How many times as parents we have been frustrated because our children won’t eat the foods we know to be healthy for them. Simply being informed about a healthy diet for children is not enough. If your child does not want to eat healthy foods, it does them no good at all. So as parents what do we do? Give up and take the path of least resistance? This path is serving so many parents in our homes which we know leads to poor health. Are we doing what’s best for our children or what’s convenient for us? Our children deserve better. But how do we convince them of that and all the more convince ourselves to take the best and not the easy path.
Start from the very beginning. You can give your child a solid foundation with good nutrition by breastfeeding for as long as possible. Breast milk is vital to a baby’s growing body and developing immune system. Let your child decide when it’s time to wean. Begin to give your children a healthy whole foods diet the moment you start them on solids.
When children get older, they learn quickly from their peers, adverts around them that there are foods that are quite different and may seem more appealing than what they are used to getting from mother at home? Or if healthy eating is not the norm to you and your family, your kids may be quite obsessed with junk foods themselves. It’s not a good idea to force healthy foods into your children. Start slowly and gradually substitute with appealing alternatives. Kids need to be able to indulge now and then in sweets or something chatpata, but a “well-nourished” child does not regularly crave sweets or chips. Try not to label a food (or your child) “good” or “bad”. This can create guilt and shame around wanting unhealthy foods, causing cravings and food addictions. A better way may be to call foods such as spinach/ bottle gourd or whole grains “everyday” foods and cake, chips and cookies “sometime” foods. If children are forced to “empty their plate” or are bribed with desert, they may feel that healthy eating is a chore or pressure. Some parents even serve a desert or junk food with the meal so all foods have the same emotional appeal.
Eating should be fun and rewarding in terms of health for our body. It’s our responsibility to provide wholesome, nutritious foods and theirs to decide how much they want to eat. Kids will eat as much as they need. They will not let themselves go hungry. Meals should be relaxing, fun and pleasant. Nagging children to eat what you want them to does not work and is not helpful in any way.
It can be a real challenge to attend kid’s parties or other functions with “treats” consisting of sugar, white flour and hydrogenated oils. You know your child is going to indulge in them right away. I’ve learned not to ban these things entirely because it can create feelings of being deprived and wanting to have it even more. I put limits on it, making sure my daughter knows these are “weekend” foods for special occasions. I also take the necessary steps to boost my daughter’s immune system and include wholesome foods on daily basis.
Vegetables are the foods most likely to be shunned by children. But here again you must understand that it does not always help if you hide veggies in your child’s foods. You are assured that they had their quota of healthy vegetables for the day but your child never got the awareness to be able to make a choice when on her own. Still there are many creative ways to encourage your children to eat and all the more love vegetables. Children need to eat frequently and snacking is important. Avoid nibbling or grazing on filling foods that are not nutrient-rich or filling up on juice or aerated drinks or sweets. Make a snack of creatively appealing fruits or vegetables. Serving them with healthy dips like home made green chutneys or curd can make them more fun. When it’s mealtime, serve vegetables as a first course “appetizer” when kids are the most hungry; then add the rest of the meal after they’ve eaten the vegetables. Experiment with different sauces/ gravies to make them taste better and be more fun. Explore and find a variety of vegetables and, when serving ones your kids have never tried, get excited about them. You can mash or cream vegetables into gravies or soups or parathas/ theplas. Show them how much you love these wonderful foods. Set a great example by eating healthy yourself. I always say if you practice you don’t have to preach!
Get your kids involved with the growing, shopping and cooking of vegetables. Vegetable/ fruit shopping, monthly grocery shopping can be a fun shopping trip. Teach them what vegetables/ fruits/ whole grains/ pulses will do for their body and how important they are. Children are fascinated with and want to learn about their bodies. The more they are taught healthy habits, the better choices they will make. Most importantly, don’t give up too soon.
When you introduce new foods, try serving them at least five different times before giving up. Don’t take the first “no” for a final answer and think they’ll never eat it again.
Remember, you can do all this calmly without nagging or bribing your child and trust them to be responsible when given the freedom to make a healthy choice.
Tell them and they will forget,
Show them and they may remember,
Involve them and they will understand forever.
No comments:
Post a Comment