Explaining calories to a child
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holographic
Posts: 78
I was trying to explain calories to a child of five and not having much luck....
New tact : Food turns into small electrical packets, electric that is needed to run heart/brain/lungs etc
Too little electric and the body parts cut out or slows down.
To much and it makes the body have to work harder and so, in a nut shell eat just right and if doing exercise, eat a little extra both before and after.... The child got it.
Is there a simpler way than this to explain it!
New tact : Food turns into small electrical packets, electric that is needed to run heart/brain/lungs etc
Too little electric and the body parts cut out or slows down.
To much and it makes the body have to work harder and so, in a nut shell eat just right and if doing exercise, eat a little extra both before and after.... The child got it.
Is there a simpler way than this to explain it!
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Replies
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Calories are the fuel that runs the engine. Too much fuel floods the engine, not enough and the engine stops??
Hey, what do I know? I have no kids! Lol!!0 -
Both explanations sound great to me!0
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If you don't want the biology side of it, and just the concept, I would think of it as a bucket with a hole in it.
When you pour water, or sand, or dirt, or whatever the child fancies into the bucket, it will leak out. If you keep pouring into the bucket, you can keep it full, but you have to get the pouring just right. Pour too much in and the bucket will overflow (get fat), pour too little and the bucket will empty (malnourishment) pour just right and the bucket will be just right.0 -
Personally, I went for the idea that calories are fuel and we need them like a train needs coal. I explained how eating more than you need can make your body turn food into fat totally separately. As an active child, I do not want my child to have a negative belief about calories.0
