Dirty Dietary Habits at different stages of life!!!

School Going Kids

  • Chewing on Pencils, Erasers and Chalks:

If your child develops the habit of chewing on pencil tops absent mindedly or while concentrating on his studies, as it puts pressure on their upper teeth, thereby increasing the risk of pushing the teeth outwards and he could be at the risk of graphite poisoning, as pencils contain a mixture of graphite and clay which could be ingested unknowingly by the child as he chews on the pencil. Normal erasers are mostly synthetic, meaning made up of chemicals. Most erasers also contain sulfur; Accidental swallowing of pencil top erasers or gnawing off normal erasers can cause gastro intestinal complications, which would require immediate hospitalization. Another major risk would be through the colors or dyes that are used to coat the pencils which are mostly toxic and on ingestion could pose serious problems to your child.

v To rid your child of this bad habit, use the aversion technique of coating the pencil top with some bitter tasting edible substances. It could be advised that you consult a doctor. While most schools use non-toxic chalks in their daily supplies, do check with the school from time to time.

  • Hurried Eating

Children are known to be impatient souls, always wanting to hurry onto the next fascinating thing around! This is evident during the school recess, as out of the scheduled 15 or 30 minute break meant for eating, they barely eat for 5-10 minute and the remainder is spent playing around! This gives rise to a habit of hurried eating, which soon descends to the meals at home, too. Hurried eating leads to an increased risk of indigestion and acid reflux in children and makes them hungry quickly, thereby leading to over eating which in turn can their risk of obesity too!

  • I want Maggi!

With kids as young as 5 years old, demanding that fast food like Maggie and pastas to be served during breakfast, lunch and dinner too! This constant demand structure also extends to the lunch boxes, with parents often found bending to the will of their little ones. On the odd days, that a nutritious food item finds its way into the lunch box, a full lunch box is returned in the evening, While this habit may point towards defiance and a stubborn nature and adverse effects on health as well.

  • Dirty Hands

Children as mentioned earlier are way too impatient to bother about miniscule yet healthy things such as washing one’s hands before a meal or eating their Tiffin’s! With no supervision, kids tend to pick up this habit at school and proceed to eat their Tiffin’s with unwashed hands covered in dust and grime; this in turn increases the chances of them contracting many a disease due to the bacteria and virus, which get transferred to their stomach via their own hands!

v To prevent your school going child from picking up such bad habits, do keep an eye on them and talk to them about the health risks of their bad habits.

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