|
t_Articles
t_Articles
My children seem to prefer all bad foods. How can I get them to understand good
nutrition?
Most nutritionists agree there are no good or bad foods. A better approach to
healthy eating is to recognise everything is OK in moderation. For example,
there is no reason why your child should not have fast food or candies
occasionally. Rather than banning these foods encourage children to recognise
them as foods which should be eaten occasionally, rather than daily. Reinforce
this message by offering a combination of foods to your child planned over a
weekly schedule with the greatest emphasis on cereals and starchy foods, as well
as fruit and vegetables. Involving your child in the planning of this, for
example getting them to help with shopping, preparation and cooking of foods
allows them to experiment and creates an ideal opportunity for you as a parent
to educate them about nutrition.
It is equally important that children view healthy eating as enjoyable and fun.
Experimenting with your child will instil a long-term interest in food and their
own diet, and help them to recognise healthy options. The emphasis needs to be
on simple factual information, showing your children that healthy diets are
definitely fun and achievable.
There is so much information out there on Nutrition, I get confused, HELP!!! –
who & what should I believe?
Unfortunately, there is a lot of misinformation around, and stories about food
and diet can be sensationalised. It is not advisable change your child’s diet
intake on the strength of one article in a magazine or news report. If in doubt,
or before making any radical changes to your diet, do seek advice from qualified
professionals – nutritionists, doctors, and dieticians, who can provide very
reliable guidance on healthy eating, based on many years of scientific
research. Also do browse around this website where you will find additional
information on healthy eating and lifestyles for the whole family. The bottom
line if there are no good or bad foods, only good and bad diets, the key to
success is to ensure variety with greatest emphasis on grains and other cereal
products, fruit and vegetables and low-fat/lean sources of protein and calcium.
There is so much in the news about anorexia and other eating disorders, I am
concerned that talking to my child about healthy eating and watching their
weight might lead them to become obsessive about their weight.
Eating disorders have a strong psychological basis, and are usually an
expression of low self-esteem or difficulties in coping with stress, rather than
concerns about healthy nutrition or body weight. It is therefore of paramount
importance to work with your child on their emotional well being, and to involve
a qualified and experienced practitioner such as doctor, or psychologist.
Although severe or prolonged eating disorders are a very serious health concern,
overweight and obesity in children is much more common problem and presents
serious health risks also. If you believe your child has or is at risk of
developing an eating disorder taking an active interest will not make this
worse, only show your child you care, and as long as the topic is approached
with sensitivity, provides your child with an opportunity to approach you about
their concerns.
I think my child is fat and is having a major impact on his/her daily life in
all areas – what can I do?
You have already taken an important step by recognising there may be a problem
and the need for action. Being overweight is detrimental to your child’s health,
and research has found that being overweight does have a negative effect on
self-esteem and their relationships with family and friends.
A good first
step is to assess your child’s weight and height. Growth charts, as well as
instructions how to use them, can be found at
http://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts.
As a general rule, BMI (Body Mass Index) for age on the 90th centile
or above indicates your child is probably overweight. The first target is to
prevent any additional increase in overweight, whilst maintaining a
nutritionally balanced diet. Encouraging regular physical activity is important
as this will help to prevent further weight gain.
Efforts to reduce overweight in children must be done very very slowly, to
ensure that their diet remains nutritionally balanced and provides all the
nutrient required for normal growth and development. Its highly advisable to
enlist the help of a specialist, such as your family doctor or a dietician. Your
child will also benefit greatly from your support and encouragement with lots of
positive feedback and involvement. For example, if you are trying to reduce the
fat content of you child’s diet, why not do this for the whole family, or make a
regular date to do some sport or go for a walk together.
Some tips to boost you child’s self-esteem include never telling your child that
s/he is fat, avoid strict diets or withholding or depriving your child of food
when s/he is hungry and don't overly nag your child about his/her weight or
eating habits. Also, make sure your child knows that being overweight doesn't
change what kind of person s/he is or how much you love him/her. This is
paramount to losing the weight long term.
I plan family meals with balanced nutrition in mind. How can I influence what my
child eats outside the home?
Educating your
child on nutrition will support their decisions whilst outside the home. Discuss
and encourage your child to value what they eat and to make a conscious effort
to eat healthy food. It is also worthwhile to offer your child a treat now and
again. This can be talked about and agreed upon, involving your child in the
decision making process will add ownership, and encourage them to apply the same
standards to their food choices wherever they are.
My children just don’t like and won’t eat vegetables, what should I do?
Don’t give up!! Fruit and vegetables are such an excellent source of nutrition,
and are naturally low in fat that it’s worth persevering. Keep trying new
vegetables and also remember to go back occasionally to the ones your child
refused previously as personal preferences and tastes change.
Also remember to emphasise the fun element and it’s important to never force
your child to eat something they don’t want/like. There is so much vegetable
produce on the market shelves these days, and an array of ways to cook and
present them that the possibilities for experimentation and adventure are
endless. Dress them up in different ways, offer lots of choice, and why not try
a theme meal (how about an all-orange packed lunch, or crazy-picture pizza) ?
Taking your child shopping and showing them all the different vegetables on
offer, asking them about their favourite colours, shapes, textures, asking them
to come up with ideas of how they can be cooked and what they would eat them
with involves them in the decision making process and encourages a more
adventurous interest in food.
Should I discourage snacking in my child’s daily diet?
In reality, a
no-snacks rule may be unrealistic — and even contrary to your children's needs.
Children's stomachs are smaller, so they eat less at a sitting. Snacks provide a
way for your children to recharge and sustain their energy until the next meal.
Instead of eliminating snacks, plan them and guide your children toward healthy
food choices. Make "snack appointments." Offer snacks at specific times, so your
children know when to expect them. Serve snacks about 2 hours before the next
meal and discourage snacking at other times.
Encourage
children to choose mainly low fat, low sugar snacks such as a slice of guava, a
few carrot sticks, rice cracker with savoury or sweet topping, a bowl of
wholegrain breakfast cereal and low-fat dairy or soy milk. No need to ban foods
such as potato chips, candies or ice-cream, instead encourage your child to
choose these less frequently.
My child is turning into a couch potato, she spends too much time in front of
the TV and hates any exercise, please help!
Parents are the
most important role model for children. It is therefore important that children
see their parents living and enjoying an active lifestyle. This need not be
organised sport – regular walks, using stairs instead of lifts and escalators,
playing outdoors with your children are all valuable ways to build physical
activity into both your and their daily lifestyle. Also to prevent boredom
setting in, include a variety of activity options in time spent as a family. For
example, invite your children’s friends to come round a play a game of
basketball, or join you for early evening walk, try a range of activities during
weekend leisure time such as swimming, cycling, skating, and bowling. Do
remember also that if your children participate in organised sports, to take an
interest and praise them for being involved, not just for their achievements.
PS: AFIC’s Take 10 Tips for healthy eating and physical activity
leaflet has more ideas on healthy lifestyles, and can be viewed and downloaded
by clicking on
http://www.afic.org/temp/Children%2010%20Healthy%20Tips.pdf
|
