Importance Of Nutrition In School Going Children Ft. Dr. Ayesha Abbas

In this conversation I sit down with Dr. Ayesha Abbas. She is a nutritionist, a general physician, and someone who has spent over fifteen years guiding patients through the small, daily choices that shape our health. But the thing I loved most about talking to her was how she speaks about motherhood and food not as two separate worlds, but as one single responsibility we carry. She is not here to give you a complicated diet chart. She is here to remind you that the lunchbox you pack every morning might be one of the most powerful things you do all day.

We talked about what school-going children really need. The breakfast they rush through. The break-time snack that has to carry them until they come home exhausted. The flavors they refuse to eat. And the one thing so many of us overlook: a simple carton of milk.

Her own story started with a diary

Before she was a doctor, Dr. Ayesha was a little girl writing in her school copies. “I remember I used to write ‘Doctor Ayesha’ on all my books,” she told me. Her father wanted to become a doctor but could not get admission, so he became a pilot instead. He poured that ambition into his children. She was a gold medalist student, and when she got into medical college on merit, her parents cried. That desire never left her.

After marriage, life became a careful balancing act. Her husband is a top ENT surgeon with an unpredictable schedule. Emergencies called him away at any hour. She knew she wanted to work, but she also wanted to be present at home. So she chose a field where she could do both: nutrition. She completed a four-year master’s degree while her husband supported her, and over time, built three clinics across Karachi. Fifteen years ago, Dr. Shaista Lodhi helped her step into the media, and she has been teaching people about food ever since.

Why she fell in love with nutrition

Dr. Ayesha grew up in a house where health was always in focus. Her mother was diagnosed as a diabetic early, and her father had strict fitness checks every few months as a pilot. So from childhood, she watched her parents skip sugar, exercise, monitor their weight. Without any lectures, she gave up sugar in her tea at a very young age. “I am crazy about this field,” she said with a laugh. “It gives me such peace.”

What stirs that passion now is seeing how awareness has grown. Years ago, when she handed out diet plans, people would ask, “You mean we have to eat on a schedule?” Now, clients from every background come to her worried about their cholesterol, their joints, their weight, and they are ready to listen. The pandemic, she noted, showed us plainly: those who ate well and had strong immunity often escaped the worst of it. The body keeps score.

The lunchbox is not just a box of food

When a child leaves for school at 7 a.m. And returns after 2 p.m., those seven hours are packed with classes, activities, social stress, and mental exhaustion. Dr. Ayesha called this the most critical window. “The child is using the brain continuously, period after period,” she said. If they are not properly nourished, their concentration drops, their energy crashes, and their mood dips.

Her advice to mothers is simple but deliberate. Pack a lunchbox that includes carbohydrates, protein, and vitamins. A sandwich, yes. Fruit, yes. But then she said something that shifted the whole conversation: “And along with that, give milk. Because there is nothing better than milk.” She spoke about how, in developed countries, school programs actually provide milk to children during break time. Two key studies she mentioned, from 2009 and 2016, found that children who drank milk at school had better short-term memory, more height gains, and significantly improved academic performance compared to those who did not.

Why a flavored milk box changes everything

I asked her the practical question every mother worries about: how do we send milk in a lunchbox without it spoiling or being refused? Her answer was to reach for the small, ready-to-drink flavored milk packs that kids actually enjoy. “If we give the child flavored milk, then the benefits of milk stay, and the additional vitamins like A and D are added,” she explained. Vitamin D is crucial because without it, the body cannot absorb calcium properly. So that one carton delivers hydration, energy, protein, and the key vitamins that build bones, teeth, and concentration.

She talked about the pride children feel too. “When they open their lunchbox and there is their favorite flavored milk inside, their confidence goes up,” she said. They compare lunches, they share, and they know that milk makes them stronger. It is one of the rare nutritional wins that does not feel like a battle.

The vegetable trick that works every time

Every mother has that one complaint: “My child eats biryani and burgers, but will not touch sabzi or daal.” Dr. Ayesha hears this daily in her clinic. Her strategy is to find the child’s weak spot. Pasta. Noodles. Pizza. Chinese rice. Whatever it is, she said, “Add vegetables into that food.” Grate them, chop them fine, mix them in. The child gets the nutrition without the dinner table stand-off. It is not about hiding forever, but about building exposure without pressure.

She also asked mothers to bring children into the kitchen early. Let them peel peas, wash carrots, arrange a plate. Give them a small, safe knife when they are a little older, and let them sprinkle chaat masala on sliced cucumbers. When a child has touched a food, smelled it, helped make it, the relationship changes. Eating it is no longer a foreign act.

The small things that matter beyond the plate

Toward the end, Dr. Ayesha shared a couple of reminders that are easy to forget. First, sleep. Growth hormone is released during deep sleep at night. If siblings share a bed and disturb each other, that release can stop instantly. She urged parents to give each child their own sleeping space whenever possible. Second, schedule a nutritional check-up every three or four months. Just a simple height and weight tracking can catch issues before they become concerns.

And finally, she said something that felt like a family table rule: “Whatever day it is, let one meal be the child’s favorite.” If Sunday is the day they get to choose, then suddenly the other days become easier. It is the give and take that keeps love in the kitchen.

This conversation reminded me that nutrition is not about control. It is about consistency, a little planning, and the kindness of letting a child open their lunchbox to find something they are excited about. We are not just feeding bodies. We are raising humans, one school break at a time.