Dear moms, here are 4 nutrition tips to keep your kids eating healthy during the pandemic

The lockdown has shaken everyone’s routine once again!

Due to Covid-19, children have been staying at home. They’ve had to adjust to home-schooling, reduced movement, limited social interaction, and increased dependence on virtual forms of entertainment. This excessive screen time and lack of outdoor play-time combined with a variety of packaged food choices have affected the nutritional status and health of children.

You might have noticed certain changes in your child such as a different sleeping pattern, craving for certain kinds of foods, an increase in irritability or rejecting foods that they liked before! Don’t shrug it off as a simple call for attention. These changes reflect how deeply their health, growth, and development have been affected due to changes caused by the pandemic.

Here are 4 ways in which you can ensure your child eats healthy amidst the lockdown as well:

1. Fix a schedule

You would have noticed that children tend to get cranky or fussy if they don’t eat as per their usual times. Insist on maintaining a near-normal routine.  Plan the main meals and snack-time based on their school routine. Ensure that you allot a special time for play/movement-based activities as well as limited screen-time.

2. Ditch processed/packaged food

Packaged foods may be convenient but the preservatives, artificial colour, fat content, sugar and excessive salt can prove to be harmful to your child’s health. Regularly consuming packaged foods can lead to nutrient deficiencies, mood swings, and crankiness.

3. Plan ahead for snacks

Get ahead of your game and stock up on nutritious in-between meals that you can make at home and batch-prep for the whole week! You can make granola, bliss balls or even hummus. Snacks are a great way of filling up your child’s tummy with power-packed nutrients and prevent them from over-eating.

4. Encourage well-balanced meals

A well-balanced meal contains the right quantity of good quality carbohydrates, protein, healthy fats, fiber and micronutrients! Be sure to include a variety of vegetables and fruits because all of them provide different and essential vitamins and minerals that are crucial to your child’s growth.

Picky-eating behaviour can include eating small meals, having a low appetite, binge-eating and intense cravings. Every child’s nutritional needs and eating behaviour is different. Thus, every child requires special attention and immense patience. As a parent, you have to try different eating strategies that work for your child!