The Perks Of Having A Meal At School

Letting our children have a meal at school is a possible solution to dealing with problematic attitudes towards eating. In addition, if possible, eating in the school cafeteria has many other advantages in addition to preserving the relationship we have with our children.

Children’s eating habits continue to be a matter of concern for fathers and mothers around the world. It is essential that children eat well, but it is also very common that the time to have a meal becomes a battleground. This creates anxiety and feelings of rejection about food, and it can also affect other aspects of the relationship between parents and children.

The school meal is a service offered by some schools that is integrated into their functioning,  as they also understand that there are stages, such as childhood, in which nutrition and food are of vital importance. In this article, we will analyze the advantages that this possibility offers us, both in the personal and family aspects.

Advantages of Meals at School

Meals made at school are intended to be an additional form of health education, as it favors the development of hygiene habits and encourages good nutrition.

Other advantages that can be highlighted are that children learn the correct use of cutlery and napkin, as well as adopt a proper body posture for eating. In addition, they will also learn to respect their peers and all cafeteria staff.

Social skills also develop in these spaces. Our children will spend time with their peers outside of the classroom, in a more relaxed and pleasant environment. They will be able to sit down with new friends and create relationships with different people, in addition to strengthening ties with those they already know.

Also, letting a child have one of their meals at school helps us balance our work and the free time we spend with our children. In this way, thanks to the new habits they acquire while eating at school, we will be able to spend more quality time with them, without the scenes and fights at mealtime stealing that time. In fact, it is very likely that once a child has acquired certain habits at school, he will generalize them to the home environment, as long as we stick to the same guidelines.

When should we encourage our children to eat at school?

Below, we’ll look at some cases where it’s advisable to bring our children in advance, or pick them up later, so they can have a meal at school.

don’t eat well

Imitation is a fundamental component of learning in children. Thus, it is very likely that when they see their friends eating, other children will be encouraged to do the same. When a child is with his parents, he receives all the attention in the world if he doesn’t try or eat a certain food, and this ends up reinforcing this behavior. Now, in the school cafeteria he certainly won’t receive as much attention, nor will he feel so pressured. This will cause them to create the eating behavior of their own accord.

Have few social relationships

The school cafeteria is a space for sharing moments with others and relating. Generally, everyone sits with everyone at shared tables. In addition, mealtime is a quiet and relaxed time, ideal for establishing relationships and having a good time with other people.

Your cooking time is scarce

One of the most common reasons for taking a child to school for a meal is usually the little time the responsible adult has to cook. In fact, we often even resort to industrialized frozen food because of this type of situation. However, it is generally not this type of food that is served in the school cafeteria, but healthy and balanced food that will be a better option.

If they have any allergies

Children who have an allergy usually receive special treatment. The cafeteria handles children’s needs with care, and does not allow their allergies to be a reason for separation or discrimination by their peers. In this way, the child will have the opportunity to have a meal with others, and not feel like someone strange, in addition to accepting their allergy naturally.

To develop routines and schedules

The school cafeteria has a routine and a certain step-by-step that repeats itself every day, and that all children know and must respect. On the other hand, the schedules establish a limited time that favors the development of the child’s concentration when eating and, above all, teach them not to stay at the table for a meal forever.

If we ourselves aren’t that good with a fork

We often want our children to eat everything and in a healthy way, but we ourselves do not like or eat vegetables, vegetables and other foods that are part of a really healthy and balanced diet.

Although the ideal would be to eat well during all meals and even on weekends, hardly we do it, and the reality is that the our bad examples have a great influence on feeding our children.

Healthy habits such as trying and eating all kinds of food, as well as having a routine, in addition to the social skills that children can learn in the school cafeteria, can be very useful if we take advantage of them in the times we spend as a family.

As we can see, using the school cafeteria can offer great advantages for us and our children. Let’s take advantage of these possibilities, bringing them back home too, and in this way we will contribute to improving family meals, such a precious moment!