Every Saturday we have our reading class and this year, we have over 100 registrations. Due to limited space and keeping a healthy student-teacher ratio to ensure quality education, I had to put the late registrations on a waiting list. I wish I can teach a thousand children to read every Saturday as the need is so great. I usually send a reminder to parents every Thursday and Saturday morning for their geniuses to bring a healthy snack and a bottle of water. Early Childhood Development is an important issue that’s been highlighted in the past year in the Pacific and proper nutrition is the most element of ECD. It is much more than simply getting enough food. It is getting the right food to allow for proper development and growth.

There are five key nutrition risk factors for poor ECD. Poor maternal nutrition, iodine deficiency during pregnancy, iron deficiency, poor linear growth, and severe acute malnutrition. Proper nutrition means a healthy body leading to a healthy mind. It all begins with mothers. Most of us are very aware of health and the food we eat when we are pregnant, especially for first babies. Sadly, this isn’t the case for many mothers. Drugs and alcohol use during pregnancy, even in small amounts can put babies' health at serious risk. It increases the chances of birth defects, premature babies, underweight babies, stillborn or will die in the first few weeks and months of life (NHS, 2023). Other factors such as abuse during pregnancy, mental health issues, environment, and many others also affect the health of women during pregnancies and passed on to their babies.

Nutrition education in early childhood should begin to teach children the relationship between food and health and expose children to a variety of learning experiences about foods to help them develop sound attitudes and knowledge about food, nutrition, and health. It includes everything children drink and eat. Children need a wholesome balance of proteins, vitamins, minerals, and carbohydrates. Their bodies use the nutrients to fuel their everyday movements, learning moments, and activities.

Preschoolers need to eat foods from all five healthy food groups, vegetables, fruit, grain foods, dairy, and protein. Healthy foods have nutrients that are important for growth, development, and learning. Limit salty, fatty, sugary foods, low fibre foods, and energy drinks with a lot of sugar or caffeine. This is a time of rapid growth, development, and activity. Poor nutrition affects not only the mind and more importantly learning. This is why reminding parents about healthy lunches and snacks is highly important.

We’ve seen children losing focus and being highly distracted during class when they come to school without breakfast. We ask about breakfast before we begin class so we know when to take a break. The most enjoyable group I teach is the 5-7-year-olds. Their attention span is short so we take multiple breaks because forcing children to sit still for an hour is like telling to rain to stop. Children need movement and breaks during class and you’ll see that they focus a whole lot better when their hunger need is met. Please, parents, mind your children, especially ages 0 to 10. If you want a healthy and happy genius, having breakfast and interacting with them will do just that.

The content of your child’s lunch box matters. This is the fuel they need every day to function, concentrate, learn, and move. Keep offering a variety of foods and make mealtime as pleasant as possible. Discourage poor behaviour at mealtime and bad eating habits. For instance, eating sweets and dessert first instead of a proper meal. Refusing to eat vegetables and fruits. Rewarding your child with sugary sweets and empty calories is not a good thing. Let us be healthy examples for our children as well and show them what healthy eating habits look like. While we enjoy another peaceful Sunday Samoa, mind your child’s lunchbox and water intake. These are all small steps to ensure our geniuses grow up with healthy eating habits, minds, and bodies. Their success depends on it.