Your child is what she eats
Our eating habits begin to develop the day we are born and each one of us learns at an early age which foods we like and dislike. Young children learn by watching others and this applies to their eating habits as well. Through the foods we serve and the examples we set as parents and care givers, we can help children form healthy eating habits.
a) Setting a good example for children.
First, children learn by watching us in everything we say and do. So, practicing what we preach will go a long way in helping children acquire healthy habits. Eating with your children on a regular basis provides an excellent tool in demonstrating good nutrition. Eat your fruits and vegetables in front of the children.
Try to balance your nutritional needs based on the Food Guide Pyramid of at least six servings of foods from the grain section daily, three servings of vegetables daily, two servings of fruits daily, three servings of meats daily, and three servings of dairy products daily.
b) Use of snacks to ensure healthy eating.
Snacks are very important for growing children, especially those picky eaters who aren’t getting much in at meal time. Don’t expect your child to eat square meals everyday. Most children will meet their nutritional requirements over days or weeks. To supplement meals, snacks need to be nutritious, without empty calories. Encourage plenty of milk and water rather than sodas and empty calorie fruit drinks. Try not to allow snacks an hour before meals.
c) Stimulating interest in meals.
A good way to get your child more interested in their meals is to invite them to help with preparation. The toddler and small child will be so proud to tell daddy how he or she helped mash the potatoes. As the children grow older and you involve them more in meal planning and preparation, you will be teaching them good nutrition and providing them with worthy skills that will last a lifetime.
An important thing to remember is not to nag, push or punish your child in an attempt to make them eat. This will create a great deal of tension which only makes them defiant and in the end will not eat anyway. Use your imagination in coming up with creative ways to get healthy foods into your child such as by shredding vegetables and adding them to the child’s meal.
Developing healthy eating for toddlers (one to three years)
With toddlers and small children, keep the servings small. You can always give them more if necessary. Remember that their tiny stomachs are much smaller than our adult-sized ones. Don’t despair if you introduce a new food and they don’t like it right away. Wait and reintroduce the food again at a later point and some more after their taste buds have had time to mature. When trying to get your child to eat new foods, serve with familiar foods and encourage the child to just try one small bite. Never try to get the child to ‘clean the plate’. This can begin a battle of wills that expends too much energy for both of you. It may also result in the child not eating or overeating, which is not better. Most toddlers and young children like raw vegetables better than cooked ones because of the milder flavour. They love fruits because they are sweet and usually easy to chew.
Developing Healthy Eating for Preschoolers (three to six years).
As your child gets older and enters school, remember that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Studies have repeatedly shown that those who skip breakfast or eat unhealthy sugary foods such as doughnuts and pastries have a difficult time concentrating a few hours later.
If you serve cereals, use unsweetened or low-sugar cereals and sweeten them with slices of fruit or raisins. Most importantly, serve foods that the kids will eat, to give them a good start for their day.
Developing healthy eating for young school-age children (6 to 12 years)
As your children become teens, they will become more involved in activities outside your home and fewer meals will be eaten at home. Offer advice about healthy foods to eat in restaurants such as salads and vegetables, substituting milk and/or juice for sodas, selecting low-fat foods such as grilled chicken sandwiches instead of hamburgers and baked potatoes instead of deep fried potato chips. Always try to have family meals at least two or three times a week to monitor your child’s eating habits.
Keep healthy snacks available, since at this time much of the eating is done on the run. Good tasting foods that can make for nutritional snacks include popcorn, crackers, fruits, frozen fruit juice, nuts, low-fat yogurt, and low-fat milk.
The writer is a nutrition expert
END:BL26/12-13