Rainbow Blog

Children on Proper Diet

posted by: Kia

I have had the pleasure of connecting with the team from Precise Portions and I was so thrilled when they agreed to share a guest post on our site!  I think their dishes are fantastic, such a great visual reminder for parents and children as to the idea portion sizes we should be aiming for with our meals! Enjoy their article…

Every parent has the goal of making their children partake of foods that are healthy and nutritious.  Alongside that goal should be the proper amount on each food group to ensure balanced nutrition in
achieving good health.

Infants rely solely on milk, preferably breast milk or supplemental milk in cases that there are factors that do not permit breast feeding.  Come weaning at 4 to 6 months, these children start their voyage to eating.  Semi-solids to solids progressions takes time, but during these times, proper food choices have to be seen to already.  And as these children jump to being babies to pre-school, more and more food varieties are introduced anddisclosed to them.  Their feeding habits also are starting to develop at this early stage.  Therefore, parents should be sensitive not just to their needs but also to the training for them to carry healthy food habits onto adulthood.

Knowledge of the essential nutrients is important.  The GO, GROW and GLOW foods will have to be the main focus of the child’s diet.  Carbohydrates are the energy giving foods that makes us “go”.  The daily diet should be composed of 6 servings of carbohydrates such as rice, corn, bread, noodles, oats, cereals and the likes.  They are complex carbohydrates.  Sugar and sweets also are carbohydrates but are classified as simple carbohydrates that have to be limited to adults and even to children since they are a concentrated source of calories which becomes stored if not used up.   With all the active playing they do, they need energy to make them last the day but let us get that energy from healthy choices.  Fruits belong to this category of being a carbohydrate, but have a separate requirement of 2 servings per day for the vitamins and minerals they contain, which the body needs for all the processes to function well.  They are classified as “glow” foods for that benefit together with the vegetables which also are good sources of varying vitamins and minerals.  3 servings of vegetables per day are recommended, leafy vegetables being next to unlimited per serving and fruit vegetables to 1 cup per serving.  The “grow” foods are essential for muscle building and they get that from the supposed 2 servings of milk per day.  Incorporate other dairy products such as cheese for the 2 servings that comes from meat groups that include other protein foods such as fish, poultry, egg and other seafoods.  The tip of the food pyramid guide is reserved for fats and sweets we cannot do without.  We limit getting calories from these food groups because just as mentioned above they are concentrated source of calories that are stored.

The “quality” of these essentials also has to be given importance.  Good fat over unhealthy fat will have to be considered early on.  Let us not go with the misconception that “they are still young and that fat consumed will still melt away as they grow”.  It won’t.  Saturated fats from visible fats of meat will start to be left behind in the linings of the heart and will accumulate through the years. Train your child to prefer fish, expose them to better preparations of food which are those that are not fried such as baked, grilled, boiled, steamed or poached and to encourage them to always have fruits and vegetables every meal because aside from the natural vitamins and minerals, they also contain large amounts of fiber that is beneficial in good elimination to prevent constipation and in the avoidance of diseases of the heart, diabetes, and cancers.

Children naturally live on routine.  They follow this routine and get used to it.  Let us include in the routine the healthy eating.  Make them eat small but frequent feedings, let them sit at the table and ensure that they are used to having healthy foods each time. The sweets can be given as treats and should not be included as routine.

Expect the learnings to grow with them.  Be also aware that since children live by example, it will be easier to train them while you follow the same healthy routine, choose the healthy options and to enjoy the bonding time and the learning together.

Author Bio:

Introducing Precise Portions, a dietitian-designed portion control dinnerware system that makes it easy to eat well for adults and children alike. Taking the guesswork out of healthier eating; retraining you to eat the right amounts of the right foods, in the right proportion. In addition to the dinnerware, each set comes with instructional materials: a Quick Start Guide to Healthy Eating and a specially
designed placemat which doubles as a daily meal planner & worksheet. You can find more healthy eating information & practical tips on Precise Portions blog.