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 recommends applying 3 simple principles of managing proportions, offering a variety of foods and eating in moderation to build lifelong healthy eating habits in children.
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| Dina R. Rose, PhD |
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Question: What tactics/habits can I use to help my daughter build a life long love of healthy eating? I feel as though she has a great approach to eating now (even at 4!) but I’d love to know how to keep that going through the tough teen years and beyond.?
Answer:
This is a terrific question! Many parents get hung up on the details of food consumption right now, but you’ve got your eye on the prize: giving your daughter a lifetime of healthy habits.
So here’s the bad news: Once your child hits her teens, you can’t do anymore.
And now the good news: If you build a good food and eating foundation for your daughter, she’ll end up OK, no matter what happens in her tough teen years. And believe me, horrible food stuff — overloading on pizza, fries and other teen treasures — is definitely going to happen.
Helping your daughter develop a good relationship with food isn’t terribly complicated — if you avoid worrying about the nuances of nutrition. Instead, teach your daughter the 3 primary principles of eating right:
Proportion: It doesn’t matter whether your daughter has eaten vegetables on any given day, or how many cookies she’s consumed. What matters is getting the ratios right in the long run. Is your daughter’s overall diet dominated by the really healthy stuff — fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat proteins? Do the truly healthy foods outweigh the moderately healthy foods — crackers, sweetened yogurt, macaroni, hot dogs or cheese? Can you safely say that both these categories overshadow the junk? Think in terms of weeks, not days.
Variety: A diet that includes a broad range of foods isn’t only the healthiest, packing in a range of nutrients, but it’s also the most fun. Keep your daughter’s love of food alive by exposing her to new items, new cuisines and new creations on a regular basis. You can also add variety to her diet by mixing up old standards. And remember, breakfast’s not just for cereal anymore. You can serve humus, tuna, and beans in addition to waffles, pancakes and toast.
Moderation: Moderation may be the trickiest principle to apply because it’s impossible to know how hungry your daughter is. That means you’ve got to leave it up to her, even if it seems like she’s eating too little or too much. But the real trick to moderation is even trickier: ensuring that you teach your child to eat only when she is hungry and not because she’s bored, sad or lonely.
Read more about applying these principles.
Beyond teaching these principles, the only thing you need to remember to produce a happy and healthy eater is Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff. The ebb and flow of moods, of eating, of schedules… of life means you can’t get too bogged down in the details. Make sure you’re clear about the principles you’re teaching and then take a step back. Some days will go better than others, but what’s important is preserving as stress-free zone around food as possible.
Good luck and let me know how it goes.
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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.
