Do Children Have Choice?

Stephanie Beland

"Well I would never feed my child that"

As a student teacher, I have heard my fair share of judgments made among parents.  From how a student dresses, to grades, to what a child is eating.  The judgement made about students are usually meant to reflect "bad parenting".  It is sad that most of these "bad parents" are living paycheck to paycheck and doing the best that they can for their children with limited time (working job to job) and small salaries.  In the US it is nearly impossible to make a name for oneself without an education.  Education means higher paychecks, better jobs, and more choice when it comes to where to live, what to wear, and how to eat.  

Education has become increasingly important as time goes on.  In order to make a livable wage people are pressured to receive a higher education in order to land more prestigious and better paying jobs.  Unfortunately, education can be expensive.  One's personal identity is heavily representative of one's education.  In terms of food, more education equals better diet, more variety, and more awareness of nutrition.  "A greater dietary variety and higher consumption of vegetables and fruit {are} associated with higher education and higher income levels" (The American Journal).  What concerns me most is the influence that an adult's education level has on children.  "The amount of time parents spend in the classroom may affect how healthy--or not-- their children's diets are" (Martinez).  Sadly, parents who did not receive very much education are limited on what they can provide for their children.  Many kids are growing up accustomed to eating fast foods and unhealthy snacks that are coming from bags and wrappers.  The kids who are being fed this sort of diet are growing up disadvantaged in comparison to their peers.  Children begin to identify themselves with the sorts of foods that their parents feed them and start choosing those unhealthy foods themselves. 

                While I student taught at JFK Elementary in Winooski, Vermont I noticed a trend among students coming from low income households.  The students coming from low income households were eating bags of chips and candies, sometimes they were not eating anything at all.  The students who were coming from higher income households usually had snacks such as yogurt, fruit, vegetables with hummus, and granola.  Low income school districts such as Winooski try their best to provide for their students as well as they are able to.  Every classroom in the school was supplied with a bag of a fruit or vegetable everyday during snack so that each student could get one piece (strawberries, carrots, broccoli, celery, etc.).  Winooski district also provides free breakfast lunch, and a take-home dinner to all of their students.  These meals were not elaborate and at times very unhealthy, but they were much more nutritious than the options students had at home (sometimes nothing).  The food situation in Winooski really got me questioning the role that food plays in children's lives.  Why were the students coming from better off homes eating food of better quality?  Is money the main factor, or do their parents know more about nutrition because of their education?

                                                                               (U.S Students Prefer)

  I did some research and discovered that better educated adults are more likely to read up on nutrition and do research.  This gives them a "leg up on the nutrition factor" (Martinez) of food.  What makes me sad is that children who identify with fatty, sugary foods are not making the choice to eat that way.  These parents with low levels of education have greater difficulty finding work and therefore begin to shop for convenience, simplicity of meal preparation, and low price.  In turn, these foods affect the way that their children work in school.  Without a proper, balanced diet, students cannot perform their best due to their lack of energy and pain from hunger.

                I hate to see kids identifying themselves with foods that can lead to medical complications and obesity.  It is difficult for children to make healthy choices when they have identified with the food that their parents have fed them their entire lives.  "We need public health approaches that make healthy options available, accessible, and affordable for all Americans" (Vermont).   

Works Cited 

 Martinez, J. (2013, March 28). Parents' education can affect children's diets: Study. Retrieved         October 18, 2015.

 The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. (2004). Retrieved October 19, 2015.

 U.S. Students Prefer Unhealthy Lunch - The National Herald. (2014, May 5). Retrieved October 20, 2015.

 Vermont: State Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity Profile. (2012, September 1). Retrieved October 18, 2015.