Parent

Educate and Empower Yourself, the Parent

We’ve already talked about how important it is for you to be a good role model. Put yourself in your child’s shoes for a minute. If you’re sitting on the couch munching on chips and watching your favorite reality show, you can’t expect your child to grab an apple and go play outside. attention to their parent’s actions. If you want your child to adopt healthy eating habits and an active lifestyle, you’re going to have to walk the talk.

The truth is that parents often don’t know what a child’s nutrition and exercise requirements actually are. They don’t know how to walk the talk, and it’s pretty difficult to teach your child about health and fitness when you may not know what the experts know. So let’s take a look at the fundamental questions that parents have about how to teach their child good habits, starting with normal weight ranges for children and where their calories should come from.

Question #1 How Many Calories Should My Child Consume?

Normal weight for a child varies depending on body composition, age, bone mass, height and many other factors. Generally speaking, your pediatrician will give you a percent based on charts that compare your child’s height and weight to others. You can access these same charts at the Centers for Disease Control (http://www. cdc.gov/growthcharts/ clinical_charts.htm).

It’s important to remember that most children will get the calories they need, so it’s more important to pay attention to what they eat. The calories from a cookie are different than the calories from an apple. And the truth is that children burn calories at different rates. A teenage boy, for example, may need 1,000 more calories every day than a teenage girl.

The general recommended range for most school-age kids: 1,600 to 2,200 calories a day. It’s important to keep in mind that active children need more calories than non-active ones, and the more muscle a child has, the more calories they’ll need. But back to where those calories should come from…

There is a recommended daily allowance for protein, whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and fats. The RDA depends on the child’s age. For example, The RDA of protein, measured in grams, is: • Children ages 1 – 3: 13 grams • Children ages 4 – 8: 19 grams • Children ages 9 – 13: 34 grams • Girls ages 14 – 18: 46 grams • Boys ages 14 – 18: 52 grams

Children should consume 14 grams of dietary fiber per 1,000 calories they consume. Fiber comes from whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. Each child should have at least one serving of fruits or vegetables at every snack or meal. Every day a young child should consume about 2 cups of vegetables and 1.5 cups of fruit a day. As the child grows older, the amount of fruits and vegetables should increase.

Question #2 How Do I Teach Moderation When I Can’t Achieve It Myself?

If you’re struggling with moderation in your own life there are a few different ways you can approach it. First, when you make a mistake or mess up, forgive yourself. For example, if you sit down to have a piece of cake and end up eating half the cake, that’s not moderation.

Forgive yourself and learn from the mistake. As you learn about moderation for yourself, you can also teach your child what you’ve learned.

Consider creating “rules” for treats. For example, you might make Friday the night you have dessert after dinner. You might buy one bag of chips for the house each week and when the chips

are gone, they’re gone until you buy another bag next week. Another example of a selfimposed guideline or rule is to eat healthy six days a week and allow yourself to eat anything one day a week. Moderation is going to be a bit different for everyone. Find what works for you and help your child understand that food is fuel. It can be fun and delicious, however, most of the time it should also provide nutrition. Question #3 How Can I Teach My Child to Love and Care for Their Body When I Don’t Love and Care for My Own? Your child undoubtedly picks up your beliefs about your own body and appearance. When you don’t care for yourself, it sends them mixed signals. You may have issues with your own body and your weight. However, it’s critically important that you send a positive message to your child. And as you’re sending this message, you may learn to love your own body more. So how do you demonstrate to your child that you do care for and appreciate your body? • Go to the doctor. When you go to the doctor for checkups and for any concerns or illnesses that you have, it shows your children that your health and wellbeing are a priority. • Don’t criticize your body, or anyone else’s, in front of your children. Even if you don’t feel great about your body, criticizing it teaches your child to be critical of themselves. If you want them to love themselves, imperfections and all, then you have to show them what that looks like. • Take care of your body. Exercise, eat well, and practice good hygiene. Show your child what it looks like to love yourself and your body. • Don’t “diet.” Dieting sends the wrong message. It’s much different than the concept of adopting a healthier lifestyle. Making healthy food choices is different than calorie restriction or deprivation. And children with parents that diet end up becoming dieters themselves. The Boston Medical Center reports that approximately 45 million Americans diet each year and spend $33 billion on weight-loss products in their pursuit of a trimmer, fitter body. And most 10-year-olds have been on a diet. According to studies, more than half of 13-year-old girls have issues with how their bodies look.

Dieting and the dieting culture teach children poor body image and bad nutrition and self-care habits. Dieting at an early age also leads to eating disorders in both girls and boys. It’s much more productive and healthier in the long run to teach your child to develop healthy eating habits and to avoid dieting.

Question #4 What Other Habits Support Healthy Weight in Children and Prevent Obesity? There are actually a

number of habits for both children and adults that can help maintain a healthy weight. The first is probably the most important for any child and that is sleep. Sleep is the time when the body’s tissues are restored, hormone levels are balanced and systems get a chance to regulate and rest. Studies have shown that people who don’t get enough sleep tend to be overweight, more so than those who do get enough sleep. Children are still growing and they have special sleep needs. • 1-3 Years Old: 14 hours of sleep per day • 3-6 Years Old: 10-12 hours per day • 7-12 Years Old: 10-11 hours per day • 12-18 Years Old: 8-9 hours per day

In small children the sleep can be divided between nighttime and naps. Older children need to get consecutive hours of sleep because they rarely have time for a nap.

Another component that contributes to weight gain is stress. When a person is under stress their body releases cortisol, which is a hormone. If this hormone is constantly in the system it impacts blood sugar levels and causes the body to store fat. Some stress is a part of life.

However, if your child appears to be chronically stressed, you may want to get outside help to teach them coping mechanisms. A consistent schedule is also a good way to help manage a healthy body weight. Meals, snacks, sleep and even physical activity can become part of your child’s routine. It helps them, and their body, know what to expect.

Question #5 How Do I Get My Child Involved In Meal Planning And Preparation?

The answer to this question depends on the age of your child. If you have older children, you can simply make them responsible for a meal each week. They choose a recipe, with your approval of course, and make the meal. Younger children can take different active roles. They can choose from a list of possible meals to make with you. They can also help you with the shopping. When children are actively engaged in mealtime preparation and planning, they begin to think differently about the food they eat.

Small Changes Lead To Big Results and a Lifetime of Good Health

It’s tempting to overhaul the way your family lives – to eradicate all of the bad habits at once and to replace them with healthier habits. However, this type of extreme approach can cause a backlash. Children may be completely uncooperative.

If you instead make small changes to your family’s lifestyle, your child may not even notice. Make a list of the habits you want to embrace and one by one, begin integrating them into your life. Not only will your child grow up to be a healthy weight, they’ll have a solid foundation to make good decisions as adults.