Hello and Welcome to my first blog: I'm going to get straight into it. Kids and eating habits. We have all stressed at the dinner table. As parents I'm sure we have all had children cry and have even yelled "eat your dinner", I know I have. Most of us have probably bribed kids with dessert or treats.
Sometimes it just seems easier to give in and say "it’s OK" rather than make them eat what you think they need.
When do kids know they are full?
This is something that children have to learn. As parents we need to assess the situation: Are they just wanting to go off and play? How much did they really eat, is your child losing weight, are they growing, do they have plenty of energy? By asking these questions you can see if your child is eating enough.
We teach our kids, "Is your belly full?" if they say yes, and they have eaten a decent amount then OK.
If a child asks for food after dinner, but didn't eat their dinner.
What we do in our house is that there is never any more food unless dinner was eaten. for the older boys if the good food wasn't eaten then there are NO treats the following day, including Milo, juice, cookies, flavoured milk or anything that is considered a treat.
I have other friends that keep the dinner and put it in the fridge. If the child is hungry later the dinner is reheated and offered BUT nothing else. This worked well for them.
What is serving size for children?
The plate below is what portions should be of everything (as long as there are no allergies)
What is serving size for children.
The plate below is what portions should be of everything (as long as there are no allergies)
How much movement outside of school is recommended for children?
The recommended activity time for children 5-12 is at least 60 mins, up to several hours. Ask yourself does your child move fortwo hours running around a day?
How much time should my child sit in front of the TV or play computer games?
Children learn through play, so anytime a child is in front of a screen is not exactly good. Children can become obese, and this can lead to learning difficulties such as anxiety and attention problems. TV commercials can teach children that bad food is a good choice and the time they are sitting they aren't playing and running around children also tend to eat more while they are watching TV.
Current screen advice:
Children under two years should have NO screen time
and children over two years should be limited to 1-2 hours a day OF ANY SCREEN time, including games, TV and iPads.
Children need to be taught what a healthy lifestyle is, and as parents we should be leading by example.
No comments:
Post a Comment