February 9th, 2010

Often we as parents, worry about how much or how litte our toddler may be eating. Here are some common mistakes parents make when it comes to food.

• Parents panic if children do not eat three meals a day. Some parents think their children are ”picky eaters” because they seem to eat very little, especially at mealtimes. However most toddlers do not eat three meals a day They tend to eat one full meal and then pick the rest of the day
•  Parents overestimate how much their children should be eating at each meal. A good guideline is that a toddler portion size should about a quarter of an adult portion size. Just make sure your adult sizes are not too huge either!
• Parents give up too easily when children resist healthy food. Babies and children are often resistant to new foods. You need to keep offering the same foods often and the child is likely to eventually accept them. Studies indicate that it often takes 10-15 experiences with a food before some children will accept it. So don’t give up too early.
• Parents model unhealthy eating habits It is important to be consistent and “practice what you preach“. For example: You cannot eat chips and then expect your child not to. This goes for all family members, regardless of their weight. For it to be effective, the entire family needs to practice healthy eating habits.
• Parents often rely on “fast” foods and typical toddler meals just to get their child to eat. You can often fall into the habit of always serving chicken nuggets, pizza, and chips because you know your child will eat them. Try not to take the easy way out. A little advanced preparation and variety offered will encourage your toddler to try new things. make sure she sees you enjoying a variety of healthy food and she is sure to want to imitate you. 
• Parents keep junk food in the house. If you have junk food in the house, your children will eat it. Get rid of  junk food and offer healthy options like a permanently stocked fruit bowl. Then, because you know that you are offering only healthy options, let your child choose whatever they want to eat .
• Parents allow children to decide what they want to eat. Your child , within reason, can decide when to eat but  you decide what the child eats. Your child will not be undernourished if  she misses a meal or two. So if she refuses to eat the healthy food that you serve, cover it/put it away and wait. Sooner or later she will be feel hungry and, realising that there is no alternative, will eat it. (provided you have not given into the whining and given her a snack.)
• Parents allow children to eat in front of the TV. Children eat many more calories when they are watching television. This is becasue they are not focussing on enjoying the food, but rather are going through the motion of biting and swallowing, not taking notice of the bodies signals indicating that they have had enough. Meals should be a time for the family to relax and enjoy each others company. Turn the TV off, put away any ditraction like toys or books, and sit at a table away from the TV. Eat slowly and take the time to have a  family conversation. 
• Parents are not fully aware of what their children are eating each day. Because of modern lifestyles, both parents often work and everybody is rushing from activity to activity with littel time to sit and eat with their children. But the sad truth is that very few children will make healthy choices when left to their own devices. It is important that somebody is monitoring what the children are eating. Try to prepare food in advance and freeze portions ahead of time. That way if you are pushed for time and unable to make a healthy meal-you will not be tempted to get take aways, but will have a healthy home cooked meal available at a moments notice!
• Parents encourage their children to drink fruit juice. Children should be introduced to juice in the same way she is introduced to chocolate and sweets- as late as possible, in small doses, and as a treat. It is a very common misconception that juice is healthy. It isn’t. Juice has many empty calories and sugar.  The recommendation is less than 6 oz of juice a day for children under 6 and 12 oz of juice a day for children age 7-18. Start your child drinking water as a much healthier alternative. It is sugar free, thirst quenching and great for normal bodily function. AND it won’t rot their teeth!

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Tags: healthy eating, Promote healthy habits, toddlers and food

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