As parent or caregiver you need to ensure that your children are not only fed the right foods but the right information about nutrition.

Children and parents need to know there’s no one perfect food and all foods can fit into a healthy eating plan. Such a plan includes at least five servings of vegetables and fruit as well as three servings of dairy products daily.

Parents and caregivers should also ensure that children are active and get some exercise every day.

Facts on South Africa’s children

    • More than 50% of children under the age of nine years are deficient in vitamin A
    • One out of ten are iron deficient
    • One out of ten children under the age of nine is overweight and 4% are obese
    • A total of 37.5% don’t participate in physical activity.

Importance of good nutrition for children

Making sure your child gets good nutrition during childhood will lay the foundation for becoming a healthy adult. Children need good health and nutrition to achieve their full potential at school. What your child eats affects his or her intellectual development and learning ability. It is important to teach children healthy eating patterns when they are young. Eating patterns are established early in life and are difficult to change once they have developed during youth.

In South Africa we have children with under- as well as over-nutrition. Malnutrition in early childhood can affect a child’s:

    • Ability at school
    • Time of school enrolment
    • Concentration
    • Attention.

It is also important that a child should not be obese. Obese children tend to become obese adults. This will contribute to chronic conditions such as:

    • Diabetes
    • High blood pressure
    • High cholesterol levels
    • Hardening of arteries
    • Some forms of cancer.

Good nutrition and physical activity have long-term health benefits in reducing these chronic diseases.

What should my child be eating?

Nutrition experts in South Africa developed food-based dietary guidelines to promote healthy eating habits in South Africans older than seven. These are:

    • Enjoy a variety of foods
    • Be active
    • Drink lots of clean, safe water
    • Eat plenty of vegetables and fruit every day
    • Make starchy foods the basis of most meals
    • Eat dry beans, split peas, lentils and soya regularly
    • Chicken, fish, meat, milk or eggs can be eaten daily
    • Eat fats sparingly
    • Use salt sparingly
    • Use food and drinks containing sugar sparingly and not between meals.

Physical activity

Children should get at least 30 minutes of physical exercise per day, every day of the week.

Importance of regular meals and healthy snacks

Regular, healthy meals during the day and healthy snacks between meals will lower blood cholesterol and insulin levels and improve learning performance. Children should eat three meals during the day and two to three snacks between meals. Breakfast is a very important meal for school-age children.

Drinking water

Clean water is the cheapest drink there is and it is good for you. Children should have at least six to eight glasses of clean, safe water per day.

    • Let them drink a glass of water when they brush their teeth in the morning and evening
    • Have them drink water with meals
    • Give them a bottle of clean water to take to school
    • Drink water before and after taking part in sport activities.

Our Employee Wellbeing Programme (EAP) is available 24 hours a day if you want to know more about good nutrition for children.