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July 05, 2005
Healthy Choices for Families
Helping your kids become healthy eaters
By David Leonard
Helping your child develop good eating habits has never been more important. Indeed, health experts predict that one in three children born in 2000 eventually will develop diabetes in his or her lifetime, unless diet and exercise habits improve.
According to Ellyn Satter, a widely respected authority on feeding children, toddlers and older kids are more likely to become healthy eaters if they can decide how much and whether to eat, while the adults decide when and where to eat and what to offer. She calls this arrangement the "division of responsibility in feeding."
Satter believes most eating problems and food battles happen when parents or other caregivers try to dictate what and how much to eat or when they fall short on their seven key feeding responsibilities:
1. Be a positive role model - it works!
2. Provide healthy meals and snacks with a variety of foods.
3. Keep a set schedule for meals and snacks: Most kids need to eat every two to three hours. Time snacks so kids are ready to eat again at mealtime.
4. Eat meals with your kids whenever possible. It promotes strong families, a sense of support and better nutrition. Moreover, it helps kids learn manners, respect and values, as well as how to talk and listen. Let everyone share their news or thoughts but avoid conflict and anger. Turn off the TV or radio.
5. Teach kids age-appropriate skills for helping in the kitchen.
6. Promote healthy weight by offering mainly healthy food choices and encouraging physical activity.
7. Agree on dietary and feeding guidelines with your spouse or partner.
The child’s job deals with eating. Letting him decide how much and what to eat from a meal or snack and whether to eat eliminates a major source of power struggles. It’s also the only way your kids will learn to sense when they’re full, and that’s vital to prevent habitual overeating.
Kids should also behave reasonably well at the table but don’t be too strict. Teach kids to turn down food with a polite "no thank you" rather than a "Yuk!"
The division of responsibility has a high success rate if adults fulfill their roles. "If parents do their jobs with feeding, children do their jobs with eating," says Satter.
So, what happens if your child doesn’t like the meal you prepared? Calmly say something like "Well, OK," but don’t turn into an apologetic, short-order cook ready to satisfy every request. If you provide healthy meals and snacks with a variety of foods, you’ve already done your part.
With every meal, offer milk and a grain food like rice, pasta, or bread (make half of these choices whole grain). Kids will usually eat these if all else fails.
Some other tips: All kids have times when they’re not hungry. They won’t become malnourished by missing a meal or going on a temporary food jag. In fact, the large majority will meet their nutrient needs for growth and wellness if you do your job of feeding.
Resign from the "clean plate" club.
Don’t use food to bribe, reward or punish. Use praise and attention as rewards. Bribing a child with dessert if she eats her spinach sends the clear message that spinach is yucky. Overuse of food to console a sick or upset child encourages overeating for emotional comfort. Use hugs or kind words instead.
The best time to introduce new foods is usually between 12 and 21 months when kids are putting everything in their mouths. "Neophobia" (fear of new foods) is normal for older toddlers and preschoolers. It usually starts around 21-24 months and begins to wane by age three 3 or 4. Picky eating also results from kids wanting to make their own decisions and be more independent.
Introduce only one new food at a time and in small amounts (one to two tablespoons). Offer it in a calm and neutral way since kids naturally resist persuasion.
Continue to offer the new food at least once or twice a week for up to 15 times (most parents give up after just two to three attempts). Try preparing the food in different ways and don’t make a big deal about rejection. Young children typically accept new foods only after many refusals.
Try reverse psychology like saying, "If you don’t want your vegetables, I’ll eat them."
Forcing a child to eat a food only worsens the power struggles or increases the dislike of the food. If you do use a "one no-thank-you bite" policy, let the child choose the bite’s size, however small.
More information on the division of responsibility is available at Ellen Satter’s Web site, www.ellynsatter.com.
Posted by Lisa at July 5, 2005 10:07 AM
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