Eating At School: Benefits And Doubts
As soon as school begins, parents have to decide whether or not to let their children eat in the school cafeteria. Many have doubts about which is the best option for children. They are concerned about whether their children will continue to eat a healthy and balanced diet as they do at home on a daily basis. And many times they are not convinced to leave them in the dining room for nutritional reasons.
Many times parents, due to their work, their schedules and their daily obligations, have no choice and have to leave their children in the school dining room. In this article we are going to try to analyze the benefits and doubts that we may have about school canteens. We hope it helps you make this important decision for our children.
Advantages of the school cafeteria
The great advantage of school canteens is that they have to offer a balanced and varied diet. School canteens are subject to strict food safety controls by regulations that everyone has to respect .
The menus are also usually established by nutritionists who value that children have a balanced diet every day. Schools normally provide the monthly school cafeteria menu so that parents take it into account when preparing family dinners. In many school menus they also recommend what they should eat for dinner to promote a balanced diet.
Another advantage is that children usually learn to eat everything, since in the dining room children cannot order one meal or another. Children have to eat what is put on their plate and they have to follow the rules of order and discipline in the dining room. Normally, in school canteens, what children eat is controlled and parents are warned when behaviors are not appropriate.
Children also tend to establish part of their friendship relationships with their peers in the dining room and tend to enjoy with their friends at recess after lunch.
Many children want to stay in the school cafeteria to enjoy the game with their friends or to sign up for the extracurricular activities that the school offers in that time slot. Many schools prefer to set up school activities after lunch rather than after the school day.
The advantages of eating at home
When the children go home they break the school routine and disconnect from their homework for a while. They can also share some time of the day with their parents and siblings. Many children find this break in the school day very good.
When preparing food for the little ones, it is necessary to ensure that a balanced menu is prepared. Otherwise, you could be putting your health at risk in the medium and long term, according to a research published in the journal BMJ.
Also eat at home is usually the best choice for parents with allergies or intolerances children. Although, thanks to the controls that current school canteens are subjected to, the safety of the food consumed by children is ensured, some parents of allergic children doubt whether to leave them in the canteen.
The parents of allergic children will always be calmer if the children are not exposed to food that they have in the dining room and that can create an allergy. Allergic children are usually aware of their disease from a very young age and do not usually eat foods that can affect them even if they are within their reach.
The same occurs in the case of children with a chronic disease for whom the dining room or the time they spend at recess may be a problem for their health. For example, children with breathing problems can get constipated on cold days. It can be a good option for them to eat at home or sign them up for extracurricular activities so they don’t get cold in the yard.
Another issue that parents also have to assess is the economic impact that dining room expenses can have on the family. In addition, if you have several children, it can be a considerable expense for the family economy.
A family decision
What you have to be clear about is that it is a decision that must be made as a family, evaluating the schedules, the children’s medical problems and the family’s financial possibilities.
Today’s school canteens offer parents the assurance that by regulation they have to offer a healthy and balanced meal, but sometimes for many children the best option is for them to eat at home with their family.
