One of the first things I learned as a parent of developing children i.e past the baby phase when they start eating proper food, is never to refer to unhealthy food as a ‘treat’! What a mindset shift that was. I struggled with it to start with, because it was ingrained in me, that a ‘treat’ is something you deserve for doing something good. I even took this into adulthood when I replaced my childhood treat (a chocolate bar or a pick n mix), with alcohol. I’ve worked hard today, so I’m going to ‘treat’ myself to a glass of wine (I don't do that anymore, of course!).
The fact of the matter is, it isn’t a treat for the body at all, rather a treat for the mind! So I replace the word ‘treat’ with ‘unhealthy’. Yikes, I hear you shout, what a horrible mother telling her children they can have an unhealthy snack today. But, it has made the world of difference the older and wiser they have become. They think twice about what they choose to eat, as they appreciate that their choice of fast food or ice cream or chocolate is unhealthy. It doesn’t stop them from eating it (that was never the intention), it was to get them thinking about what they are eating as a whole and limit the number of unhealthy foods they consume on a daily, weekly basis.
Children’s diets from the age of 5 should be based on the principles of the Eatwell Guide and include plenty of starchy carbohydrates, fruit and vegetables, and some protein and dairy foods. The Government guidelines state that children should eat at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables every day and drink 6 glasses of water, but if I had my way, it would be even more fruit and vegetables!!
If your child is suffering from poor nutrition, they may display the following signs:
being underweight, overweight or obese
constipation or changes in bowel habits
being pale or lethargic
tooth decay
poor physical growth
behavioural problems
sleep issues
problems with emotional and psychological development
poor concentration or difficulties at school
Kids Life Coaching helps children establish a healthy eating pattern, encouraging them to think about what they are eating and drinking so that they can make good choices about their daily eating habits. When children become active participants in making decisions, they feel empowered to succeed. We encourage them to drink their recommended daily amount of water and eat from a rainbow plate!
Encouraging children to improve their eating patterns has the following benefits:
Improves their mind
Improves their mood
Helps them maintain a healthy weight
Helps improve their mental health and conditions such as depression, anxiety and ADHD
Stabilises their energy
Sets them up for a healthier lifestyle as they move through their adolescent years.
Nutrition is of paramount importance to a developing child. With more parents working, increasing numbers of children are spending long periods of time in childcare outside their own homes, and families not eating together at the table, this has implications for their dietary intake, as a large proportion of meals and snacks are now eaten away from the home.
A healthy balanced diet helps establish a foundation for your child to apply throughout their life. As they get old they understand more about how various affect them, so you can speak to them about this if they start developing really unhealthy habits.
Some things that you can do at home include:
Eat a healthy, varied diet, try and have healthy snacks to hand.
Limit the number of foods, drinks and snacks high in fat and/or calories.
Eat together as often as possible
Limit the amount of junk food eaten
Cut down on sugary drinks and snacks, like cake, biscuits and chocolate
With my own children, I decided to put the responsibility in their hands, simply reminding them of a few things now and again if they decided to reach for the unhealthy stuff too often. They are of an age now where they want to look after themselves on the outside, so I remind them that drinking water is good for their skin (and their concentration levels), that too much sugar can affect their mood (and let's face it, teenage moods are bad at the best of times, we don't want to throw sugar on top of those, right) and that cravings are natural but we don't always have to give in to them! Next time your child asks for a second or even third unhealthy snack in one day, ask them to think about whether they really need it, or they just want it! As my girls got older (from about the age of 12 onwards), their appetites fluctuated, one minute they were eating me out of house and home and the next minute, eating like little hamsters. To start with, I found this quite unsettling, I had all sorts of terrible things going on in my head, why have they stopped eating so much, what could be the reason, are they trying to lose weight, have they been influenced by the bad side of social media, has someone said something at school and worse still, have they got an eating disorder! Once my overactive mind had finished doing its worst, I decided to just talk to them about it and I was relieved to discover it was just circumstantial, time was short at school when it came to eating and the food I was giving them was not the easiest to eat while walking around the field. They were still eating breakfast and dinner, so I decide not to worry or put pressure on them to eat all their lunch because I didn't want to make it into something that it wasn't. Thankfully, they do like their food, just like I do.
If you are worried about your child and their eating habits, try and speak to them first about what the problem could be, bearing in mind it's natural for the appetite to fluctuate up and down during the teenage years.
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