Parent’s perception of nutrition of their pre-school children in Oredo LGA
Abstract
This study was on Parent’s perception of nutrition of their pre-school children in oredo LGA. The total population for the study is 200 selected staffs of selected primary schools and parents in Oredo LGA. The researcher used questionnaires as the instrument for the data collection. Descriptive Survey research design was adopted for this study. A total of 133 respondents made headmasters, teachers, students and parents were used for the study. The data collected were presented in tables and analyzed using simple percentages and frequencies.
Chapter one
Introduction
- Background of the study
Diet quality is essential for children’s proper growth and development. Schoolchildren, in particular, should be encouraged by their parents to have proper eating behaviors, since at this age range, there are increasingly independent and make their own choices about food consumption. According to a study by Kranz et al., for every one-year increase in age, there is a loss of approximately two points in diet quality scores, i.e., as children grow older, the overall quality of their diet is decreased. Despite numerous attempts to encourage healthy eating habits, schoolchildren’s diets currently fail to meet the recommended standards. Data from the National Health Survey (PeNSE) showed regular intake of unhealthy foods (soft drinks, snacks, sweets) and insufficient intake of healthy foods (fruits, vegetables, fibers) by Brazilian adolescents. This is highly indicative of the need to promote health-oriented and nutrition education initiatives aimed at younger people
Early Childcare Centres (ECCCs) are pre-primary facilities for children aged 0 – 5 years where optimal development of children is assured via a stimulating environment, adequate nutrition and social interaction with attentive caregivers. They serve as the alternative option regarding childcare when mothers take paid employment outside the home in order to augment the family income. Various policies guide the operations of the Early Childcare Centres and these include National Policy on Education, Universal Basic Education Act, National Policy for Integrated Early Childhood Development, and the National Minimum Standard for early child care centres. Around the world, 10 million children die before their fifth birthday every year. Over a half of these deaths are associated with malnutrition. One in three children under the age of five (178 million children) in developing countries is stunted due to poor quality diets and chronic under-nutrition.
In the case of children, parents/guardians have been universally accepted to be primarily responsible for food procurement, choices and meal preparation, and conventional wisdom suggests that parents want to provide their children with the necessary tools to ensure healthy growth and development. Parents can be a strong positive influence (e.g. encouraging high quality, healthful choices), or conversely, a powerful negative influence (e.g. making easy and less healthy choices, inappropriate snacking, or heavy
restriction) on diet quality. Early establishment of healthy eating behaviours is essential for children, as experts posit that attitudes towards food choice develop during childhood and play an important role in the maintenance of
eating habits which influence health across the lifespan. Therefore, an unhealthy or sub-optimal diet must be identified early in childhood, in order for the proper changes to be made to improve the child’s diet and prevent
future disease risk. An underlying problem with this approach is the dependence on parental perception, and thus a parent must first be able to recognize when a child’s diet is poor, and know how to make the necessary changes.
In the case of children, parents/guardians have been universally accepted to be primarily responsible for food procurement, choices and meal preparation, and conventional wisdom suggests that parents want to provide their children with the necessary tools to ensure healthy growth and development. Parents can be a strong positive influence (e.g. encouraging high quality, healthful choices), or conversely, a powerful negative influence (e.g. making easy and less healthy choices, inappropriate snacking, or heavy restriction) on diet quality. Early establishment of healthy eating behaviours is essential for children, as experts posit that attitudes towards food choice develop during child-hood and play an important role in the maintenance of eating habits which influence health across the lifespan. Therefore, an unhealthy or sub-optimal diet must be identified early in childhood, in order for the proper changes to be made to improve the child’s diet and prevent future disease risk. An underlying problem with this approach is the dependence on parental perception, and thus a parent must first be able to recognize when a child’s diet is poor, and know how to make the necessary changes. Based on this background the researcher wants to investigate Parent’s perception of nutrition of their pre-school children in oredo LGA
Statement of the problem
Parents can be a strong positive influence (e.g. encouraging high quality, healthful choices), or conversely, a powerful negative influence (e.g. making easy and less healthy choices, inappropriate snacking, or heavy restriction) on diet quality. Early establishment of healthy eating behaviours is essential for children, as experts posit that attitudes towards food choice develop during child-hood and play an important role in the maintenance of eating habits which influence health across the lifespan. Therefore, an unhealthy or sub-optimal diet must be identified early in childhood, in order for the proper changes to be made to improve the child’s diet and prevent future disease risk
Objective of the study
The objectives of the study are;
- To ascertain the effect of good nutrition on child’s academic performance in Oredo LGA
- To ascertain the influence of parent towards school children balance diet in Oredo LGA
- To ascertain the perception of parent on nutrition of their pre-school children in Oredo LGA
Research hypotheses
For the successful completion of the study, the following research hypotheses were formulated by the researcher;
H0: there is no effect of good nutrition on child’s academic performance in Oredo LGA.
H1: there is effect of good nutrition on child’s academic performance in Oredo LGA.
H02: There is no perception of parent on nutrition of their pre-school children in Oredo LGA
H2: There is perception of parent on nutrition of their pre-school children in Oredo LGA.
1.5 Significance of the Study
This study is expected to access the levels of knowledge and the practices of nutrition among pre school children in Oredo LGA. The anticipated results of the study will help in the overall improvement of the health status of the school children and insight to what constitutes adequate nutrition. This information will be useful to other health professionals who are seeking ways of improving health care.
Scope and limitation of the study
The scope of the study covers Parent’s perception of nutrition of their pre-school children in oredo LGA. The researcher encounters some constrain which limited the scope of the study;
- a) AVAILABILITY OF RESEARCH MATERIAL: The research material available to the researcher is insufficient, thereby limiting the study
- b) TIME: The time frame allocated to the study does not enhance wider coverage as the researcher has to combine other academic activities and examinations with the study.
DEFINITION OF TERMS
Nutrition
Nutrition is the science that interprets the interaction of nutrients and other substances in food in relation to maintenance, growth, reproduction, health and disease of an organism. It includes food intake, absorption, assimilation, biosynthesis, catabolism and excretion.
Health: Health is the level of functional and metabolic efficiency of a living organism. In humans it is the ability of individuals or communities to adapt and self-manage when facing physical, mental or social changes. The World Health Organization (WHO) defined health in its broader sense in its 1948 constitution as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” This definition has been subject to controversy, in particular as lacking operational value, the ambiguity in developing cohesive health strategies, and because of the problem created by use of the word “complete.
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