Food For Thought
Healthy children are happy children, and when a child receives the right amount of vitamins and nutrition, their bodies and brains will develop to reflect their diet. And that is very important.
Learning also becomes easier when children receive a healthy diet, and that makes parents happy. What children eat on a regular basis is important, but parents can’t be around every waking moment to make sure that their children eat healthily.
For example, when children experience food like vegetables cook and prepared in new and different ways than they are used to, they are more likely to eat these more regularly at home. In this way, by using all natural and fresh ingredients, while changing the menu of food with every season, children are promoted to eat healthier.
As children grow and experience new foods, child care providers may notice changes in eating habits or attitudes about certain foods. The following are important tips for child care providers to prevent unhealthy attitudes about food.
Accept different levels of food intake. Never force a child to eat. It is normal for children to eat a lot one day and almost nothing the next. If you offer choices from each of the food groups every day, children will adjust and eat appropriate amounts over several days.
Deciding how much to eat at a given meal or snack is the child’s job. Your job is to serve a variety of nutritious, tasty foods.
Know that food jags are normal. Preschoolers are especially likely to insist on eating the same food every day. Continue offering a variety of foods, even if a child eats only one thing. With time and patience, children will start to eat a wider variety of foods.
Expect some waste. It is good for children to naturally stop eating when they are full. Serving child-size portions will help cut down on leftover food.
Avoid bribing or rewarding children for trying new foods. These techniques make children believe that new foods are undesirable.
Never use food as a punishment or reward. Withholding food can make children anxious that they will not get enough food, thus causing overeating. Using foods like sweets or special treats as a reward teaches children that some foods are better or more valuable than others.
Respect and value cultural eating differences. Introduce children to foods from different cultures. Encourage children and families to share stories about their various cultures.
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Healthy Eating
As a child care provider, you are in partnership with children in fostering their healthy eating habits. Create a routine and provide nourishing choices. Engage children with smelling, tasting and feeling the food.
Have fun while you teach where food comes from. Take a field trip to the local farmers’ market or pick your own farm. Grow a garden and cook together.
Infants, toddlers, and preschoolers all, let us know when they are hungry. The way we respond to their cues will help them to be comfortable with eating a variety of foods and to respect their own hunger or fullness feelings.
Children can learn to identify and choose a variety of foods, practice language skills, and build relationships with teachers and other children. Child care providers can help make mealtimes a learning experience by setting up a relaxed, unhurried mealtime.
Here are some tips to make mealtimes a relaxed and enjoyable time together, rather than a hurried experience between other activities.
1) Sit with children during meals. Too many child care providers use children's mealtimes as a chance to do routine tasks such as setting up cots, cleaning up dishes, or sanitizing toys. Take time to sit at the table and share the meal with children.
2) Sitting with children encourages appropriate behavior, and gives children a chance to learn healthy eating habits by watching you. Even infants and toddlers enjoy sharing a meal with their child care providers.
3) Make mealtime a highlight of the day. Take time for conversation and fun, as well as food. Talk about children’s families, activities of the day, and the food you are eating. Discuss colors, shapes, and sizes of foods.
4) Talk about where food comes from. The choices for good conversation are endless. Taking the time to talk with children encourages language learning and social relationships as well as healthy eating.
5) Make it last. Children have short attention spans, but most can sit and eat for about 15 minutes, especially if you are talking with them and having fun. No meal should last less than 15 minutes. The stomach needs about 20 minutes to get the message to the brain that it is satisfied. If children eat their food in less than 15 minutes, it is likely they will not feel satisfied and will want more to eat soon after the meal.
Healthy Eating Info Here.
As A Parent, It’s Your Job Too:
- Set regular meal and snack times that work for the whole family. Share mealtimes and eat with your children.
- Offer a balance and variety of foods from all four food groups at mealtimes. Include at least two of the four food groups for each snack.
- Offer food in ways they can manage easily. For example, cut into pieces, or mash food to prevent choking in younger children.
- Help your children learn to use a spoon or cup so they can eat independently.
- Include your child in age-appropriate food preparation and table setting.
- Avoid using dessert as a bribe. Serve healthy dessert choices, such as a fruit cup or yogurt.
- Show your child how you read labels to help you choose foods when shopping.
- Avoiding fast food restaurants showsyour children the importance of enjoying mealtime as a family while eating healthy home-cooked meals.
It’s Your Child’s Job To:
- Choose what to eat from the foods you provide at meal and snack time (and sometimes that may mean not eating at all).
- Eat as much or as little as she wants.
- Don’t stress too much if your child refuses a food product or meal. Refrain from giving him something else in between meals just so that he eats. He will eat better for the next meal.
- Don’t worry too much if your child doesn’t seem to be eating enough. If his weight and size is on track, he’s probably getting what he needs.
- Just make sure to offer your child a variety of foods from all food groups to make sure he is getting the right nutrients. Your child’s doctor will monitor his growth at regular appointments and will let you know if there are any problems.
- Children’s appetites change from day-to-day, or even from meal to meal. Because they have small stomachs, children need to eat small amounts often throughout the day. Children know how much food they need and will eat the amount that their body needs.
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Conclusion
Make sure to use meal and snack time as a teachable moment to help your children make wiser food choices. Always strive for nutritious food, and meal plan timing. This may mean eating a little later to accommodate a busy schedule or setting aside some time on the weekends to sit down and eat together as a family.
Always Check In With A Pediatrician To Get Answers To Your Concerns. https://omegapediatrics.com/
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