There’s the old saying that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. What might be more accurate, however, is to say that good nutrition is critical to helping your child learn and grow. In this case, nutrition is defined as not only ensuring that children get plenty of calories and energy but also that they are consuming the nutrients that promote healthy cognition. 

There are several ways that nutrition can impact your child’s learning and behavior. Nutrition can impact mood, attention span, cognitive functions, and more. This means that what your child eats can be a key ingredient in their success and their happiness. For parents and caretakers, then, this means that paying ample attention to food and nutrition can improve your child’s behavior and learning in significant ways.

How Diet and Cognitive Functions are Linked

Diet and cognitive functions are linked in both obvious and surprising ways. For example, that children have a hard time concentrating when they are hungry or malnourished is somewhat obvious. Even adults may find it exceptionally difficult to focus when they skip a meal. Hunger has been shown to significantly impact learning in children, especially when it’s a chronic issue. This is one reason why many schools will place a strong emphasis on ensuring that students have enough to eat, at least during normal school hours.

But there are other ways in which nutrition can impact learning. Glucose and sucrose levels outside of normal ranges, for example, can have a negative long term impact on learning. However, contrary to popular belief, there is currently no evidence that eating processed foods can lead to hyperactivity in children (although heavy consumption of ultra processed foods may have other detrimental health impacts).

What Foods Do Kids Need?

First and foremost, it’s important that kids get the calories that they need. They’re growing! So making sure your kids aren’t hungry is essential, and, typically, the number one concern for parents. Once you’ve ensured that your child is getting a sufficient amount of food, it’s also important to be aware of the nutrients your child needs. Some of the foods that support brain health and cognition include the following:

• Protein heavy foods: This includes but is not limited to poultry, seafood, beans, and more. 

• Beans and lentils: These foods are heavy in protein and zinc, which are essential for brain health.

• Poultry and seafood: These foods are also heavy in protein, zinc, and other nutrients that are essential for brain health.

• Fruits and vegetables: These are good for anyone to eat! But they are also good for brain health, as they are rich in Vitamins A, B, C, and D, depending on the particular fruit or vegetable.

• Fish: Fish is an excellent source of Vitamin D (also known as the sunshine vitamin) as well as long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (like omega-3 fatty acids) that are excellent for brain health.
  
  

One of the best ways to ensure your child gets the nutrients they need is to encourage them to eat a well balanced diet. This isn’t always possible, however, as children can be very particular eaters. In these cases, you may want to talk to your child’s pediatrician about supplemental vitamins where they make sense.

Reduce Sugar and Processed Foods

In general, foods that are heavy in sugar and processed foods have not been shown to strongly support brain health and nutrition. And while there may not be a negative link between cognition and processed foods, there are plenty of health-related reasons to avoid ultra-processed options as much as possible. One way to do this is to emphasize fresh fruits and vegetables in your child’s everyday diet. 

How to Encourage Healthy Eating Habits at School and Home

Often, parents and families are incredibly busy–and there is no shortage of fast, easy dining options that are (unfortunately) poor nutrition sources. That means it takes some thought and effort to encourage healthy eating habits that work both at home and at school. There are several ways to do this:

• Offer your child options: Don’t force your child to eat foods that they clearly don’t like. Instead, keep offering healthy options. Offer that roasted broccoli or seared asparagus. And keep inviting your child to try new things.

• Model healthy eating: If you avoid vegetables, your kids likely will too. That’s why it’s critical to model healthy eating. Make sure you put plenty of fruit and veggies on your plate!

• Emphasize what your child likes: Find those foods which your child likes and make sure to emphasize them in your diet!

• Meal prep where possible: Planning ahead and prepping meals ahead of time can make healthy eating during the week faster and more feasible.

• Have snackable fruits and veggies around: If it’s hard to incorporate fruits and vegetables into meals, make sure to have snackable options (such as bananas or carrot sticks) around.

Encouraging healthy eating habits and ensuring your child’s nutritional needs are met are critical to their growth, their learning, and their happiness. If you have questions about how to do that, talk to your child’s pediatrician during their regular wellness visit.

If your child is a patient here at Children’s Healthcare Associates, you can make an appointment today at our Northbrook or Chicago offices!