Influence of Children’s Feeding Status on School Attendance in Early Childhood Develoment Programs in Meru County

Abstract

A school feeding program is essential to provide a balanced diet to ECD children which would in turn enable the children to increase their attention span hence better academic achievement. In this study it was hypothesized that school feeding program has an impact on the success of academic achievement at ECDE level. The school feeding program is a crucial component in the development of a holistic child. Nutrition and health are powerful influences on a child’s learning and how well a child performs in school. The effect of under nutrition on young children aged 0-8 can be devastating and enduring. In the areas of cognitive development, when there is no enough food, the body has to make decision about how to utilize the limited food stuffs available. The study was sought to investigate the effects of Feeding status on school attendance of children in early childhood programs in Meru County. The study delved in depth on how balance diet, the number of times meals are taken, quantity of food taken and health status of the children influence school attendance. The research design guiding the study was descriptive; the target population was 44 preschools comprising of teachers and children. The sample size was selected through stratified random sampling and simple random sampling. Data was collected by use of interview guide and questionnaires. Data was edited for completeness, coded and analyzed using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS), then presented in graphs, tables, frequencies, percentages and charts. The findings revealed that there is a relationship between SFP and children’s school attendance and enrolment. This implies that there is a need to provide SFP in Meru County. Stakeholders that include the County government should work hand in hand to provide SFP in preschools