Jakarta, 4 July 2019 -. First Day of School is an important moment for parents and children. In addition to material needs, parents need to prepare the best mental and physical condition of the Little One to support children's readiness and enthusiasm in facing the new world. Fulfillment of balanced nutrition is still one of the challenges for school-aged children, moreover, 8 out of 10 Indonesian schoolchildren aged 4-12 years are known to lack Omega 3 consumption (EPA + DHA). For this reason, PT Sarihusada Generasi Mahardhika through SGM Eksplor 3Plus wants to remind again the importance of fulfilling nutrition to support the mental, physical and spirit of the Little School.
"We believe that fulfilling balanced nutrition is an important foundation in supporting children's optimal growth and development. Especially when entering the school age, the Little One will receive various stimulations that can make Children of the Next Generation who are creative, grow tall and strong, sociable, independent, and confident. But unfortunately 8 out of 10 Indonesian children of school age (4-12 years) lack Omega-3 (EPA + DHA). In the long run this can hamper your child's achievement in school. Therefore we from the 3Plus SGM Explorers conducted a series of education to remind parents of the importance of fulfilling the nutrition of the Little One at the beginning of their school days, "said Ditra Komala, Brand Manager of the 3Plus SGM Explorers.
At present, there have been many parents in Indonesia who are trying to support the optimization of the potential of the Little Kid by introducing children to the formal education system early on. This can be seen from the increasing number of participation of children aged 3-6 years in Early Childhood Education (PAUD) since 2016 (72.35%) to 2018 (74.28%). At the same time, there were more than 4.6 million kindergartens (TK) registered in the 2017/2018 school year.
dr. Andyda Meliala, Early Childhood Education Observer and Founder of Resourceful Parenting Indonesia stated, "When parents decide to introduce early childhood to the school environment, the child will face a new world. PAUD is a formal foundation for children's learning that is designed as a transitional institution that prepares children for the next level. The foundations that will be built during PAUD are education (learning to learn), health (developing a balanced healthy diet), and welfare. At this time, the executive function of the child's brain will begin to be formed and this is very important for their future. The executive functions of the brain include self-control, working memory or working memory and mental flexibility. These three things are the basic functions that will help children achieve higher order thinking, namely the ability to solve problems, plan, and have good thinking (reasoning). Given the importance of PAUD, it is very important for parents to build enthusiasm to school so that children can carry these positive habits in the future ".
Further on the characteristics of PAUD children, Andyda explained, "Most of the learning methods of children aged 3-6 years require them to continue to be active, starting from practicing various kinds of knowledge directly to playing with their friends. But from my experience, not a few found PAUD children both in cities and remote areas, who are not focused and seem limp when doing activities because they do not get the required nutrition. Yet to support the spirit of the Little One, mental and physical preparation is needed, including the fulfillment of balanced nutrition. "
After the period of the First 1000 Days of Life (in the womb up to children aged 2 years) which is the golden period of growth and development of the Little, early age (3-6 years) is also an important period because at this age the ability of thinking children develop very rapidly, especially for capture lessons and stimulation. Moreover, children who do not get good nutrition at risk do not have the potential for cognitive development, motor skills, and socioemotional abilities that are closely related to academic achievement and economic productivity.
dr. Nurul Ratna Mutu Manikam, M.Gizi, SpGK, Clinical Nutritionist Specialist explained, "Balanced nutrition is the basis of a child's physical readiness to receive stimulation and education in school. For that reason, in maintaining enthusiasm on the First Day of School, the role of parents is very important to ensure that children have balanced nutrition in their daily diet. "
At the age of 3-6 years, good eating habits in children begin to form and will carry over into adulthood. For this reason, children need to be accustomed to consuming balanced nutrition consisting of various macronutrients and micronutrients that are important for their metabolism as early as possible. dr. Nurul explained, "Some important nutritional components needed by early childhood include carbohydrates, fiber, protein, iron, to fat including Omega 3 (EPA + DHA) which are beneficial for brain development.
"Children aged 3-6 years like to play and are very active in moving. In addition to fluids obtained from food, so as not to lack of fluids, at this age children need at least 1200 ml of fluid every day. To meet these needs parents can provide mineral water, fruit juice, and milk. Milk that has been fortified with Omega 3 (EPA + DHA), iron, zinc, and various vitamins can also help meet the needs of your child. Milk can be given twice a day as recommended by keeping in mind the intake of other nutrients according to the nutritional needs of your child at each stage of his age. "Continued dr. Nurul.
Ririn Dwi Ariyanti, an artist and mother of four children who attended the event shared her experience when Siti Alecia Kaira, her second child, started school. "The first day your child enters school always brings different surprises and anxieties for children and parents. Therefore, it is important for parents to prepare and excite children to attend school, since long ago. As a mother, one of the things I do besides preparing my child mentally is to ensure that the child's morning and night nutrition intake is met, so that his physical health is maintained and he is ready and eager to receive education at school. "
Two important times to support children to be physically ready to be excited about going to school are to provide balanced nutrition in the morning and evening. Nutrition consumed in the morning before leaving for school can support your child's activities to receive stimulation at school; including for concentration to memory. Whereas at night, the nutrients consumed can replace the energy released during the day, prevent nutritional deficiencies, to encourage better sleep quality.
"To increase parental awareness about the importance of balanced nutrition in school-age children and tips on supporting your child's achievements in school, SGM Eksplor 3Plus carries out various educational activities, some of which are:
- Various tips on the www.generasimaju.co.id page for parents to help prepare children to receive stimulation at school, how to prepare your child to face the new environment, to tips on supporting your child's performance at school;
- Provides a nutrition calculator for parents to check the nutritional intake of the Little One's daily food at https://www.generasimaju.co.id/calculator- calculator, "added Ditra.
SGM Eksplor 3Plus is a pioneer of nutritious products for mothers and children and is committed to continuing to support the creation of Advanced Generation Children. To help parents provide nutritious intake that is beneficial for the physical readiness of children in welcoming school, SGM Eksplor provides SGM Eksplor 3Plus which is equipped with fish oil & Omega 3, calcium & Vitamin D, Zinc & Vitamin C, and inulin food fiber.
"We hope this can help parents realize that the Little One does not include 8 out of 10 Indonesian school-aged children (4-12 years) lacking Omega-3, by inspiring more parents to pay attention to the readiness of children in welcoming the first day of school with the fulfillment of balanced nutrition. We are sure if your child has mental readiness & is given balanced nutrition. He will be able to excel at school & show the potential of 5 advanced generation children, namely strong growth, confidence, creative initiative, sociable and independent, "concluded Ditra.
