Canteen Food or Home-cooked Meals for Your Kid?

Should I prepare lunch for my child or should I just give him/her money to buy food at the canteen? A lot of parents probably ask this question especially at the start of the school year. What are the pros and cons of each choice? Here are some pros and cons for each.

Buying in school.

1. You give chance to your child to make decisions (what to eat and what not to eat)
2. You give your child the opportunity to budget his/her allowance. He learns financial management.
3. He gets the chance to interact with other people which later on he will encounter anyway. He will learn how to deal with slow service, people who are lazy, people who have difficulty taking orders, etc.

4. You do not know if what he eats is healthy.He may be eating junk food always.
5. you do not know if food handlers are always in good health. Do they undergo medical exams regularly?


Bringing home-cooked meals.

1. You know your child is eating right - or at least based on what you know is right.
2. You know he is eating enough.
3. You feel secured that he will not get disease causing germs.
4. He doesn't learn how to make decisions. You may ask him what he wants but it is still different if he is presented with limited choices.
5. He doesn't get the chance to learn how to manage his money well.


If you are going to let him buy at the school canteen teach  him how to distinguish healthy dishes from junk. You cannot expect schools to prepare only healthy food because chances are they also need to sell soda, fast food type meals and chips because this is what sells. Remember, at the end of the day, the canteen is still a business that needs to earn. Also ask school officials their policy regarding the health of their food servers.

If you are going to let him bring home-cooked meals, take him when you go to the grocery and let him be part in deciding what to buy. Give him a set budget and allow him to choose what he wants based on that budget.

If you will let him bring home-cooked meals, make sure that what you will prepare for him is really healthy. If you are just going to let him bring chips or biscuits then might as well just let him buy in school.

If you do not have time to prepare meals but still want to ensure the health of your child, ask the canteen personnel if you can see their menu in advance and select food for your child. In big schools this may not be possible but in smaller schools you may a better chance at doing this.

Let Your Child Eat Breakfast Before Going to School

Go to a regular elementary classroom and ask the students if they eat breakfast before they go to school. Chances are more than half of them do not. Do you let your child eat breakfast before going to school?

School kids MUST eat breakfast before going to school. It is the MOST IMPORTANT meal of the day. Studies have shown that students who eat breakfast perform better in class - in all areas - cognitive, affective and psychomotor.

Cognitive. Students who eat breakfast are more alert then those who don't. They are able to pay attention to what the teachers are discussing. They are able to stay awake and participate in classroom activities.

Affective. Students who eat breakfast are able to relate to others better. Students who do not tend to become either grumpy or sluggish. Other students stay away from them.

Psychomotor. Students who eat breakfast have the energy to move about. They can perform tasks better than those who are sluggish.

So what must you let your child eat for breakfast. Here is a list of food that you can give them in the morning. Try to have variations so they won't lose interest.

1. Bacon. This you can serve with toast or with fried rice. You can partner it with egg. You can also make it into a sandwich with tomato and cheese.
2. Hotdogs. This you can serve with toast or with fried rice as well. An egg on the side will be great. You can also cook it like steak. Slice it into small pieces and onion slices then cook like the way you would cook steak.
3. Ham. This can be prepared similar to the two above.
4. Eggs. You can have this scrambled, boiled, sunny side-up. You mix it with slices of bacon, ham, sausage, mushrooms, cheese, bell pepper, etc.
5. Cereals. Kids love this but they'll get bored if this is what they have always. Choose different flavors. Also alternate milk with chocolate.
6. Oatmeal. Like cereals, kids love oatmeal. To make it more nutritious and healthier mix fruits like banana, apple or grapes.
7. Toast. This is good but have different spreads like jam, jelly, butter, cheese, peanut butter, etc.
8. Pancakes. For this you also need various toppings like honey, butter, jam, etc. You can also top the pancakes with other fruits for added flavor. Make sure that you prepare the pancake mix in the evening to save time.
9. Baked potato/Mash potato/Fries. This is another good source of energy. Have cheese spread, bacon bits or other toppings and side dishes.
10. Bagel, Buns, Pastries, Cakes. These are also sources of energy but only give them once in a while especially the sweet ones.

In order to convince your child that he or she needs to eat breakfast, you need to make him or her excited to eat. Do this by preparing really good breakfast. Interchange the food suggested above. Make them look forward to what they are going to have the next day. Also, make sure that they do not 'feel' pressured during breakfast time. Prepared food early so they will not feel the 'rush'. And most importantly, join them for breakfast so they would know that it is a really important meal.

How to Protect Your Children from Having Dengue in School - Simple Ways to Do it

The Philippines is now facing the greatest act of terrorism. From what group, you may ask. It's from the group called MOSQUITOES. Yes, everybody is now afraid of dengue. People from all walks of life are really scared of mosquitoes because they know that one single bite could kill them. In the past, people who live in posh villages were not really as threatened as those living in the slums. Probably they were thinking that they are less exposed to mosquitoes than those who living near creeks or whose rooms do not have air-conditioners. But a few days ago, we heard on the news that one of the richest villages in the metro has been affected by dengue as well. Children who thought they were safe in their big mansions were also affected.

