A SURVEY OF MOTHERS NUTRITION KNOWLEDGE ON THE LEVEL Of NUTRITIOUS FOOD PROVIDED FOR THEIR PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN IN ASABA METROPOLIS DELTA STATE

This paper discussed the importance of mothers nutrition knowledge and practices in the provision of nutritious meals to children for proper growth and development. Three research purposes and three research questions guided the study. A survey research design was  employed, population consisted of all mothers who currently have child/children in nursery and primary schools within Asaba metropolis. A questionnaire and nutrition checklist was used for data collection and data collected were analyzed using mean statistics. Result revealed grand mean of 2.4 in research question 1, grand mean of 2.5 in research question 2 and research question 3 revealed that 17 pupils lunch packs were nutrient dens, while 33 packs were empty calories. Based on these findings, it was recommended that mothers in Asaba metropolis should be oriented with appropriate nutrition knowledge and practices through health centers during pre and post natal clinics and that Home Economics teachers in basic school levels should teach food nutritive vales and functions to guide food choice and consumption pattern among others.