Mealtimes and eating habits learned during childhood are important. When children eat regularly and diversely, they are able to concentrate during lessons and enjoy play and other activities in their leisure time. Eating habits and attitudes at the child’s home influence not only the child’s eating today, but also how they will eat as an adult.
Talk positively and appreciatively about food and eating to your child. As far as possible, invest time and energy in providing a varied diet, maintaining regular mealtimes and eating together as a family.
A varied diet will give the schoolchild all other necessary nutrients, but they will still need a daily vitamin D supplement.
Download THL’s vitamin D recommendation for families (PDF) (Link leads to external service)
Download ‘Eating together – food recommendations for families with children’ by THL (PDF)(Link leads to external service)
Balanced breakfast
Breakfast is varied when it includes wholegrain products (such as bread, muesli or porridge), vegetables or fruits and something high in protein, such as milk, yoghurt or eggs.
School meals
The school lunch includes a hot fish, vegetarian or meat dish, a beverage, salad, grated or diced vegetables, bread and a spread.
If a child eats the school lunch as planned, they will have a very balanced meal at school every weekday. Therefore, do your best to encourage your child to eat their school meals.
School lunch is also a good opportunity to practise eating together and table manners and to try new foods
The key elements of a schoolchild’s nutrition
- Regularity is the basis of healthy eating. Every meal (breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner and supper) is important for your child.
- Serve vegetables, fruits or berries with every meal.
- As a rule, choose cereal products that are wholegrain and high in fibre. Cereal products include breads, porridges, cereals and muesli, as well as cereal-based sides (e.g. pasta, rice, couscous) served at main meals. The Heart Symbol can help you find fibre-rich alternatives(Link leads to external service) .
- Bones need calcium. Eating 2–3 servings of liquid dairy products and 2–3 slices of cheese a day will help ensure sufficient calcium intake. Choose dairy products that are low in fat. Alternatively, you can use plant-based beverages and yoghurts fortified with vitamins D and B12 and calcium.
- Favour margarines containing soft fat on bread and a splash of oil with salads. Good fats are important nutrients – they are needed for functions such as absorbing many vitamins. Products containing hard fats, such as biscuits, crisps, butter and fatty meat products, should be eaten only every now and then.
- Add salt to food in moderation, watch the salt content of the foods that you buy and avoid crisps, salted biscuits and other salty treats at family snack times. Finally, enjoy sugary treats in moderation in your family.
Download an image of the meal rhythm (Tasty School project, PDF) (Link leads to external service)
Plate model
You can make it easier to put together a balanced meal by using the plate model. In the plate model, half of the food on the plate consists of vegetables, one quarter of a carbohydrate-rich side such as potatoes, rice or pasta, and the last quarter of protein-rich food such as legumes and other vegetable protein foods, fish, chicken or meat.
Are you concerned about your child’s eating?
If you are concerned about your child’s diet, contact the school’s pupil welfare services or your health station. A nurse or doctor will talk with you and give you nutritional advice. They can also refer the child to nutritional therapy if necessary.
