Transcript Children Menu and Aesthetic Values Menu week: _____ Day of the

Children
Nutritional Needs Change Throughout
the Life Cycle
Objectives:
• Identify the changing nutritional needs
across the life cycle.
Family Life Cycle
• Good family meal planning must respond to the different
nutritional needs of individual members who are at
different stages of the Family Life Cycle.
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The life cycle means the various stages of life that
people pass through from birth to old age. As you progress
through your life cycle, your nutrition requirements
change. Besides age, your level of activity and your state
of health can affect your nutrition requirements. At some
times in your life, you will probably have to make some
changes in your food selections to meet special needs.
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The stages of the Family Life Cycle descriptions:
Married couples without children
Childbearing families (oldest child, birth to 30 months)
Families with preschool children (oldest child, 2.5 to 6
years)
Families with children (oldest child, 6 to 12 years)
Families with teenagers (oldest child, 13 to 20 years)
Families as launching centers (first child gone to last
child’s leaving home)
Families in their middle years (empty nest to retirement)
Aging families
The stages do not occur in exactly the same way in all
families. Some families can be in two stages at one time.
For example, the same family could be living with an
adolescent and launching an older child.
• Because we have much more knowledge about
families and about nutrition, we need to consider
both for the well-being of each family member.
• Follow the recommendations from both the food
pyramid and the dietary guidelines.
• Many health problems are linked to nutrition.
• Exercise is important throughout the life cycle.
Preschool Children
• Sweets should be limited in a preschool child’s
diet; nutrient-rich foods can be used to satisfy
hunger.
• After the age of one, a child’s growth rate slows
and with it, the appetite;
• Children develop tastes for certain foods at an
early age.
• The eating habits and attitudes children learn are
likely to last a lifetime. It is important to start
healthy eating habits early.
Some suggestions to help encourage young
children to eat a variety of foods are:
• Invite a friend to eat; you’ll be amazed how much
they eat when their friends are eating.
• When introducing a new food, refer to it as a
grown-up food. Serve it to the child only if he or
she requests it after seeing how much you enjoy it.
• Serve young children’s meals on their own smallsized dishes. Give them tiny servings, so they can
have satisfaction of eating everything on the plate.
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Some suggestions to encourage young
children to eat a variety of foods are:
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Serve finger foods often. Children like to choose
from a variety of foods, as in a buffet.
Children will usually eat the foods they have
helped prepare.
Vary meal situations - picnic in front of the
fireplace, park, etc.
Children usually prefer raw vegetables to cooked.
Avoid making dessert a reward for vegetable
eating.
Relax and let mealtime be a time for everyone to
enjoy.
Use snacks to improve food habits.
Some children need snacks
• Some children have the capacity to go easily from one
meal to the next without hunger.
• Others actually experience real hunger within two to
three hours after eating, especially if they are growing
rapidly.
• If no nutritious snack is offered, this hunger may
eventually be satisfied by soft drinks, candy, or other
non-nutritious food.
• Timing is important; a snack should be offered when
children are hungry but not so close to mealtime that
it spoils their appetites for the next meal.
Children
• Follow the recommended number of servings and
serving sizes for children.
• Serving sizes/portions for children are smaller than
adults.
• Need a variety of nutrient-dense foods in small frequent
amounts.
• Expose to new and a wide variety of foods.
• Introduce new foods one at a time.
• Taste buds are very sensitive.
• Avoid sweet foods as snacks.
• Make foods interesting and inviting for children; color,
texture, shape, size and temperature.
Children Menu and Aesthetic Values
Menu week: _____
Food Item
Color
Pan Cake
Or. Juice
Brown
Orange
Day of the Week: _______
Texture
Size
Shape
Temp.
Sausage
Brown
Choc Milk Brown
Toast
Brown
Summary: Color is mostly brown; more colors could be
used. Texture is all soft; something crunchy should be
added.
Summary: