As the summer approaches, parents will face an added dilemma of how to help their children maintain a balanced diet while keeping them hydrated and healthy.
Habits acquired during childhood are hard to get rid of in adulthood. This rings true especially when it comes to eating habits. As the summer approaches, pop and other sugary beverages will increase in sales. Parents will face an added dilemma of how to help their children maintain a balanced diet while keeping them hydrated and healthy. So how do parents manage the diet of their kids during the hot months?
“As parents we need to keep the junky foods out of our homes as much as possible and make good healthy foods available to our children. When kids get on a whole foods diet (and engage in activity), their weight will naturally balance. Focusing on healthy foods is not only effective, but empowering and beneficial on far more levels than weight management alone,” says Julia O’Loughlin, a registered holistic nutritionist at the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition.
“Half a cup (125 ml) of unsweetened fruit juice is included in Canada’s Food Guide as one fruit choice, but when I talk to parents I recommend limiting fruit juice to special occasions. When a parent chooses to offer juice, it is best to give it with a meal or snack. Limit the quantity to just the ½ cup or less and only in an open cup while sitting,” advices Whitham, warning that unsweetened 100 percent fruit juice too can become a problem beverage.
She adds, “Diluting with water is not a better option either. This practice may lead to tooth decay, as it allows sugar to wash through the mouth all day long. It also interferes with a child’s appetite.”
So what’s the best beverage a parent can offer thirsty children during a hot summer day? “Water! That is all that is needed between meals and snacks,” asserts Whitham.
Loughlin says that one of the most effective approaches is to get the children involved in the food preparation process, and if at all possible, the growing process. She has noticed that children are keen about learning what their food is made of. Being creative about cooking is another.
“If you find a healthy food that your child likes, one approach to improving overall nutrition is to increase the nutritional value of that food by adding extra vegetables. For example, if your child likes hummus, you could add some kale into it and blend as usual. The flavour won’t change, but the nutritional content will be greatly increased.”
Additionally, she shares that cookies and other treats, if cooked at home, could have less harmful ingredients. “The sugar could be reduced and replaced with something lower glycemic, such as coconut sugar and the flour could be made into a 50/50 ratio of whole grain to refined.”
Like every other healthy habit, parents also have to teach eating healthy by example. If a child sees his or her parents eating a wide range of foods, but always forcing vegetables in their meals, chances are the child will not understand the values and benefits of eating them.
Teaching you kids some good eating habits from the beginning can ensure a healthy future. Whitham feels that a mistake most parents make is that they wait too long to introduce their children to healthy fruits and vegetables. As soon as a child is introduced to solid foods, roughly at around six months, parents should try to introduce fruits and vegetables too. Research suggests that this familiarity will carry forward and they are likely to accept eating these foods by the time they become toddlers.
She further adds, “Letting the child be in control of how much they eat, what they eat and whether they eat develops their ability to read their body signals better and to grow into healthy eaters. Long term eating problems, such as food sneaking and hoarding, and other disordered eating behaviours, can also occur when children are restricted to only ‘healthy foods’ and are not given enough food to support their appetite.”
Lastly, Loughlin feels that instead of always talking about obesity that results in body image issues that creates other enormous and long-lasting problems, why not talk about eating healthier. “I think the best thing we can do as a society and as parents is to simply educate children about the power of healthy food and make it more available to them,” she sums up.
