Edition:
March 2, 2007
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Nutrition Columnist
The dinner table standoff. Every parent has added a few gray hairs in a tense and lengthy negotiation over brussels sprouts, or spinach, or broccoli. Lets face it, most kids are picky eaters and getting them to eat anything healthy may feel like a police hostage negotiation. When you’re tired and have had a long day, letting them eat the junk is so much easier. With this reality, it is no wonder that childhood obesity and diabetes is so rampant. The years from infancy to 18 are the most important years for good nutrition, because this is when the body is building the foundation for the rest of its life. Most parents already know this, but getting the nutrition into your child’s body is a complete mystery. So here are some helpful tips.
Helpful tips
1. Make your kids part of the meal preparation. Plan meals at the beginning of the week and let your kids help you plan. Planning and shopping for healthy meals before your week begins will help you avoid picking the quickest and easiest option in the middle of the week’s chaos. It will also get your kids excited about the meals that they planned and prevent them being shocked when something green shows up on their plate.
2. Create fun meals. I work as a nanny part time and the kids I watch always expressed how much they hated bananas. One day, I decided that we would try the banana kabob recipe printed here. The kids had so much fun and ate every last bite of banana on their kabob, voluntarily!
Many times kids won’t eat foods because they don’t like the way they look. But when the foods are in fun shapes or designs, and when the kids are involved in the cooking process, they will be much more willing to try new things. Some great examples of fun foods are fruit and vegetable kabobs (on straws), cookie cutter sandwiches, making smiley faces with fruit and cheese or offering healthy dips for them to dip their food.
3. Give your child options, but healthy ones. Kids like to choose what they eat. By providing them with a few choices to pick from, they are getting the chance to choose. And if you only give them healthy options, then you will like their choice as much as they do.
4. Never force your child to eat. Children are the best regulators of their hunger. They will stop eating when they are full and will usually only eat if they are hungry. By making your children finish all the food on their plates, you are teaching them to continue eating even after they are full.
Also, if you use dessert as an incentive for your child to eat the healthy food on their plate, they will see the healthy food as punishment and the sweets as a reward. These learned behaviors can stick with them throughout their lives and result in poor eating habits.
5. Try, try again, then let it go. Research has shown that you may have to introduce a food about five times before your child will like it. If they still don’t like it after this, they really may not like that food. Kid’s taste buds are more sensitive so you may want to avoid bitter vegetables like asparagus and brussels sprouts until they get older.
But remember, even adults have preferences of what they like and do not like, and your kids will too. So if they still don’t like it on the sixth try, give it up and move on. You can try to introduce this food again when they are a little older and their taste buds are less sensitive.
Kids want to feel like they have a choice in what they eat. Unfortunately, parents know that if you let your child choose, their diet would likely consist of potato chips and sugar. All parents want what’s best for their children’s health, and the easiest way to ensure healthy eating habits is to instill them early and often. Getting your child more excited about healthy food and letting them feel like they chose that food, is crucial to keeping both child and parent happy and healthy.
If you have any comments, questions or article ideas you can e-mail me at Caitlin@praxischurch.com.
English Muffin Pizza
2 whole wheat English muffins
Tomato sauce
Low moisture mozzarella cheese
Green and red bell pepper, diced
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut English muffin in ½ and spread tomato sauce on top. Sprinkle cheese and peppers on sauce and place on baking sheet. Bake for four to six minutes or until cheese is melted.
Makes four servings and is a great way to introduce bell peppers!
Banana Kabobs
2 large bananas in 1/2 inch slices
8 tbsp peanut butter
4 straws
Spread 1 tsp. peanut butter on banana slice. Push straw through the middle of one banana slice and slide it down the straw. Repeat process until straws are filled.
Makes four servings.
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