Need help w/kids nutrition project

[Dace]

Tanks...they are 8.

Ok so I am thinking of making 3 categories with their point values on the white board, protein, fruit/veg, and junk (not sure that I will call the last one junk)

I will have them call out different foods and what category they belong in....that way they can all participate vs being lectured .

And when they are working on their menus, they will have a visual reminder. The group with the highest value for their daily menu will get a prize and it will be a good kick off to the two week challenge to eat more healthy food.

Gotta figure out the logistics of record keeping. I am leaning toward the index card idea, just not sure yet.

I am still open to any and all ideas

 

[freemotion]

Actually, I meant for them to keep a diary of what they eat each day and get points for everything they eat....with more points for veggies, for example, and points taken off for junk. Something like this:

1 cup carrots=2 servings=20 points
1 24 oz soda=3 servings=minus 30 points

Get them looking at serving sizes and making better choices...teach them to drink a glass of water when they are thirsty, then get ONE serving of soda into a glass and sip it slowly and enjoy it.

Give bonus points for certain thresholds....for example, 20 extra points if they eat, say, 6 servings of certain veggies (not potatoes, peas, corn, dry beans, count those as carbs) in one day. Minus an additional 20 points if they eat so many servings of junk in any one day.

It would be best to do the food diary for a week before beginning the project, hold onto it, discuss it, and at the end of the series, show them their beginning score vs their current score. Any improvement is worthwhile.

 

[Dace]

Oh I like that Free....I was thinking that I need to address serving sizes, that is a great way to do it. I also like the bonus points if you hit more than 6 veggies.....for 8 yr olds I probably need to scale that back a smidge though....what do you think?

 

[freemotion]

I guess it depends on the kid and how much they eat! Half a cup is not really that much, and it shouldn't all be in one meal. The idea is to get them to also snack on veggies. If it were my kid, they'd get veggies in at least two meals and one snack.....What if you did a bonus for 4 veggie servings, and make any additional veggie servings over 4 have more points, like 1-4 are 10 points each, at four there is a 10 pt bonus, and every veggie serving after that has.....um....15 pts? 20 pts? Not having kids, I'm not sure what the average 8 year old would eat. The idea is to get them full enough that they aren't eating so much junk.

 

[Dace]

Agreed!

Thanks