Clinical Reference Systems: Pediatric Advisor 10.0
Eating Basics: Helping Your Child Eat Well
Good eating gives children the nutrition they need. You do
not, though, have to force children to eat certain foods or
control the amount they eat. As they grow up, children will
gradually learn to like a variety of food. They also know
how much they need to eat. Their feelings of hunger and
fullness help them eat the right amount of food they need to
grow.
Feeding children demands a division of responsibility:
- You decide what, when, and where to eat.
- Your child decides how much and whether to eat.
YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES
- You select the food.
You decide what food goes on the table. Of course, you
will pay attention to what your children do and don't
like but you don't have to be enslaved by their food
preferences.
You know more about food and eating than your children
do. They need to learn from you. It's a mistake to
limit the menu to foods your child will easily accept.
See A Healthy Diet
- You decide the best time for meals and snacks.
You decide when to offer meals and snacks. Children
need regularly scheduled meals. They also need snacks
at times that allow them to come to their regular meals
hungry but not starving. Their stomachs are small and
their energy needs are high. They can't make it from
one meal to the next without eating something in
between.
Don't give your children food whenever they ask for it.
You must remain in charge of the menu and the timing of
meals and snacks. If children fill up, even on
nutritious foods and beverages, they won't be hungry at
mealtime and they won't learn to eat a variety of food.
See Meals for Children
Snacks for Children
- You decide where your children should eat.
When children eat only at the table they learn to take
eating seriously. Children shouldn't run with food.
It's not safe because they might choke. It also makes a
mess. If children eat only at the table you are less
likely to give food handouts to ease their hurt feelings
and general crankiness.
- It's up to you to make meals friendly.
Studies show children eat best if someone they trust
eats with them. That grownup should be friendly and not
nag them about their eating. Keep thrilling
distractions and riotous laughter down. Children can
forget to eat or can choke.
YOUR CHILDREN'S RESPONSIBILITIES
- Children will learn to like a variety of foods.
When your child sees you eating an unfamiliar food, he
assumes that some day he will eat it, too. One day he
might taste the food, then remove the bite from his
mouth. He is not rejecting it. He is just getting used
to it. Research tells us children taste and remove
unfamiliar food for 10 or 15 meals before they swallow
it. Then they like it and will eat it -- some of the
time.
- Children change their minds about the foods they will
eat.
Children may love a food, then not eat it for months.
Or they may eat it some days but not others. They may
eat an enormous breakfast and snack, then very little
the rest of the day. They may eat only one or two food
items at a meal.
Children are erratic eaters because they are very
sensitive to their hunger and appetite. They will even
stop in the middle of a bowl of ice cream if they get
full.
- Children know how much they need to eat.
Every child grows differently and every child needs a
different amount of food. Some days children are hungry
and some days they aren't. Some days they are active
and some days they aren't. You have to trust that they
know how much they need to eat.
You can tell that your child knows how much to eat by
the way she grows. If your child's growth shows a
consistent pattern and you are offering her a variety
of nutritious food in a friendly fashion, she is doing
fine.
See Normal Growth.
Do your job, let your children do theirs, and they will eat
well.
CALL YOUR CHILD'S PHYSICIAN DURING OFFICE HOURS IF:
- Your child consistently eats poorly.
- You and your child get into struggles about eating.
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