Healthy Food Choices Improve Kids' Behavior
How Good Nutrition can Help Children Stay Happy and Calm
Apr 25, 2009
Kids tend to be rowdy, wild and aggressive when they are not fed properly. In fact, over the years, poor food intake has been consistently linked to anti-social behavior, aggression and even juvenile crime.
The fact is, healthy food choices improve kids’ behavior. What they eat will affect how they behave, how they perform at school and how they interact with others. Here are some tips on good nutrition that parents can use to help their children stay happy and calm.
Give Foods that Provide Longer-lasting Energy
Young children use up a lot of energy playing and learning, as well as taking part in sports and other activities. What they need to keep them going for long hours are foods that provide longer-lasting energy such as complex carbohydrates and protein foods. Foods rich in complex carbohydrates are whole grain breads, oat meals, cereals, pasta and legumes. Protein can be found in abundance in milk, dairy products, fish, poultry and lean red meat.
These foods provide a steady and long-lasting energy release, allowing children to feel settled, comfortable and able to focus on whatever activities they are involved in. With nourishing foods, children are also less likely to be tired easily, which often causes grumpiness and tantrums in kids.
Prepare a Nutritious Breakfast
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day for both children and adults. While it’s fine to eat big amounts of nourishing foods during lunch and evening, most of the energy input will be wasted, as most activities begin in the morning. So feeding children a proper and nutritious breakfast is key to providing energy through the day.
Some children may appear not very hungry at breakfast and thus refuse to eat a more substantial breakfast. In that case, feed children less dinner so that they will be able to eat more at breakfast the next morning.
Avoid Empty Calories
Kids love sweets, candy and chocolate. Unfortunately, these foods are often loaded with empty calories or refined sugar, which have a very negative effect on kids’ behavior. Refined sugar gives children a quick energy boost, making them hyperactive, noisy and hard to control. The energy surge doesn’t last long. Children’s blood sugar levels will quickly drop to below where they started, causing children to tire just as quickly. As a result, they become irritable, moody and unable to concentrate in school.
Avoid Food Additives
Food additives can adversely affect children’s behavior as well. In a 2007 study published in the medical journal The Lancet, researchers found that a combination of artificial colors and a sodium benzoate preservative in food resulted in increased hyperactivity in children aged between three and nine. In other studies, Tartrazine (E102) found in yellow food colors and Phosphates in processed foods such as hot dogs, sausages, burgers and instant soup have also shown similar effects.
There is a link between food and children’s behavior. In general, healthy food choices improve kids’ behavior. Parents can choose foods that provide longer-lasting energy, feed children proper and nutritious breakfast, avoiding empty calories and avoiding food additives to help kids stay nourished, happy and calm.
Found this article useful? Read also Dealing with Little Fussy Eaters and Making Mealtimes Fun.
References:
Palmer, Sharon. “Feeding Children’s Behavior” on the Food Product Design Website. 9 February 2008.
Biddulph, Steve. The Secret of Happy Children. Sydney: HarperCollins Publishers, 1998.
Dr. McVeagh, Patricia and Reed, Eve. Kids Food Health. Sydney: Finch Publishing, 2001.
