What kind of rice is suitable for children’s eating?
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Source: Founder of Kat-Spirit Nutrition Health
Centre, Senior Nutritionist, Ng Yiu Fun
In modern society, we all pay much attention to the nutrition of
children. What type of rice will provide more nutrition to children, and will
they be willing to eat it? We often cook brown rice or red rice for children to
eat, but they do not like it very much. The main reason is that it takes longer
to chew or is harder, so they can't swallow it after chewing for a long time.
This rice may even
cause stomach aches in adults. Children's digestive abilities are not as good
as adults', so we are worried that they may have stomach aches. Nowadays, many
people do not eat white rice; they may switch to germ rice, millet rice, or
oatmeal rice, and among them, I would recommend millet rice the most!
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The price of millet rice is relatively inexpensive, about ten dollars or
so a catty. If it costs less than $20 per catty, it is both nutritious and
inexpensive, a kind of smooth and creamy food that can even be cooked into
porridge. This is a good choice for cooking millet rice; even if you add rice,
you will not notice a difference in texture, which is typical of white rice.
Children will not feel that you have added something strange to it; they will
naturally eat. It’s soft and wouldn’t cause a stomach ache.
If you do not eat this, there are other options, such as germ rice, but
if you pay attention to what germ rice is, it is brown rice, and then peel a
layer of the shell, there will be less fiber. But it retains the most
nutritious part of the germ; the vitamin B complex is also in this part, so it
is very nutritious, but the fiber is less than in brown rice. The taste will be
smoother, and it will not feel as hard, but the price will be relatively high,
possibly sixty to seventy dollars.
Another mid-priced
option is quinoa. Quinoa is available in black, red, and white. If children are
nervous about the color and don't like to eat it, they may choose white quinoa,
which is rich in nutrients. Black quinoa is higher in iron and anthocyanins.
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I don't recommend ten-grain rice for children, as their stomachs are
more delicate, and the rice may need to be soaked overnight before it becomes
soft. They may feel like there are many different kinds of rice in it and not
like it. Of course, some children are more curious and may like it. But many
children are accustomed to eating regular food when they are small and will
only try different foods when they grow up. We may wait until they are ten or
eight years old before giving ten-grain rice. However, we still need to soak it
before boiling it with other rice. Otherwise, even if it is healthy, it will
cause stomach aches.
Some people will put red beans in; how exactly do we put them in? We
have to pre-soak the red beans until they are soft, or even boil them until
they are soft, before cooking them with rice. In fact, red bean rice is very
nutritious; for example, Japanese like eating red bean rice. Also, there are
other types of rice, like sweet potato rice, corn rice, and chestnut rice,
which is suitable for eating in autumn. Different combinations make eating rice
more interesting than just plain white rice. Chestnuts are high in calcium and
iron to enhance bone growth and help prevent anemia, and people will be more
energetic and not so easily fatigued.
What should be noted for full-day face-to-face classes with self-prepared lunch boxes?
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Many parents are worried about whether
the self-prepared lunch boxes are attractive and nutritious enough for their
children, so that when they open the boxes, they will feel like eating
everything. Parents also like to check their children's lunch boxes after
school to see if they have eaten everything. First, they want to prove their
love and care, and second, they want their children to have some nutrition. But
what kind of lunch boxes will make them exclaim, "Wow!" I'm so happy!
"I love it!" when they open it.
First of all, we should let children
develop the habit of eating without choice. If they can choose all day, they
may think that if they don't like this lunch box today, their mother will make
something they like tomorrow. Therefore, they deliberately won't eat this lunch
box, which will force their mother to make a second lunch box that they like.
Gradually, they will develop a habit of pickiness.
I have two daughters who are also in elementary school. Our habit is that from Monday to Saturday, they don't have a choice. Whatever their mother says to eat, they have to eat it. They know they can't choose, and they have to eat, even if they are hungry. So she rarely complains about not eating certain things. On Sundays, she can have a meal of her choice, go to restaurant A or B for a meal,or be rewarded with some snacks. Then she will feel that this week she has been well-behaved and obedient.
 
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What can be done to pique her
interest just a little? First, if it's some fried rice or noodles, she would
eat a little bit more easily when she opens the lunchbox; for example, if it's
an egg fried rice with meat and vegetable pieces, when she opens it, she won't
feel it's stuffy and the ingredients won't stick together, which can increase
her appetite. Furthermore, some vegetables, meat pieces, and eggs are actually
nutritionally balanced. For example, stir-frying udon with some cabbage or
mushrooms and adding some meat slices or minced meat to the udon, with a little
salt and soy sauce, is actually a pretty delicious one.
What constitutes a language development delay in a child?
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Source: Speech Therapist, Mok Yee Tuen
Typically, babies start making sounds as soon as they
are born, such as different crying sounds to express their demands. From 4 to 8
months, they start babbling, which is part of the language preparation period.
Children actually go through a ladder of language development, starting with
just learning single words and ending with being able to tell stories with
their words.
Babies from 9 months to 1 year generally start
producing their first meaningful word, such as "ba,"Â
"ma," or "ball ball." From 1 to 2 years old, their
understanding and vocabulary expression increase greatly, with the accumulation
of single words forming two-word phrases, such as "mommy drink" and
"eat bun bun."
From 2 to 3 years old, children generally speak in
longer sentences and can express different needs. For example, they like to add
a word to the two-word phrases, forming three-word combinations, such as
"Daddy eat bun" and "I want grandma." Some children start
using adjectives, such as "sister eats a big apple."
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Young children generally recognize
more different sentences and start using conjunctions after 3 and a half years
old, and by 5 years old, they slowly understand how to combine different
sentences and use more conjunctions and start to narrate things logically, that
is, by telling stories.
In fact, the language development of
young children is slightly different for each person, but through empirical
research, we also have some important reference indicators to see if a child
may have a speech delay.
The first is that there are no words
at 2 years old.
Second, no sentences appear before
the age of three.
The third is that speech is unclear
and hard to understand after 3 years old,
Fourth, sentences are still unclear
after 5 years old.
If the child is not speaking more and
more as they grow, parents should seek the help of a professional to assess and
train them as soon as possible.