| Healthy eating for children is more than just eating | | | | every meal. Most desserts have a high amount of |
| healthy foods. Childhood is the time when we learn | | | | sugar. This is another reason why waiting an hour or |
| healthy eating habits. Not surprisingly, it is also where | | | | so after dinner works well. It allows for some digestion |
| we learned many of these unhealthy eating habits. | | | | and perhaps, just maybe the family forgets about |
| 1. Clean your plate | | | | dessert; yes, it could happen. |
| This was a common phrase at the dinner table when I | | | | 3. Don't spoil your dinner |
| was growing up. We were expected to finish the food | | | | Not eating or not letting your child eat when very |
| on our plate. Yet, it doesn't fit in with healthy eating for | | | | hungry just sets you or your child up for over-eating. |
| children for two reasons. First, you are eating past the | | | | Have you ever been so very hungry that you just eat |
| point of being full. Just consider all those calories to be | | | | and eat and eat very quickly? What happens is that |
| extra--because they are. After you are no longer | | | | you ate far too quickly to register that you have had |
| hungry, you are just adding unneeded calories. Extra | | | | enough. When kids are made to wait when hungry, |
| calories get stored as fat. | | | | they get upset and then you have an upset child to |
| The second issue is that over-eating stuffs the | | | | deal with. |
| stomach. The stomach needs to be able to move, | | | | Instead try telling them how long till supper and ask if |
| gyrate and agitate the contents as part of digestion. If | | | | they can wait. Something like, "Supper will be ready in |
| it cannot, then the decreased mobility can mean food | | | | 10 minutes. Can you wait?" If not, suggest a light bite to |
| is left undigested in the intestinal tract. I have to say | | | | eat to tide them over till dinner. This works well with |
| that this was a tough habit to break. But when I did, | | | | husbands too. But the thing is, if they say they can't |
| weight maintenance became a lot easier. Ask yourself, | | | | wait, let them eat. I'm sure in this case they will still eat |
| "How does it help some hungry person far away if I | | | | the dinner you prepared. Another benefit is that they |
| overeat?" | | | | can see that they do have control over their own |
| 2. No dessert if you don't finish your meal | | | | eating and so, are less likely to act up at meals. |
| Here is another common mind set. In fact, a line from | | | | 4. You are going to sit there until you eat all your |
| Pink Floyd's song Another Brick In The Wall says, "If | | | | supper |
| you don't finish your meat, you can't have any pudding. | | | | This makes meal times stressful for your child. So let |
| How can you have any pudding, if you don't eat your | | | | me ask you: If you go out to dinner, do you make |
| meat." Pretty hard to argue with Pink Floyd, but I will go | | | | yourself sit there till you eat all you've been served? |
| for it. | | | | My guess is you don't. So why not afford your child |
| With this solution to healthy eating for children, you're | | | | the same respect? Surely, they have the ability to |
| not only having them over-eat, but then have them | | | | know when they have had enough or they don't like |
| jam down some dessert too! Isn't that taking "clean | | | | something. Remember their bellies are smaller; which is |
| your plate" to the next level by including dessert too? | | | | a good thing. So, yes they will probably be hungry |
| We are not just another brick in the wall; which I | | | | again later. Would that really be such a problem? |
| consider to be a more accurate context of Pink | | | | Raising healthy eating kids can be challenging at the |
| Floyd's point. We don't all like the same foods, nor do | | | | best of times. They need your guidance and |
| we all need to eat the same amount. | | | | encouragement. By avoiding these unhealthy eating |
| A better solution would be to eat till satisfied. Then in | | | | habits, you are less likely to have to deal with their |
| an hour or so, have a small dessert. You get to enjoy | | | | defiance. Defiance that you too, would show under the |
| your meal and dessert without over-eating and without | | | | same circumstances. It means you still have free will |
| missing out. Something kids would appreciate too, I'm | | | | and--so do they. |
| sure. Dessert is extra, it doesn't need to be part of | | | | |