When I was a dietetic intern at Nebo School District, I had the opportunity to do several projects related to teaching children nutrition. I was continually amazed at how fascinated the kids were with learning about nutrition and how quickly they were willing to change their attitudes about food. Now, it usually didn’t start out like that. I was working there right after the new school lunch requirements and the kids were really pushing back. When I would walk into a classroom or talk with kids at the lunch line they loved telling me how gross the vegetables were or how upset they were that they didn’t get the same pizza they used to get. It was really overwhelming!
However, things began to change quickly. I developed some lessons on fruits and vegetables and started visiting every classroom in one of the schools. I only spent 30-45 minutes in each class, but with each class full of games, contests, and fun facts, the attitude towards fruits and vegetables at school lunch began to change. When kids saw me helping at school lunch they would excitedly run over to me and show me their empty vegetable cup, boast about how many cups of fruit or vegetables they finished at lunch, or tell me what fun facts from our class that they had shared with their families. My proudest moment came from a kid who had vehemently insisted that he was a picky eater during our class. He waved me over at lunch and proudly told me, “Last night we had spinach salad with dinner. I ate the whole thing and my dad didn’t even! I told him he should try it because it was actually good and spinach has Vitamin K which helps his blood and bones and then he tried a bite. But he didn’t finish it, but I did!” I was so proud that not only had he remembered the fun Vitamin K fact, but that he had tried (and finished) a food he previously hated, then taught his Dad and modeled the better behavior himself! Way to go!
Not only did the kids have a new excitement and knowledge base about nutrition, but it actually affected their behavior. They started taking and finishing more fruits and vegetables at school lunch. Throughout that internship rotation and over the other projects I did with the kids I saw repeatedly that kids truly are interested in the food that they eat and are eager to make healthy choices when given the information and skills.
My experience with those kids gave birth to this Kid Nutrition Minute idea and my passion about helping kids. Kids are so much more willing to change their food habits than adults generally are. They also are developing their food attitudes, habits, and even their palates that will affect their health for their entire lives. NOW is the time when we can have the most positive impact on their lifelong nutrition and health. And who better to learn from than their own parents? Nobody loves these kids more and are more invested in their happiness than parents. But it can be overwhelming to find accurate nutrition information, much less find the time to think of a way to make it fun, exciting, relevant and age-appropriate for a kid.
That is where I hope I can help out! As a registered dietitian nutritionist, I have dedicated my education to finding, understanding and interpreting nutrition research to make it user-friendly and personally applicable. For kids, that means fun, exciting, and quick! With Kid Nutrition Minute I’ve developed a kids page with fun facts, activities and challenges to share with your kids to help them learn the excitement of food! With you parents I hope to share on this page some tips on quickly and easily fitting nutrition teaching into your day, keeping nutrition fun, teaching skills, modeling good behavior, overcoming nutrition concerns, finding accurate information and any other topics you let me know you need help with. I look forward to growing Kid Nutrition Minute together. My goal is that with your help we can encourage kids in their excitement about food, help them learn how good nutrition helps them grow healthy and assist them in developing habits that will mean they won’t need the services of a dietitian like me when they grow up!
Grace is really on to something here. I agree that teaching nutrition to young children can help make their future healthier. The current statistics of obesity and overweight children and adults in the U.S. is staggering, this is a path to changing that trend. She is presenting a creative, yet practical approach. Keep up the great work Grace! I’m a fan of your vision.
Thank you so much! Between the awesome dietitians out there (like you!) and the parents who are eager to help their kids learn and live a nutritious, healthy lifestyle I hope we can improve those statistics.