Name: Veronica Santos

Date: 2/26/19
Class: ECED 1130 Social-Emotional Development and Behavior Guidance
Assignment: Health Journal Article Review
Source: “Healthy Eating Habits | Children's Community Pediatrics.” Children's
Community Pediatrics, www.childrenspeds.com/health-resources/school-age/healthy-eating-
habits.

Highlights:

The article talks about many good health practices children should practice at home.
The first good health practice the article suggests is that children should always eat
breakfast because it helps provide them with energy and helps them burn more
calories. The second is children should have five servings of fruits and vegetables. Not
only do they provide things such as vitamins and minerals. They can lower the risks of
some illnesses and such as heart disease.

Decreasing the amount of sugary drinks children have can be another good
practice. Children can get full off these sugary drinks and not eat foods that are better
for them. This can lead to problems with weight and dental problems. The last two good
health practices it spoke of were limiting screen time and teaching the children to do
other things rather than eat when they are bored. Providing the children with ideas of
what to do that doesn't involve a screen or having designated times can be helpful.
Bored snacking or unhealthy snacking can create a child that only will eat a hand full of
items or cause the child to be overweight.

The purpose of this article is to provide the reader with an idea of different good health
practices that can help children prevent obesity. The article wants to limit screen time,
promote healthy eating, for adults to avoid giving children sugary drinks, and more.

Critical analysis:

I agree with the author of this article because I do think that some of these things can
lead to weight gain. However, I wish there were more facts put into the article like
statistics. I want to see more options on how to replace some of the bad habits and I
want to see recommendations for teachers on how they can play a part in the children
forming these good habits and keeping up with them. I think that though I aimed for an
article that was specific to teaching not really a parenting-related article that it was still
helpful and had good content. I think that in the end, they both would have sounded
similar with some differences though.

I personally feel like the part where it says at least one hour of physical activity is low,
however, it has increased over time. I want to know the comparison of the different
years. I want to see research showing if by doing one or multiple of these practices can
greatly decrease the amount of children with obesity.
Concluding summary:

The article is trying to help/ prevent childhood obesity. To do this its explaining different
good health habits to practice at home. I think it should touch on habits for schools
because children spend so much of their time in schools almost every day. I never really
knew children could struggle with obesity until I attended my second practicum and
walked into the room one day to hear the teachers during their lunch discussing one of
the students’ obesity and how they may be able to help him.

The first good health habit the article said was as simple as the child starting the day off
right by having a good nutritional breakfast. When a child skips a meal or eats very
unhealthy they can become obese. They say it’s because when the child doesn’t eat
breakfast they will overeat later and won’t have time to burn the calories. The second is
that children should have five servings of fruits and vegetables a day. I agree with this
because if children aren’t eating these they are lacking the vitamins and minerals their
bodies need. I think that the schools in lps at least are doing a good job of making sure
that the students are receiving but aren’t limited to three cups. Children may not always
like a fruit or veggie but they are told most of the time to at least try it.

The 3rd good health habit to practice according to them was limiting sugary drinks. You
would think most people would get this however many don’t seem to. Parents still are
often seen putting juice or soda inside and cups for their kids to drink which isn’t good
for their appetite, weight, or teeth. The article recommended just having them drink
water

. The last two Heath Practices they talked about were limiting screen and snacking. I do
believe this is a big one because the world we live in today is covered in screens and
they just continue adding to them. I feel like the article could have explained a few ways
that the adult could limit screen time. Snacking between meals can be a problem as
they become too stuffed with food that is considered unhealthy and are not getting what
they need. I feel like this is a big part of why children are becoming obese because
parents are either working or are busy doing other tasks they often times buy snack
foods for the child to snack on when they are “hungry” however when children are not
supervised they may grab a snack after snack out of boredom because parents aren’t
there to stop them.

Limiting screen time is even a huge problem for myself. We often want to play on our
screens and don’t realize how much time passes. This could be a problem for children if
they do not spend time away from the screen because they are not being active. This
can be a cause for obesity is when they are not burning enough calories. At Belmont
Elementary in the classroom, I am attending my practicum for, the students are only
allowed iPads and music during designated times. Each child is different but I think that
all of these good health Practices are something that can help these children to are
prevent or deal with obesity. There are even things in this article that I can work on
myself. Children learn by example in order to reach the children I will have to live my life
the way that I want to see them be like. Children learn by example in order to reach the
children I have to be a good model.