Teenagers and Food  

Jeremy Fiske

School Health Promotions Nurse 

When it comes to teenagers and food, a little bit of forward planning goes a long way. Like many other things, food trends go in and out of fashion - but by sticking with a few basics concepts you will not only find yourself providing for the needs of your children, you will also be encouraging positive life skills. 

Providing food that is nutritious as well as delicious. 

Teenagers need a wide variety of foods ot sustain them.  Physical and mental growth requires an increased intake of high-quality nutrients. Long term deficiencies of these nutrients can show up as poor sleep, mood fluctuations and difficulties with concentration, all of which can have a negative effect on their educational and learning success. A broad variety of fresh foods is best. Minimising a reliance on processed and ‘fast’ foods that are high in fat, sugar, salt and chemical preservatives will train their taste buds to appreciate the flavour and goodness that comes from a delicious home prepared meal.  

Teens often explore their self-control and values through food. 

This can be frustrating if you have just cooked a meat-based meal and your teen chooses that moment to announce that they have decided to become vegetarian (or vice versa) but allowing them the occasion to express their reasons will give you an opportunity to meet them halfway. For example, if they feel they are old enough to make these kinds of decisions about what goes into their body, then they are old enough to learn about the time and effort that goes into making a meal. Encourage them to communicate their food desires and use it as a teaching opportunity to share what you know about household budgeting, shopping skills, meal planning and food preparation.  

Social Media can influence decisions.  

Unfortunately, social media trends can pressure young people to feel like they need to look a certain way to be attractive or to ‘fit in’. Whether it’s losing weight or bulking up, these pressures add unrealistic demands to their sense of self and wellbeing. Noticing changes in appearance and knowing what’s going on in your child’s life will help you understand what they need in order to feel valued for who they truly are not just what they look like. 

Food is not gendered. 

Everyone needs to learn how to source, prepare and cook the foods they want to eat. All Brunswick Secondary College students learn cooking skills at school, so encouraging them to share those skills at home will boost their confidence. Sharing the tasks of meal preparation with your teenager passes on skills from one generation to the next and the time you have together can be valuable in understanding all the other things going on in each other’s lives. 

Teens need breakfast. 

The adage about breakfast being the most important meal of the day has a mountain of truth behind it. A healthy breakfast awakens your child and gets their brain and body ready for a day of learning and activity. Also, make sure they drink a glass or two of water before leaving the house to re-hydrate the brain after sleep. 

Note: BSC Breakfast Club is run by our fantastic parent volunteers and is funded by Parents Association fundraising as required. Breakfast Club is open every school day morning from 8am – 8:45am. Please contact Claudia Johnson if you wish to assist with this valuable school service.

Eating at school can be tricky. 

While it is not that unusual for some teens to try and go all day without eating, it is important to understand why. Is it because they are uncomfortable or anxious about eating in front of others? If so, finding ways to minimise their anxiety can prevent it from blowing up into a major problem. Some students are just super active and see eating as an intrusion on the free time they would rather spend playing sport, etc. However, these are the same students likely to fall into energy slump once they are back in the classroom, so organising to have something nutritious and quick is the key.  If you are concerned that your teen is missing meals, please link them in with a GP.

School Canteen

You and your teen(s) can negotiate whether they purchase food from the school canteen.  Did you know that you can pre-order and pay for lunches online at BSC?  This is a great way to ensure that your teen does not miss out on an important meal.

Access https://boccafoods.com.au/ to find out just how easy this is!  

For a range of healthy school lunch tips have a look at the following site: https://heas.health.vic.gov.au/schools/healthy-lunchboxes 

For those celebrating Ramadan…https://www.muslimaid.org/media-centre/blog/great-tips-for-healthy-eating-in-ramadan/

For past articles on sleep and exercise refer to Brunswick Star 2022 Editions 1 & 8 for a re-cap.