Enjoy schools, but don’t forget to eat healthy food

Parents should invest time to prepare

classes resume amid Covid-19

The school buses are back on the road, students back in uniform and teachers are ready to receive their pupils with eagerness.

Parents, meanwhile, probably would go through anxiety in the next few weeks.

The students, vaccinated, could be in mixed feelings of excitement and perhaps even anxiety of coming back into a classroom for face-to-face sessions with their teachers and classmates.

Teachers on their part have been preparing for this day since last week and some of them have been longing to get back into regular teaching, not that online was anyway limiting.

Fatma bint Ali al Weshahiyah, an IT teacher at Al Seeb School is looking forward, “I feel happy and there is a sense of joy. I am so excited for this Sunday.”

She said, “We missed students and the noises they made. Half of the students will come now. And the others will come next week. My class probably would be more online. There have been some brilliant students for whom the classes have not been the same since schooling has been online due to technology and other reasons. So coming back would help them. I cannot wait to see them.”

“We are going to have blended learning and our supervisors will guide us further in the forthcoming days. We are ready to welcome our little ones to their classrooms. Last week we decorated the classrooms. Will hopefully return to the right track in the forthcoming weeks. Last year we teachers had a great time teaching online. We as teachers learnt a lot, and tried our best to present lessons and achieve learning objectives in the best ways’’, Amal al Saadiyah, who teaches English, said. “We have prepared welcome gifts for our kids’’, she added.

The parents have been going through their own anxiety as well as preparations. Another concern would be canteens and availability of snacks.

Shabib al Kalbani, Clinical Dietitian, said that as schools reopen, taking into consideration that the nation is still battling a global pandemic and returning gradually but cautiously to a normal life, a thought on healthy lifestyle needs to be given, especially when addressing children and adolescents, who are at a period of growth and development.

“In spite of the availability of healthy foods and all resources and equipment to prepare healthy meals, unfortunately children and adolescents generally are still consuming foods that are high in refined carbohydrates, trans fat, excessive salt and preservatives. A balanced diet rich in good quality protein irrespective of its origin, fruits, vegetables, whole grains and seeds is important. In spite of the variety of multimedia such as TV, social media,

YouTube videos contain easy to implement instructions on preparing healthy meals in less time possible, children and adolescents prefer to consume foods that have been industrially packaged with preservatives and rarely are nutritious (even though some foods may be fortified). Furthermore, most parents I am aware of are reluctant to invest in time to have healthy breakfasts prepared as they are rushed for time carrying out chores of which some are unnecessary.

“Unhealthy eating habits at a school age tend to grow. Children and adolescents must reflect not only on their school performance and energy, but also on their future health and predictability of being exposed to chronic diseases, especially obesity, with its undesirable implications.

No doubt that most people are aware of what constitutes a healthy diet but are reluctant to change and would prefer convenience. Furthermore, the pandemic did have its effect during long periods of lockdown as most people ate excessively during these periods or have relied on home delivery applications within a few clicks on smartphones’’, Al Kalbani said.

A diet rich in fruits and vegetables (commensurate with international dietary guidelines) is rich in vitamins, minerals and fibre, all of which reflect positively on students’ digestive systems and prevention of constipation, diarrhoea, as well as provision of benefits to their nervous system.

“It is important as well to ensure that a daily dose of vitamin D and calcium, from regular consumption of dairy products or plant based alternatives fortified with these nutrients is important to build and maintain strong bones and teeth. As children and adolescents require more hydration compared to adults it is a good idea to have bottles of mineral water at hand during the day, especially with the nation’s known tropical climate’’, he advised.

At home, he said, parents should encourage consumption of seasonal fruits and vegetables (focus of foods rich in vitamin c and dark green leafy vegetables purchased and grown locally) at home especially during after school hours, instead of opting for huge portions of desserts and Frappuccinos laden with sugar and preservatives.

“In essence, investing in one’s health today especially this time will reflect positively on tomorrow’s health status.

It is also important to note that hand washing before and after eating prevents the spread of infection and harmful bacteria.

“Children and adolescents must learn to stay cautiously active to maintain blood circulation and fitness’’, the dietitian pointed out.