We all want our children to be intelligent, to perform well, to do better in school, and to have good memory, focus, and energy levels. So the question is: what should we feed them?
There's a growing trend showing that many children are experiencing delays in developing their social and language skills. This trend is becoming increasingly common. The question is: how can general cognitive skills, language skills, and social skills be improved?
The answer lies in your nutritional selection of food. If you want your children to have strong social skills, good language development, strong memory, and better focus and attention span, then three key nutrients must be included in their diet from the age of two on a daily basis. These are: Vitamin E, Iodine, and Omega-3 Fatty Acids.
It’s very easy to get these nutrients from diet. Children who regularly consume Vitamin E, Iodine, and Omega-3s in appropriate amounts tend to perform better intellectually, academically, and socially compared to those who are nutritionally deprived.
Research also shows that children who binge excessively on unhealthy junk foods a common trend nowadays, where mothers hand their kids packets of chips, biscuits, and ice cream—are being nutritionally deprived. This junk food is not a substitute for proper meals. The more your child snacks on unhealthy carbohydrates, the weaker their language and social skills will become. This also negatively affects cognitive skills, and obesity follows as a packaged deal.
To include Omega-3 fatty acids in their diet, you can use nuts in sandwiches, salads, and soups, or grind seeds and add them to smoothies. Provide your children with fatty fish. The best way to select fish is to go for the ones with more fat, as they are richer in high-quality protein and Omega-3s.
Omega-3 fatty acids make up a significant portion of the brain’s dry matter, which plays a major role in memory, focus, attention, learning, and brain development.
Vitamin E is also essential for better cognitive performance. It is found in whole grains—not the refined white flour, but grains like millet, barley, and whole wheat flour. Vitamin E is also present in fish and nuts. Use nuts, especially almonds, in children’s smoothies. Seeds and seafood are rich sources of both Vitamin E and Iodine. Try to include seafood in your child’s dinner at least three times a week.
Another important point: once you become a mother, a responsibility is placed upon you even before conception. Many women with medical conditions such as being underweight, having high cholesterol, diabetes, or anemia are often in a rush to conceive without addressing these issues. If you conceive while having such conditions, your child may not be healthy and may face complications. Initially, this manifests as an underweight baby, but with age, other problems start appearing.
Studies prove that healthy, well-nourished, non-obese, non-diabetic mothers give birth to children with better telomeres. Telomeres are parts of DNA that determine how many times a cell can divide before dying thus determining lifespan. So a healthy mother can impact her child’s lifespan.
Many mothers claim their child is delicate and gets sick easily when exposed to the outside world. Let your children participate in outdoor activities—this exposes them to soil-based probiotics, helping develop healthy gut bacteria (microbiome).
Mothers who, due to work, laziness, or any psychological reason, don’t breastfeed their children are doing them a great disservice. Breast milk contains unique immunoglobulins that are not found elsewhere and are essential for the baby. Breastfed babies develop better gut bacteria, and they are more protected from allergies, asthma, and autoimmune diseases which are on the rise today.
As we move into a new era, it becomes even more important to build our children’s immunity and it all starts from the mother’s lap.
Now, for mothers of slightly older children, especially those entering their teenage years: when young girls start eating junk food regularly from the age of 4, 5, or 6, it can lead to precocious puberty, meaning they reach puberty earlier than normal. This results in issues like PCOS and insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is the root cause of PCOS.
Maintain your child’s weight and give them healthy food choices. In boys, if insulin resistance occurs, their testosterone levels may decrease during puberty when those levels are supposed to rise. Low testosterone at that time leads to poor height growth, underdeveloped muscles, and a narrow physical frame. Testosterone is responsible for deepening of voice, healthy hair growth, and much more.
Watch your child’s weight and food choices. Encourage healthy nutrition from an early age. The right nutrients are not just food they are gifts for your child’s future.