In "Bread and Jam for Frances," by Russell Hoban, Frances' mother allows her to eat bread and jam at every meal when Frances stubbornly refuses to eat anything else. After two days, Frances breaks into tears and asks for the spaghetti and meatballs that the rest of the family is having for dinner. You won't want to try anything quite so drastic to encourage your children to eat healthy meals. But you do need to know what makes a good diet for children and how to encourage your children to enjoy healthy foods.
Dietary Guidelines
The USDA Dietary Guidelines contained in the Food Pyramid are well known to most Americans. A healthy diet for children and adults should include lots of whole grains, a mixture of colorful fruits and vegetables, a small amount of healthy fats and lean protein, such as beans, skinless chicken and lean meats.
Encourage Healthy Eating
Writing in "Relish" magazine, Hugh Garvey and Matthew Yeomans, authors of "The Gastrokid Cookbook," offer tips for ways you can raise your child to be an "adventurous eater." They recommend cultivating your own interest in fresh, healthy food, offering your children a variety of healthy foods, having your children of all ages help with cooking and adding a touch of salt and butter to make vegetables appetizing.
Foods for Children
Marion Nestle, author of "What to Eat," says that children are meant to eat the same foods as adults. She suggests saving sugary yogurts and fruit roll-ups, purporting to be real fruit, for occasional desserts, banning cold cereal marketing sites from your child's Internet explorations and staying on the perimeters of the grocery store when you shop with your children to encourage an interest in healthy foods instead of those that are processed and marketed with bright colors, cartoon characters and games.
Calories Count
The National Institutes of Health recommend that moderately active children ages 4 to 8 consume 1,400 to 1,600 calories each day and that children 9 to 13 consume 1,600 to 2,200 calories.
When you consider that a hamburger and fries contain 1,010 calories, before adding milk or a soft-drink, you see one reason why American children have higher rates of obesity in the 21st century than ever before. Consider saving chips, ice-cream and fried foods for only a once-in-a-while treat.
Control Portion Sizes
Parents in the 1940s and 1950s left their children a legacy of cleaning their plates because they remembered stories about the Great Depression and children not having enough to eat in developing countries. In the 21st century of supersizing, you need to foster a new ethic in your children. Set an example by leaving food on your plate in restaurants and teach your children by example how to stop eating before feeling an uncomfortable sense of fullness.
References
- "Bread and Jam for Frances"; Russell Hoban; 1964
- My Pyramid: Tips and Resources
- "Relish"; Raising an Adventurous Eater; September, 2010
- "What to Eat"; Marion Nestle; 2006
- National Institutes of Health: Balance Food and Activity
Member Comments