit squashes and fizzy drinks are harmful to teeth and can contribute to excessive weight gain.
See https://www.bda.uk.com/food-health/food-facts.html for more information.
Developing healthy eating habits
Good healthy eating habits develop gradually and you will often be looking after children whose eating habits have developed in a deprived or unhappy atmosphere. Even where this is not the case, a child may refuse to eat unfamiliar food when they have just left home. All sorts of behaviours are possible; overeating, hoarding, stealing, being finicky, refusal, vomiting. Whatever the case may be, it is always best to avoid confrontation. Find out what the child’s eating habits and preferences are and only introduce new eating experiences gradually, at the child’s own pace. This is especially important for children with disabilities who may need special diets or help with eating.
Getting children involved in choosing and preparing their meals and snacks helps teach them about healthy eating and where food comes from, as well as developing an essential life skill. Visit the Eatwell Guide for more information.
Eating more fruit and vegetables
The Change4Life campaign gives the following advice for getting more fruit and vegetables into your diet:
- If you do not have time to prepare fresh vegetables try canned, frozen or pre packed and try stir-frying vegetables to improve flavour.
- Have fruit juice at breakfast.
- Keep a well-stocked fruit bowl.
- Snack on fruit or raw sticks of vegetable such as carrot, celery or peppers.
- Serve two types of vegetables with your dinner.
- Switch to fresh or dried fruit, breadsticks or unsalted nuts instead of sweets and biscuits.
Dietary supplements (e.g. vitamins)
If a child has been malnourished or has a restricted diet, and you are concerned that they may not be gaining the required amounts of vitamins and minerals from food each day, please speak with their social worker and GP about the possible benefits of vitamin supplements. As with all medications, please do not give vitamin supplements without the permission of the child’s social worker and without medical advice.
If the child’s Health Plan indicates the need for a vitamin supplement, please ensure that this is provided.
Physical Activity
All young people need at least one hour’s exercise each day. Regular exercise strengthens muscles and bone and contributes to good cardiovascular health. It also helps children maintain a healthy weight.
Sporting clubs, e.g. football, gymnastics and karate help children to keep active while making friends and achieving new skills. In addition to these regular activities, try and increase activity each day by:
- Walking or cycling rather than going by car
- Taking the stairs rather than the lift
- Walking a dog
- Going to the local park
- Family bike rides
- Encouraging outdoor play
The Change4life website has lots of ideas for everyday family activities that can help children do 60 minutes of physical activity every day.
Change4life – https://www.nhs.uk/change4life/activities
Explore a range of leisure activities in your area, sporting or not, and encourage young people to try those that interest them. Many children will need a lot of help and encouragement to find interests they enjoy and there may be ‘false starts’ along the way. It is normal for children to try out several activities before they find one that really suits them, and it is important to be patient with them.
Children’s activities can become very expensive over time, if they develop a strong talent for something. If the costs are more than you consider reasonable, talk to your supervising social worker as you might be able to get some help with this. For example, the Spark Foundation awards small grants for children in care and care leavers, and you could apply for help to buy an expensive piece of equipment.
