Food Affects a Child's Health and Development

Child nutrition is more than mere feeding. It's a holistic approach to the eating patterns and nutritional requirements of people:

• planning to conceive
• pregnant and post-partum women
• infants
• growing toddlers and children
• adolescents.

Today there are a variety of ways to ensure adequate nutrition for all members of the family.  In this course, you'll learn key questions to ask, how to maximize the nutrients in child diets, and:

• Basic ingredients for a healthy diet
• Diet before pregnancy and during pregnancy
• Good infant nutrition
• Good childhood nutrition 
• Concerns regarding children's nutrition
• Healthy Eating behaviour and much more.

Student Comment: "I thoroughly enjoyed this course. I had not studied for the past 10 years and was a little apprehensive. The staff were very supportive, their feedback was always valuable and response time was extremely prompt. This course has given me a new desire to keep learning. I never knew learning could be so enjoyable. I am looking forward to my next learning experience through ACS".   Rhonda Rae - former ACS Student

DURATION: 100 hours

COURSE STRUCTURE

There are 10 lessons in this module as follows:

1. Introduction to Child Nutrition
   • Scope, Nature and History of Nutrition
   • Effect of Culture and Family Background on Nutrition
   • Importance of Nutrition in Early Childhood
   • Basic Nutrients needed in a Child's Diet
   • Key things to Remember about a Child's Diet
   • Nutrition Tips for Children
2. Nutrition for Pre-Pregnancy
   • Pre Conception Diet: Maternal Weight, Maternal Nutrient Status
   • Paternal Health and Nutrition
   • Affect of Nutrition of Parents at Conception
   • Making Diet Changes Pre Conception
3. Nutrition in Pregnancy
   • Early Pregnancy and Morning Sickness
   • Tips to Help with Pregnancy Nausea
   • Nutrition through Pregnancy, RDIs
   • Caloric and Fluid Intake through Pregnancy
   • Calorie Demands for a Pregnant Woman
   • Foods to Avoid While Pregnant
   • Hyper vitaminosis
   • Pregnancy Complications that Relate to Nutrition (Neural Tube Defect, Morning Sickness, Constipation, Gastrointestinal diabetes, Hypertension, Foetal Alcohol Syndrome
4. Nutrition in Infants
   • Breastfeeding
   • Formula Feeding
   • Feeding for the first six months
   • Starting on Solid Foods
   • Adequate Vitamin C and Iron Intake in first year
   • Progressing with Solid Foods: protein, dairy, finger foods, etc
   • Nutrition for Toddlers
   • Snack Packs, Small Meals, Meal Alternatives, Being creative, etc
   • Allergens
   • Weaning 
5. Nutrition in Childhood
   • Caloric Intake
   • Mineral Intake
   • Vitamin Intake
   • Encouraging Good Eating Habits
   • Breakfast
   • Morning and Afternoon Snacks
   • Packed Lunches
   • Eating Habits
   • Puberty
6. Nutritional Concerns
   • Scope and Nature of Nutritional Health for Children
   • Healthy Snacks and Rehydration
   • Underweight
   • Malnutrition
   • Anaemia or Iron Deficiency
   • Dental Care
   • Eating Disorders : Anorexia, Bulimia, Binge Eating
   • Fast Food and Junk Food
7. Healthy Eating Behaviour
   • Influencing Children's Eating
   • Teaching Healthy Eating to Children
   • Health Snack Ideas
   • Childhood Food Sensitivities
   • Food Intolerance
   • Food Allergies
   • Relevant Research
   • Food and Autism
   • Food and Child Behavioural Problems
   • Diagnosing Sensitivities : skin test, blood test, diet
8. Issues in Child Nutrition
   • PBL Project: Develop a presentation to be given to a group of families, where a child has been recently diagnosed with an illness/disease of your choice.
   • The purpose of the presentation is to inform families and sufferers about the disease, and to provide clear, simple guidelines for dietary intervention to improve health, correct the condition or prevent deterioration in health.
9. Childhood Obesity
   • Cause of Childhood Obesity
   • What is Unhealthy about Childhood Obesity?
   • Guidelines for Child Weight Loss
10. Diet Plans
    • Special Nutritional Needs
    • Childhood Diabetes
    • Vegetarian and Vegan Diets
    • Normal Eating Habits for Children

COURSE AIMS

• Discuss the nature and scope of developing nutrition for children according to their backgrounds and needs.
• Explain the various nutritional needs of the mother and father before pregnancy .
• Explain the various nutritional needs of the mother and child during pregnancy.
• Explain various nutritional needs of infants from birth to age two.
• Explain various nutritional aspects of growing children addressing various issues and concerns.
• Identify concerns in the diets of children and adolescents and overcoming them.
• Lists ways to encourage healthy eating behaviour in children.
• Explain some of the common issues such as food sensitivities in childhood nutrition.
• Explain causes and guidelines to overcoming childhood obesity.
• Develop a list diet outlines for healthy children and special diet plans for children with special nutritional needs. 

WHAT YOU WILL DO IN THIS COURSE

• Interview three parents regarding the diets (what the children eat for breakfast , lunch and dinner as well as snacks) of their children , they can be family or friends. Make a day’s menu for each one of them according to the information they give you
• Interview two pregnant women (family or friends) and question about their daily diet. Note what they have said and write how you would improve their diets.
• Research for information to make a tasty and healthy weaning mix for a six month old baby. Make your own weaning mix with the information you have gathered.
• Prepare a diet plan for an 11 year old for three days.
• Compare the nutrition panel for 3 different staple foods bought from the supermarkets (for example breakfast cereals, stir fry sauces or pasta sauces, fruit bars). Compare the added sugars to natural sugars
• Conduct a survey and find out what children and adolescents are actually eating. Write a 200 word report on your survey. (You can conduct your survey by talking to children, adolescents and their parents, by reading articles in magazines and newspapers or by searching the internet)

Dietary Fibre

The lack of dietary fibre in modern processed foods is one of several major issues with children's nutrition today. When dietary fibre is inadequate; the balance of gut bacteria can change; and research has shown that can in turn cause a wide variety of health and developmental issues in a child.

Fibre is an important component of food. Some sources recommend that adults should consume around 18g to 24g of fibre is consumed in a day. Some experts would suggest that much higher levels of fibre consumption are beneficial. Having knowledge about which foods are high in fibre will help to ensure the daily recommendations are met.

Fibre is present in plant foods, but not in animal products such as meat and dairy foods. Fibre can be divided into 2 categories, soluble and insoluble. Soluble fibre is found in all fruits and vegetables and is particularly common in foods such as apples, oats, barley, and lentils. This type of fibre helps to lower cholesterol and control blood sugar levels. Meanwhile, insoluble fibre is found in wholemeal products, brown rice, fruits with edible seeds, lentils and pulses. This type of fibre helps to prevent constipation by making stools soft and bulky and easy to pass.

The fibre content of foods is calculated by using a microscope to study carbohydrates and to estimate the amount of fibre present in the cell walls of each food. To help you to evaluate the fibre content of foods, consider foods with more than 3g of fibre/ 100g to be a source of fibre and those with over 6g of fibre/100g to be a good source of fibre (eg. broccoli is 3.1)