The Healthy Alphabet: Children's Book
We are a group of young and upcoming health professionals united by our shared interest in childhood nutrition education. Pursuing careers as Registered Dietitians has a deeper meaning to us than just food prescription and weight management. Education is the core of worldwide knowledge of nutritional importance, and we stand that children are the best place to start. With an objective to inform adolescents of all ages on a topic so crucial to health, we collectively agreed that making a children’s book was the most effective way to do so.
Surely, when educating young children on such a complex subject, we recognized from the beginning our book had to include the basics. There are so many unhealthy options that retail corporations market to children in appealing ways. This makes it clear that many kids just don’t know what healthy foods are, especially if their caregivers aren’t educated themselves. As a result of this, we knew that promoting healthy, whole foods in an interactive way would be the most compelling to younger age groups.
While brainstorming different approaches, Rachel, who nannies two young children, expressed that A-Z publications are what most kids tend to gravitate towards. This was a brilliant idea that really got the ball rolling for us. After we decided to take this route, we created a list consisting of 26 whole foods such as fruits, vegetables, and grains that each started with a different letter of the alphabet. Then, we constructed the Apple to Zucchini book.
Each page of the book held a different food item for that corresponding letter. Along with the food, a fact about the beneficial properties that food contains went along with it. A cartoon picture of the specific item was put on every page. Most cartoons had a face with a speech bubble coming from it. This approach made the book easy to follow and interactive with the audience.
When the book was completed, we knew that we had to share it. So, on Saturday, October 21, 2017 we presented our book to a group of children ranging in ages from 3 to 9 along with their parents. We read the book to them and had a few snacks that were included in the book for them to eat. Before presenting the book, we asked the children what some of their favorite foods were. It was no surprise to us that most answers were either pizza or chicken nuggets. At the conclusion of the reading, the children seemed much more enthused to eat fruits and vegetables, showing us our presentation was a definite success.
Although the book was undoubtedly geared towards a very young audience, it was important to us that the parents were present. It goes without saying that most children aren’t fed a proper diet simply because their parents just don’t know any better. Having them there for the book reading gave us the opportunity to give both parent and child a few basics of healthy eating. The response from the parents was unremarkable, as we even had some approach us to ask for our advice on certain nutrition related topics.
Overall, the opportunity to first write the children’s book and then present it gave us great insight on the importance of childhood education. As upcoming dietitians, we now have a greater sense of what it means to get to the core of the problem. By starting to educate children on this matter that we are so passionate about, we will indeed be able to move mountains.
