I chose to focus on child malnutrition because as a teacher I have seen the negative effects on families. For the adults in the family it is very hard to provide educational support to children if they are concerned with getting basic needs met. We have had cases where the child comes to school with such behavior issues, and once we figure out that they were hungry we added an extra snack in to the daily routine and the behaviors vanished. When a child is hungry, he or she is not ready to learn in other areas, sometimes part of being a teacher is meeting basic needs. In our district we have a weekend backpack program where children can pick up a backpack full of food for the weekend. It was expanded from the free and reduced lunch program because they realized students were dreading the weekend because of the lack of resources. It makes me sad when we think about how wasteful many of us are on a daily basis.
I was interested in looking into malnutrition in Central America because I work with families that have moved from there. Malnutrition is not usually thought of as a Latin American problem, but much of Central America there are cases of chronic child malnutrition as preveleant as it is in Africa or South Asia. In Guatemala 50% of children under 5 are chronically malnourished and in El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua 1 in 3 children under 5 years old are affected. Good Nutrition is imperitive to survival, health and development of our future generations. With well-nourished women there are fewer risks during pregnancy and childbirth, and well-nourished children perform better at school, become healthier adults and can offer a better start to their own children. It is important that we not repeat the cycle.
Check out the full article at:worldbank..org,
Fighting Malnutrition in Central America
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That is a cool program to incorporate! I will have to look into our school system and see if that is something that we could try. It is very sad to see some of the children that are hungry when they come into school on Monday. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI am very glad to hear that your district has found a resource for children on the weekend. Is it also funded by the USDA? One of my free preschool programs for low income children is housed in a church and each week the congregation puts together a lunch bag for them to take home on the last day of school. My policy for my center and sites is that it is never an inconvenience to feed a child when they come in the morning, even if breakfast is over. I agree with you, they can't attend to learning if they are hungry.
ReplyDeleteI really liked how you touched on the effects that this issue has on the families as well as the children. During our time as parents we have had moments when we have struggled to make ends meet but even in the times where we were counting every penny there was always food in the house. It may have been Top Ramen, pancake mix and tuna fish but it was food. I know how bad I felt as a parent in those times not being able to afford the kinds of foods my family enjoys so I can only imagine how much worse it would be to not be able to provide any or very little food. That stress on the parents in turn can really color the relationship with their children.
ReplyDeleteyour research and comments on malnutrition were fabulous! It is sad to know that this is still such a challenge all over the world. To know that behaviors disappear when food hits the belly makes me sad...children should never have to suffer, go without, and worry about basic needs. It must be so difficult for you when you realize what is going on.
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