It can be easy for you to find a variety of foods from all categories of the food pyramid – grains, vegetables, fruits, milk, meats and beans, and oils – that your child will like. All it takes is a little planning and strategy.
Teach Good Habits from the Start
If children are encouraged to enjoy a variety of foods from the start of their table-food days, ensuring good nutrition can become a lifelong habit. Children may not like certain foods initially, but some parents take the easy way out and simply feed their child what he or she will readily eat. The child quickly learns he can set limits on his parents – instead of the other way around – and the result can be an inappropriate diet with too much sugar and fat.
There are no “good” or “bad” foods. The keys to nutritious eating are balance, variety and moderation. All foods – including red meat, poultry, fish, vegetables, fruits, grains, dairy products and treats – belong in a healthy diet. Organizing your visit to the grocery store will help ensure you come home with a variety of good tasting foods that are also good for your family.
Respect Your Child's Preferences
Children should be expected to have personal likes and dislikes, but that should not rule out a whole food group. Those who don’t like broccoli may still enjoy green beans or corn. Don’t give up on a food too quickly. If your child won’t eat broccoli the first time you serve it, try again. A new food may not get a fair chance if the child is feeling tired or crabby the first time it is served. Also, just like adults, children can acquire a taste for certain foods over time.
Encourage children to try new foods. Serve them with favorites and tell children simply to taste the new item rather than insisting on a whole serving. A disliked food may need to be served 20 times before a child begins to like it. Parents can be positive role models by eating the same foods they encourage their children to eat.
Reward Positive Behavior
For toddlers, the business of life is play. So it’s tough for little diners to understand why mealtime should be any different. Ironically, sometimes mom and dad act like mealtime is playtime. For instance, playing “airplane” or “choo-choo” with a child who won’t eat rewards negative behavior and sends confusing signals to kids.
If a child won’t eat, simply excuse him from the table. When he does eat well, deliver plenty of praise. That way it will become evident that eating nutritious food is the best way to get lots of positive attention.
Don't Force Joining the "Clean Plate Club"
Remember the “Clean Plate Club” and your mother insisting on “just one more bite”? Except in rare cases, a child’s body tells him how much food is needed. Put simply – when he’s hungry, he’ll eat. It is much more important to ensure that the food your child does eat is nutritious than to force him to eat a certain amount.
With the increase in obesity among children, pediatricians and other health professionals stress the importance of developing healthy eating habits early in life. Youngsters need essential nutrients to grow strong muscles, bones and teeth as well as to maintain energy; thus, a child’s diet has major impacts on his or her development.
Make Snack Time Nutrition Time
For children, snacks should be an important part of a total nutrition plan. Because they burn lots of energy, children need a lot of calories. They may not get them all at meals, so snacks can be a great way to pick up nutrients they may have missed at a previous meal.
Junk foods are typically high in fat and sugar and low in nutritional value. It won’t hurt a child to eat cookies, candy or chips once in a while, but make sure these treats don’t replace basic foods.
Children have different nutrition needs depending on their age, activity level, gender, weight and height. A one-year-old needs about 1,000 calories a day and nearly every calorie needs to come from basic food groups. An eight-year-old, however, can eat 1,800 calories daily and cover basic needs in about 1,200 calories, leaving room for a few “fun” snacks.
It’s important to remember some very popular foods are, in fact, quite nutritious. Pizza, for example, covers three or four of the food groups. Low-fat cheese, yogurt and even ice cream are good supplements for a child who won’t drink enough milk. And some cookies, such as vanilla wafers and animal crackers, contain low amounts of sugar.
Make Eating Fun
Finally, making mealtime nutritious doesn’t have to mean it’s boring. Children prefer foods that are brightly colored and fun, like sandwiches shaped with cookie cutters. An always-popular snack at St. Louis Children’s Hospital is “ants on a log” – celery filled with peanut butter and topped with raisins.
Planning nutritious, well-balanced meals and snacks is one of the most important gifts you can give your child.
Common Questions About Kids and Food
- Is it OK for my child to consume sodium?
Moderate amounts of sodium are needed to balance water and minerals and help muscles and nerves work properly. Most children need no more than 1,500 mg of sodium per day. Read labels to find the amount of sodium per serving. Foods that contain less than 140 mg of sodium are generally considered low sodium foods, and foods that contain greater than 400 mg of sodium are usually considered high sodium foods.
- What about fat?
Infants who do not get enough fat in their diets may suffer from slow growth and development. Their bodies have to use other components of the diet - such as protein - for energy, and protein is a necessary building material for growth. Infants need up to three times as many calories per pound of body weight as adults. For youngsters over age of 2, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that the level of fat in the daily diet not exceed 30 percent to 35 percent.
- I've heard that high-fiber foods can cause problems in children, is it true?
Toddlers have small stomach capacities. Giving raw vegetables frequently will leave little room for anything else at mealtime and can shortchange the calories needed for growth. The key to good nutrition is variety and balance.
- How much is enough?
A good rule of thumb for child-sized portions is to give one tablespoon of a food - meat, fruit, vegetable or grain - for each year of the child's age. A four-year-old's serving of applesauce would be four tablespoons or 1/4 cup. But don't get hung up on details! Good nutrition is not tied up to a single meal - it's a process of offering smart food choices over a period of time.
- Are artificial sweeteners safe for children?
Because research on artificial sweeteners indicates many adverse reactions, a general rule is to omit them from children's diets.
Helpful Tips for Healthful Eating
Let your child eat when he or she is hungry.
Children under 12 need to eat about every three hours, so allow snacks. Just be sure your child is filling up on nutritious treats rather than empty-calorie foods.
Let your child eat anything nutritious at mealtime.
If breakfast is a problem, for instance, don't be afraid to serve a peanut butter sandwich, cold pizza or vegetables and dip. Serve pancakes with fruit at dinner if that's what your child likes. Sometimes the unexpected makes mealtime more fun, both for parents and kids.
Make mealtime a pleasant experience.
We all know life can be stressful, especially when it's been an extra long day with the kids or at work. But don't bring your problems to the table with you. Make mealtime enjoyable. Have some laughs and pleasant conversation. Both you and your children will eat better and feel great.
Be creative.
Your child doesn't like milk? Try a milkshake, yogurt, frozen yogurt or hot cocoa. How about cheese cubes or cheese sauces on vegetables? Sometimes your imagination is your best defense in helping your child eat a healthy, well-balanced diet.
This information was provided by the dietitians at St. Louis Children's Hospital.