Helping Young Children Develop a Healthy Relationship With Food

nuts, carrots or celery with hummus, or hard-boiled eggs.

5. Help them understand the origins of food. Take them to a farm or farmers market to interest them in vegetables, grains, fruit, and dairy. Let them experience the produce department and choose fruits or vegetables that look good to them.

6. Let them help. Include your children in the cooking experience. They may be more likely to try a new food if they help prepare it.

7. Be persistent. Introduce foods more than once with different preparation styles and seasonings, as taste changes over time. Choice is a key element to encouraging a healthy diet.

8. Lead by example. Parental influence is especially important in developing healthy habits. Expose children to a variety of healthy foods, praise them when they try new foods, and make sure others around them are eating well.

We’ve all experienced it, whether with our own children or watching the scenario play out at a restaurant: children negotiating for chicken nuggets or macaroni and cheese, or flipping out over something they don’t like on their plate.

March is National Nutrition Month, which offers a reminder that healthy eating patterns are about adding nutritious food that reflects cultures, tradition, personal preference, and budgetary considerations. This month also is a good time to remember that children’s early eating experiences shape how they eat as they grow older. That is why it is so important to introduce children to healthy foods from the very beginning.

Healthy eating can help prevent many chronic diseases, including obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes.

Good nutrition in children can:

• Stabilize their energy

• Improve their minds

• Even out their moods

• Help them maintain a healthy weight

• Help prevent mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

At about 6 months old, children begin eating their first solid foods, and need a variety of macronutrients (carbohydrate, protein, and fat) and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) to grow healthy and strong.

However, putting healthy food on their plate does not necessarily mean they will eat it. Here are some tips to avoid mealtime battles and keep healthy foods in the mix:

1. Offer choices. Let your child choose between healthy options, such as apple slices or celery with peanut butter. Giving them some autonomy may lead them to choose healthy food in the future. Prepare a dinner with protein and three vegetables, and then let them choose two of the three veggies.

2. Let them make their own plates. Meals generally should include a protein, a complex carbohydrate, vegetables, fruit, and milk or another calcium-rich food. Try to give your child options within these categories.

3. Combine new foods with healthy options they already like. Introducing them to a variety of foods may keep them from becoming fussy eaters later.

4. Make good snack choices. Snacks should be rich with protein and fiber to keep children full longer. Some recommended snacks include whole-grain crackers with cheese, apple slices with peanut butter,

9. Reduce distractions during mealtimes. This allows children to focus on the meal and to avoid overstimulation that makes decisions more difficult. They may notice more about the colors, flavors, and textures of the delicious foods they are eating.

10. Limit convenience and takeout food. Sugar often is added to breads, canned soup or vegetables, condiments such as ketchup, frozen meals, and fast food. Extra sugar adds empty calories and can contribute to hyperactivity, mood disorders, obesity, and type 2 diabetes.

Parents are not alone and have valuable partners in their children’s healthy growth. Annual pediatric well visits are important to ensure your child is a healthy weight, address health problems, and receive wellness tips.

Visit www.HealthcareSWFL.org or call 239-658-3000 to learn more.

YIRA DIAZ MENA is a registered dietitian with Healthcare Network, a primary care provider for children, adults, and seniors with practices in Naples, Golden Gate, and Immokalee. For pediatric patients who are unable to get an appointment with their primary care provider, Healthcare Network offers Pediatric Convenient Care as a same-day care option for minor illnesses.