Are+schools+providing+children+with+sufficient+time+to+eat+lunch+and+socialize?

Conklin, Dr. (2002). //Schools need to provide sufficient time to eat and socialize.// Unpublished manuscript, Penn State University, Retrieved from __ []  __ This article discusses how children can generally eat their lunch within 7 to 10 minutes. School lunch providers did not know how long it took students to eat until three studies were done sponsored by NFSMI. Schools that were built in the 1970s are now unable to serve everyone lunch in a timely fashion. Not knowing how much time is necessary for children to consume their lunch with enjoyment adds to that problem. Researches from an issue of the Journal of Child Nutrition and Management believe that providing enough time for children to choose meals and sit with friends to enjoy them is one of the top 10 factors identified by health professionals as important to the development of healthy eating behaviors. Socializing allows time for children to relate to others, provides a break in routine and allows children to return to afternoon classes refreshed. Providing the children with 20 minutes for lunch might not mean increasing the lunch period; there may be other approaches. This article also relates to a larger article that I found. The research supports that children need time during their lunch period to socialize, but the majority of the time is spent getting to lunch, eating and cleaning up. The article also mentions ways that 20 minute lunch periods can be altered in order to make standing in lunch lines shorter. There needs to be better efficiency when replenishing foods and cashing out. The article also mentioned that school personnel should not be allowed to break the line to get their food or pay for their food. This was something that I remember happening frequently in high school and it never seemed fair since we were all waiting in the same line and allotted the same amount of time to eat. This article is a great summary of the research that took place by Dr. Conklin. Conklin, M. T., & Lambert, L. G.. (2001). //Eating at school a summary of NFSMI research on time required by students to eat lunch//. Unpublished manuscript, National Food Service Management Institute, The University of Mississippi, Mississippi. Retrieved from __ []  __ This article was a research summary on the time required by students to eat lunch. There mission was to provide information and services that promotes the continuous improvement of Child Nutrition Programs. Each study that was done measured the consumption time for a school lunch. There were 18 schools that were included in the “Eating at School” time studies: six elementary schools, six middle schools, and six high schools. These schools were located in five school districts in four states: one district each in New York, Texas, and Washington and two districts in the state of Utah. Data was recorded over a 12 to 18 week period. They timed service time, time at table and bussing of lunch trays. After the study it could be concluded that the total time to eat at school ranged from 13 - 35 minutes. The eating time among children was consistent among children of all ages. Time that was spent socializing seemed to vary with the length of the meal period. To figure a lunch period of sufficient length, additional minutes for socializing at the table must be added plus time for students to travel to and from the cafeteria, choose food from the serving line, and return their trays for clean-up. This article was a great research summary about school lunch periods. Students that have a shorter lunch period spent the majority of their lunch time eating. Students that had more time for lunch were able to spend those extra minutes socializing with peers. Children need approximately 10 minutes to consume their lunch. These minutes only involve eating and drinking and do not include talking, laughing and other types of appropriate social behavior with friends at the table. This research provides the accurate information that children need at least 20 minutes for their lunch period. If it can be managed appropriately children will be able to eat and have time to socialize with peers. Parker-Pope, T. (2009, February 20). Slowing down school lunch. //The New York Times//, New York. Retrieved from __ []  __ This article talks about how in some schools the last students in line might have as few as seven minutes to eat their lunch. Schools are rushing children’s through meals quickly just like they are eliminating exercise. The article states that children are always having to be prepared for standardized tests and they are missing out. Children will be much happier when they can sit and enjoy their meal in a positive atmosphere with friends rather than eating their food as fast as possible to get back to the standardized tests. The article talked about how school can be the most efficient way to spread good habits. Having the children sit at a table can also encourage them to bring it home to their parents to encourage eating at a table as a family as well. I think this article has a great point about children eating together at school and how they can bring that into their home. A lot of families are rushed around and eat on the go and do not have time to eat together as a family. Many parents come home from work and either the other parent goes to work or the parents go to school or children go to extra curricular activities. Children need to sit and enjoy their lunch in a timely manner. I feel that it is a crucial part of development for children to learn how to socialize and to be social. // The state of Nutrition and physical activity in our schools i. school lunch periods //. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.bvsde.paho.org/bvsacd/cd59/obesity/cap1.pdf This article suggests that inadequate time to eat discourages children from purchasing and eating complete lunches. The article reported that waiting in line was the most commonly reported factor contributing to student dissatisfaction with lunches. When students did not have enough time to buy and eat lunch, they report buying snacks instead, buying lunch and throwing a large portion away, or skipping lunch entirely. Thirty four percent of schools in this study provided the last student in the lunch line with only 10 minutes or less to eat his or her lunch. Examples of effective strategies to improve school lunches were also included in this article. Some schools had seven lunch waves lasting 30 minutes each, and each wave overlapped by 15 minutes. Group 1 would come in at 11:15 and Group 2 at 11:30. At 11:45 Group 1 would leave and Group 3 would come in, and so forth. This allowed for relatively short lines and an opportunity of a full 20 minutes to eat lunch, even for the last child in line. To reduce behavior problems, some school provided activities for students who had finished eating. Some of the activities that were provided were card games, crayons and paper, and some teachers would even read stories to the children. This article provided creative solutions to one of the challenges that schools are facing, the management of their lunch period. Adding serving lines, staggering cafeteria entry, and finding constructive activities for students who finished eating provided enough time for students to eat and enjoy their lunch while socializing with friends. Vaishnav, A. (2005, August 6). School lunches are no picnic. //The Boston Globe//, Boston, Massachusetts. Retrieved from __ [|http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/08/06/school]  __ [| lunches are_no_picnic/] This article is about a lawmaker pushing to mandate 30 minute lunch periods in schools. It states how children’s physical and emotional needs are coming second to state testing scores. Children who do not at and socialize are going to go back to class and not pay attention. Cutting lunch periods short is not only a concern to parents but also to nutrition groups. Schools have reduced lunch time or kept it to a minimum and boosted up the time spend in class to succeed on the state tests. An eighth grader comments in this article that she gets about 20 minutes for lunch and never finishes a meal. I like this article because I feel it supports the children. Children are being taught to pass these standardized tests which can be beneficial to an extent but not when it is taking away from their health and social development. There are many things that need to be factored into the time that is allotted for children for lunch. Some students commented that teachers bring them down late or that the lines are too long. These are just a couple of the many factors that take minutes away from children’s lunch period. __ []  __ This is an opinionated article by a parent who feels that his children do not have enough time to eat their lunch. He states that his children are bringing a lunch from home to avoid standing in the lines that takes up a significant amount of their eating time. This article mentioned that they checked with a nutritionist at the Nebraska Medical Center who says a 15 minute lunch break seems too short to teach young kids how to eat properly. She says eating quickly could lead to obesity and doesn't teach children to enjoy their food. Her suggestion is at least 30 minutes for a meal. This opinionated article is a great point of view from a parent of a child. As a parent I would also be sending my child with a lunch from home if they were having to stand in lines so long that they did not have enough time to eat their entire lunch or enjoy their meal with friends. Children are eating so fast and having to rush back to class. I remember how the lunch lines were in high school and a majority of children resort to the vending machines and the snacks that they can purchase quickly and sit down to eat. I also remember buying snacks or candy at the end of lunch to take back to class with me. Children are not eating properly and therefore they are not focused on learning and it is extremely unhealthy for their development. .