Health Tips OCT 09
Posted by somovillager on October 9, 2009
5 Health Tips to Teach Good Eating Habits in Children
The growth of a child depends upon many factors including a loving, nurturing home life, adequate imaginative playtime, positive social interaction, good, restful sleep and eating foods that help to build a strong body, mind and spirit.
1. Breast milk for Babies – giving babies the best start nutritionally is by breast feeding. Breast milk is the perfect food for infants as it contains the best proportions of fats, carbohydrates and proteins which change in their proportion as the infant grows to support the growing process. High amounts of essential fatty acids (EFAs) like DHA are found in breast milk which support brain development. Substances found in mother’s milk aid in strengthening the infant’s immune system to help protect the child from allergies and chronic disease.
2. Meal Time is Calm Time - a meal environment that is calm with the presence of a lit candle, saying a blessing or holding hands before the meal or singing a song all add to the specialness of enjoying a family meal together. Eating without the television and choosing to not answer the phone at mealtimes helps to ensure the calmness.
3. Wholesome Meals – Choose to cook with organic foods as much as possible. Do not feed a child anything with preservatives, artificial colors or flavors and limit sugar, dairy and spicy foods. Give younger children small meals so that they can digest a proper amount of food for their smaller bodies. Encourage children to drink small amounts of water at meal times. Drinking too much at meal times dilutes the body’s own digestive juices making it more difficult for the body to digest the food.
4. Children as Chefs – One way to help a finicky eater is by having the child help with the making of a meal. For younger children it can begin at the grocery store where the child helps place the foods in the shopping cart and then at home it is the washing of fruits or vegetables, setting the table, pouring water, choosing which cloth napkin to use or tearing up lettuce leaves for the salad. If a child feels that she has been a part of the meal making process, she may be more apt to eat the meal.
5. Dragon Soup and Trees – Create playful names for food that will put a smile on the child’s face and engage them in eating the nourishing food. Broccoli are trees, bananas are monkey food or crescent moons, an apple cut in half horizontally has a magical star in it (the seeds), and naming soups, stews or salads with a fairy tale character in mind helps the child to relate the food to something that they already love. Have fun!
Kimberly Landino, ND
Naturopathic Medicine
6106 S. 32nd Street
Phoenix, AZ 85042
480-720-3045