As parents, you are probably concerned with what you can do to protect your children from getting dengue whether in school, at home or at the malls. Let me zero in here on the school. Here are some tips to protect your child from mosquitoes in school.

1. Ask your children to wear jackets in school especially if their classrooms are air-conditioned. A lighter jacket can be used if their classrooms are not.
2. For boys wearing shorts and girls wearing skirts, let them wear knee high socks.
3. Let them bring anti-mosquito creams or mosquito repellent lotions.
4. You can also let them wear mosquito repellent patches.
5. Talk to the authorities of the school about their anti-dengue measures. If they will be doing clean up drives, volunteer to help. Ask the other parents you know to also volunteer. If you know companies doing anti mosquito spraying or fogging, suggest them to the school authorities.
6. You can ask the advisers of your children if they are willing to accept donations of anti-mosquito repellent sprays. If they are then donate a can or two. You can also encourage other parents to do the same.

These are just simple ways to protect your children from getting dengue in school. But do not worry because being prepared is always good in preventing acts of terrorism like dengue. 

My Child isBeing Bullied in School - What Must I do?

In my previous blog I mentioned the signs that could help tell if your child is being bullied in school. Now, we will discuss what you can do should you discover that your child is indeed a victim of bullying.

If you see that some of the signs mentioned are present in your child, do the following suggestions.

• Ask your child if somebody is bullying him in school. Your child may tell you honestly that he is really being bullied but he may also not. They normally wont because they fear that if the bully finds out that he talked to you about it, the more that he will be bullied. (The next step is true whatever his answer will be.)
• Talk to your child's class adviser. Ask her if she notices something about your child and the other students in class. Seek her help to observe your child. Chances are she will act on it at once because teachers also do not want any of their students being hurt.
• Ask the adviser for the school's policy regarding bullying. Ask  her if they are doing measures to prevent it.
• You can also talk to the guidance counselor and ask for his help regarding your child's reaction towards the bullying he experienced. It is important that this thing be processed to ensure that your child will be able to cope up and move on.
• Do not immediately react negatively towards the bully. Find out from the teacher why that child is behaving that way. There are reasons they do such things and getting angry with them may not help. That may even make them worse. 
• Once you learn why the bully is a bully, you may want to help him in whatever way you can.  You may ask your child to invite him to your house for barbecue. You may ask him to be part of your carpool in the morning. Sometimes, reaching out to them will  stop them from targeting your child. 

Usually, if the bullying is discovered early on, addressing it would be easy. That's why it is important that parents become observant or sensitive to what's happening to their children. It is important that you ask them regularly how they are doing in school. You'll be surprised at how much you will learn if you do it.

Bullying in School - What is it all about?, How do I Know If my Child is being Bullied

Bullying happens almost everywhere. It can happen in school, the park, in your neighborhood, in church or your place of worship or possibly even at home. Since your child spends a lot of his time in school, I'm sure you are interested to know more about school bullying.

How do you know when your child is a victim of bullying in school? 

Before I answer that, let me first define what bullying is. Bullying is the habitual abusive treatment of one child against another. It involves force or coercion. Bullying usually shows imbalance of power. This could be imbalance in social status or physical strength.

There are different kinds of bullying that could happen to your child.

          1. Physical Bullying. This type of bullying involves physical contact. The bully hits, kicks, slaps or punches his victim. These attacks are usually coupled with threats that if the victim tells authorities, something more will happen. Getting stuff from the victim also falls under this type. For example, getting your child's pencil everyday without returning is considered bullying. Being asked to do 'errands' is also physical bullying.

          2. Verbal Bullying. This type of bullying involves calling the victim names or making him the butt of jokes. For boys, the common problem is being called a 'sissy'. For girls, usually has something to do with physical attributes like being 'flat-chested'. Verbal threats, jokes or aggressive attacks do not necessarily have to be directly about the victim himself. It could also be against his family, friends, race or religious affiliation.

          3. Emotional Bullying. This type of bullying involves spreading rumors or stories against a person. Exclusion from groups also falls here. The idea here is to make you feel bad or unaccepted.

          4. Cyberbullying. This involves attacking the victim through the use of technology like the internet or cellular phones. Your child can be attacked through email,  blogs or social networks like Facebook. When threats are sent to you  through emails or social network messages or even through SMS or texting, that is considered cyberbullying. Sending indecent pictures to you is also the same.

 Now, how do you know if your child is a victim of bullying in school. Look for the following signs.

          1. physical manifestations like bruises and cuts

          2. coming home with his uniform or school stuff broken

          3. some of his school items are always lost

          4. losing interest to go to school

          5. asking you  to transfer him to another class or to another school

          6. if he usually walks to school, he would all of a sudden change his route or ask that you walk him to school

          7. scores in exams are getting lower and lower

          8. looking depressed, withdrawn, lacking in self-confidence

          9. always feeling ill in the morning

         10. showing aggressive behavior (much like that of a bully)

         11. suddenly avoiding the internet  - not logging on to his Facebook account which he likes to do before

         12. gets startled when his cellular phone rings

With these, I hope you'll be able to see if your child is a victim of bullying in school. In my next blog, I'll discuss what you should do if you see some of these signs present in your child.