The ten tips parents were offered at the meeting included:
You decide what and when and the children decide how much to eat.- Parents need to provide a wide variety of foods with different textures, tastes and colors and then allow the childrent to make the choice about what and how much they eat.
Watch what they drink.- Children can drink as much as 25% of their caloires in a day.- Limit 100% juice to no more than 4-6 ounces per day for children under the age of 6.
Promote physical activity.- Physical activity promotes a healthy appetite and a healthy child.
Help them develop a healthy attitude about food.- Your children are watching you! Set a good example.
Never make food a reward or punishment.- This is much easier said than done. When we offer dessert or candy as a reward it makes that food seem more valuable and we don’t want children to value sweets more than other food.
Start the breakfast habit.- Children who eat breakfast tend to have more adequate nutrient intakes, show imporoved cognitive function and are less likely to be overweight.
Involve the children in menu planning, shopping and meal preparation.- If they have helped, they are more likely to eat the meal.
Don’t stress over a food jag.- This, too, shall pass. Do your best to ignore it. Offer the food they like with a variety of other foods.
Watch portion sizes.- A rule of thumb is to offer 1 tablespoon of each food for each year of age.
-our thanks to Tammy Roberts
