Parent’s Perception of Nutrition of Their Pre-school Children in Oredo Lga
CHAPTER ONE
Objective of the study
The objectives of the study are;
- To ascertain the effect of good nutrition on child’s academic performance in Oredo LGA
- To ascertain the influence of parent towards school children balance diet in Oredo LGA
- To ascertain the perception of parent on nutrition of their pre-school children in Oredo LGA
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Concept of Nutrition and adequate nutrition.
Nutrition according to Levy, Digman and Shirrefs (1984), Danatelle and Davis (1998) and Okafor (2002), means the study of food and the process of receiving nourishment from the food we eat after digestion and metabolism. According to them, the body needs food to build new tissues and to repair tissues that wear out as a result of hard work or play. They added that it serves as fuel, gives us energy to work and play and keep our bodies warm. People’s physical and mental development and their capacity to learn, work and play their roles in society are wholly dependent on nutrition (Levy et al 1984) Williams (1981) explained that nourishing foods helps organisms to sustain physical life such as in breathing, working, resting, plying and sleeping. But because human beings are much more than mere biological organisms, according to Williams, food had many meanings to them other than simply physical substance. However, he maintained that sustenance could be fully obtainable when nutrition was adequate. The world book encyclopedia (WBE) on health (1966) explained further that well nourished persons have strong bones, muscles, teeth and healthy skin and blood.According to WBE, they felt good, had enough for their activities and appear radiant and vigorous. Also, the food and agricultural organization (FAO, 1992) address to the international conference on nutrition (FAO, 1992) states that people’s health, their physical and mental development and their capacity to learn, work and play their roles in the society were wholly dependent on good nutrition. On the other hand, according to WBE, poor nutrition commonly called malnutrition result when a person eats too little, food or the wrong kinds of food. Schroeder (2008) further explained that malnutrition is caused by a deficiency in the intake of nutrients by the cells of the body and was usually triggered by a combination of two factors namely; and also by frequent infections. All those according to the author, lead to deficiency disease attacks like children growing slowly or not at all they (children) may develop bowed bone and enlarge joints, dry/flaky and rough skin, may have decayed teeth, inflamed eyes and dry hair. According to Schroeder, they were likely to be anaemic tried and listless, and may even suffer nervous disorders. Makinde (1980) observed that in Nigeria, the average child has been assessed to start life at nutritional disadvantaged problems of developing countries that are compounded by high rate of population growth corresponding increases in food production and as a result there has been high incidence of malnutrition. Danjuma (1987) expressed that the most affected groups are pregnant women, lactating mothers and pre-school children. Makinde (1980) further stressed that the quality of the child’s nutrition during pregnancy and lactation was directly related to the nutritional status of the mother. Also, they stated that if at these periods the mother did not feed well, the child would also be malnourished. Makinde (1980) observed that in Nigeria, the average child has been assessed to start life at nutritional disadvantaged state. According to him malnutrition is one of the most devastating problems of developing countries that are compounded by high rate of population growth without corresponding increase in food production and as a result there has been high incidence of malnutrition.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research design
The researcher used descriptive research survey design in building up this project work the choice of this research design was considered appropriate because of its advantages of identifying attributes of a large population from a group of individuals. The design was suitable for the study as the study sought to Parent’s perception of nutrition of their pre-school children in oredo LGA
Sources of data collection
Data were collected from two main sources namely:
(i)Primary source and
(ii)Secondary source
Primary source:
These are materials of statistical investigation which were collected by the research for a particular purpose. They can be obtained through a survey, observation questionnaire or as experiment; the researcher has adopted the questionnaire method for this study.
Secondary source:
These are data from textbook Journal handset etc. they arise as byproducts of the same other purposes. Example administration, various other unpublished works and write ups were also used.
CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION ANALYSIS INTERPRETATION OF DATA
Introduction
Efforts will be made at this stage to present, analyze and interpret the data collected during the field survey. This presentation will be based on the responses from the completed questionnaires. The result of this exercise will be summarized in tabular forms for easy references and analysis. It will also show answers to questions relating to the research questions for this research study. The researcher employed simple percentage in the analysis.
DATA ANALYSIS
The data collected from the respondents were analyzed in tabular form with simple percentage for easy understanding.
A total of 133(one hundred and thirty three) questionnaires were distributed and 133 questionnaires were returned.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Introduction
It is important to ascertain that the objective of this study was to ascertain Parent’s perception of nutrition of their pre-school children in oredo LGA. In the preceding chapter, the relevant data collected for this study were presented, critically analyzed and appropriate interpretation given. In this chapter, certain recommendations made which in the opinion of the researcher will be of benefits in addressing the challenges of Parent’s perception of nutrition of their pre-school children
Summary
This study was on Parent’s perception of nutrition of their pre-school children in oredo LGA. Three objectives were raised which included: To ascertain the effect of good nutrition on child’s academic performance in Oredo LGA, to ascertain the influence of parent towards school children balance diet in Oredo LGA and to ascertain the perception of parent on nutrition of their pre-school children in Oredo LGA. In line with these objectives, two research hypotheses were formulated and two null hypotheses were posited. The total population for the study is 200 selected staffs of selected primary schools and parents in Oredo LGA. The researcher used questionnaires as the instrument for the data collection. Descriptive Survey research design was adopted for this study. A total of 133 respondents made headmasters, teachers, students and parents were used for the study. The data collected were presented in tables and analyzed using simple percentages and frequencies
Conclusion
The results of our survey reveal worrisome statistics pertaining to children‘s consumption of vegetables, fruits and fish. A particularly high weekly turnover of processed foods also signals underlying problems with children‘s nutrition as overseen by their parents. If we add together the fact that a high proportion of students also did not have a proper breakfast every school morning, we can see that there are serious challenges to children‘s overall nutrition. These issues have been borne out as a result of neglect by parents, and an insufficient awareness on their part about the consequences of malnutrition.
Recommendation
Children can also play an important role in assessing their own diets. Training them at an early age about nutrition can instill maturity and independence when it comes to food, leading to a lifetime of healthy choices, staving off diseases such as diabetes and kidney failure, and a lifetime of medication and visits to the doctor. Children are ideally suited as they have less on their plates, meaning that they have no jobs and mortgages to worry about, and hence can be engaged quite easily by teachers and care takers. Teaching children directly will mean that even if parents fail to practice proper nutrition, their children will be there to remind them.
References
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