Ask The Expert is a weekly column on Littlestomaks.com. The idea is to have a reader-submitted question answered by a nutrition expert or a pediatrician. Feel free to submit your question in the comments section below.
This week, Dr. Dina Rose offers a few handy tips on what to do if your child has a snacking habit and if he wants to eat snacks even at regular mealtimes.
|
|
|
| Dina R. Rose, PhD | |
|
Question: My child wants to munch on snacks all the time. How can I manage it so he can still sit with us for dinner and eat a regular meal?
Answer:
Lots of kids want to snack all day long and with all the tempting stuff out there, can you really blame them? But snacking, as I’m sure you know, is a problem on many fronts. For starters, most snack foods are nutritiously inferior, so when snacking replaces regular meals, kids end up missing out on a lot of important nutrients. More importantly, though, kids who constantly snack develop a snacking habit and snacking, experts agree, is one of the main causes of obesity in America.
If you want to cut back on your child’s snacking you have to figure out why he prefers to eat in-between, rather than at, meals. Is he stuck in a cycle where he doesn’t eat enough at breakfast so he over-snacks before lunch, so he isn’t hungry for lunch and then over-snacks …? In this case, simply cut out (or cut back) the mid-morning snack. Lunch should improve, which will reduce your child’s need for an afternoon snack so dinner…
Alternatively, is your child reluctant to eat at mealtime because snacktime is on-the-go? Lots of kids go through a stage where they’d rather play than eat, particularly if they’re not that interested in food to begin with. If this is the root of your problem, try letting your child eat (at least some of) his meals while he’s playing. After all, it’s not a hard and fast rule that all meals must be eaten at the table. You also could start serving snacks at the table. That would reduce the time your on-the-go-eater spends eating them.
Finally, if your child prefers to hold out for snack time because that’s when the fun items are served — crackers, sweetened yogurt, cookies — change the kinds of foods available for snacking. After all, if your child was eating his daily allotment of fruits and veggies for snacktime, you would probably be less worried about mealtime.
Of course, no matter which path you pick, be prepared for a meltdown. Changing the game might be necessary but don’t expect your child to see it that way.
Good luck and let me know how it goes.
©2010 Littlestomaks.com. All Rights Reserved
Disclaimer – Information provided in Ask The Expert column on Littlestomaks.com is intended to give you general guidance on a question related to toddler nutrition. It is not meant to be treated as medical advice. You are welcome to contact this expert for a detailed consultation on your specific situation to determine what actions, if any, you should take regarding nutrition and health of your toddlers. We do not recommend you to take any action based solely on the information presented in this column. Experts have agreed to provide their professional opinion on toddler nutrition related questions on a voluntary basis and no compensation is offered to them by Littlestomaks.com.
{ 0 comments }

![[del.icio.us]](http://www.littlestomaks.com/blog/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/delicious.png)
![[Digg]](http://www.littlestomaks.com/blog/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/digg.png)
![[Facebook]](http://www.littlestomaks.com/blog/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/facebook.png)
![[Google]](http://www.littlestomaks.com/blog/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/google.png)
![[Newsvine]](http://www.littlestomaks.com/blog/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/newsvine.png)
![[StumbleUpon]](http://www.littlestomaks.com/blog/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/stumbleupon.png)
![[Technorati]](http://www.littlestomaks.com/blog/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/technorati.png)
![[Twitter]](http://www.littlestomaks.com/blog/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/twitter.png)
![[Email]](http://www.littlestomaks.com/blog/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/email.png)









