Content of Nutrition Education for Preschool Children and Primary School Students in Vietnam

Content of Nutrition Education for Preschool Children and Primary School Students in Vietnam

* For Preschool Children:

According to Subsection 1.1.2, Section 4, Part 2 of the Guidelines for Organizing School Meals Combined with Enhanced Physical Activities for Children, Students in Preschools and Primary Schools issued under Decision 2195/QD-BGDDT in 2022, the nutritional education content for preschool children is as follows:

- For Nursery Children:

+ Introduce the names and images of some common foods and dishes.

+ Children can say the names of some common foods and dishes, including foods that are beneficial and harmful to health.

- For Kindergarten Children:

+ Children can name food groups and choose foods according to these groups.

+ State the names of some daily dishes and simple processing forms.

+ Recognize the signs of healthy eating and understand the importance of healthy eating.

+ Distinguish between foods that are beneficial and harmful to health.

* For primary school students:

According to Subsection 2.2.2, Section 4, Part 2 of the Guidelines for Organizing School Meals Combined with Enhanced Physical Activities for Children, Students in Preschools and Primary Schools issued under Decision 2195/QD-BGDDT in 2022, the nutritional education content for primary school students is as follows:

- Nutritional Education Content:

+ First and second graders can understand the roles of each food type within each tier of the nutrition pyramid, recognize the names of foods in school and home meals. Complete consumption of six food groups is encouraged, along with increased intake of fruits, vegetables, and healthy foods.

+ Third to fifth graders can understand the roles of each food type within each tier of the nutrition pyramid, recognize the names of foods in school and home meals. Complete consumption of six food groups is encouraged, along with increased intake of fruits, vegetables, and healthy foods. Understanding the quantity of food to consume according to the units of each tier of the nutrition pyramid and recognizing unhealthy foods in the sugar, salt, and fat tier. Knowing how to identify spoiled or unsafe foods and how to read food labels.

- Topics in Nutritional Education for primary school students:

+ Topic 1: Healthy nutrition regime, from the nutrition pyramid to meals;

+ Topic 2: Energy from cereals, tubers, and processed products;

+ Topic 3: Healthy vegetables and fruits;

+ Topic 4: Protein-rich foods for growth and strength;

+ Topic 5: Healthy dairy products;

+ Topic 6: Limiting fats, sugar, and salt;

+ Topic 7: Choosing safe and healthy foods, especially when eating out;

+ Topic 8: Carefully reading food labels to select healthier foods;

+ Topic 9: Preventing malnutrition and obesity;

+ Topic 10: Micronutrients and health;

+ Topic 11: Review.

Content of Nutrition Education for Preschool Children and Primary School Students in Vietnam (Image from Internet)

Methods of Nutritional Education for Preschool Children and Primary School Students in Vietnam

* For Preschool Children:

According to Subsection 1.1.3, Section 4, Part 2 of the Guidelines for Organizing School Meals Combined with Enhanced Physical Activities for Children, Students in Preschools and Primary Schools issued under Decision 2195/QD-BGDDT in 2022, preschool teachers guide and organize nutritional education for children through various forms:

- Introducing dishes and foods before meals, using images of modeled foods to introduce to children, integrating into lessons on environment and landscape…

- Specialized lessons on nutritional education; practicing preparing some simple dishes.

* For Primary School Students:

According to Subsection 1.2.3, Section 4, Part 2 of the Guidelines for Organizing School Meals Combined with Enhanced Physical Activities for Children, Students in Preschools and Primary Schools issued under Decision 2195/QD-BGDDT in 2022, the methods for organizing nutritional education for primary school students are as follows:

- Nutritional education is conducted for 5-10 minutes during the end-of-week class activities or student experiential activities.

- Integrating into subjects, flag-raising sessions, extracurricular activities, contests, and new communication forms to attract many students.

- Nutritional education lessons are prepared as presentations so students can read, learn, and understand easily.

- Nutritional education for students can be integrated when participating in meal-related activities such as receiving trays, lining up for food, disposing of leftovers, returning trays, etc.

Objectives of Nutritional Education for Preschool Children and Primary School Students in Vietnam

* For Preschool Children:

According to Subsection 1.1.1, Section 4, Part 2 of the Guidelines for Organizing School Meals Combined with Enhanced Physical Activities for Children, Students in Preschools and Primary Schools issued under Decision 2195/QD-BGDDT in 2022, the objectives of nutritional education for preschool children are as follows:

- Nursery Children: Help children recognize some foods in daily meals and adapt to policies of diverse food consumption.

- Kindergarten Children: Help children understand food groups, the benefits of healthy eating, the importance of diverse food consumption for health, and practice healthy eating habits.

* For Primary School Students:

According to Subsection 2.2.1, Section 4, Part 2 of the Guidelines for Organizing School Meals Combined with Enhanced Physical Activities for Children, Students in Preschools and Primary Schools issued under Decision 2195/QD-BGDDT in 2022, the objectives of nutritional education for primary school students are as follows:

Help primary school students understand the nutrition pyramid, healthy nutrition policies, identify unhealthy and unsafe foods, encourage diverse eating, increase fruit and vegetable consumption, and understand how to read food labels.