Here's a look at elevent common mistakes parents make when feeding their children.
1.Sending Children Out of the Kitchen
It is understandable that parents don’t want children close to hot stoves, boiling water and sharp knives. But studies suggest that involving children in meal preparation is an important first step in getting them to try new foods
2.Pressuring Them to Take a Bite
Demanding that a child eat at least one bite of everything is likely to backfire. Studies show that children react negatively when parents pressure them to eat foods, even if the pressure offers a reward.
3.Forcing your child to eat everything on his plate
Assuming you’re offering a variety of healthy foods at each meal, there’s no need to make your child eat every last bite. Most kids will naturally stop eating when they’re full, and this is a feeling you want them to learn to honor for the rest of their life. If you start telling them to overeat now, there’s a good chance they’ll overeat later too. (To avoid wasting food, only serve your child small portions, or save what they don’t eat for later.)
4.Saying you don’t like vegetables
Your kids will hear this and decide they don’t either.
5.Keeping “Good Stuff” Out of Reach
Parents worry that children will binge on treats, so they often put them out of sight or on a high shelf. But a large body of research shows that if a parent restricts a food, children just want it more.
6.Letting them eat junk instead of a family meal.
I’m always shocked at how bad most “kid’s foods” are from a health perspective. If your child only wants “kid foods” like pizza, French fries and macaroni and cheese, do not give in. Kids can eat the same things as adults (cut-up or mashed when necessary) and they will be much healthier for it.
7.Giving infants French fries and soda.
One study found that infants seven months and older are being given soft drinks in their bottles, and that French fries are the most popular “vegetable” eaten by children aged 19 to 24 months. Please do not fall into the mindset that you’re “depriving” your child by not giving them soda and French fries. You are actually doing them a huge favor.
8. Dieting in Front of Your Children
Kids are tuned into their parents’ eating preferences and are far more likely to try foods if they see their mother or father eating them. Parents who are trying to lose weight should be aware of how their dieting habits can influence a child’s perceptions about food and healthful eating.
9. Serving Boring Vegetables
Calorie-counting parents often serve plain steamed vegetables, so it’s no wonder children are reluctant to eat them. Nutritionists say parents shouldn’t be afraid to dress up the vegetables.
10. Giving Up Too Soon
Eating preferences often change. Parents should keep preparing a variety of healthful foods and putting them on the table, even if a child refuses to take a bite. In young children, it may take 10 or more attempts over several months to introduce a food.
11. Limiting healthy fats
The word “fat-free” or “low-fat” does not belong in a child’s diet (or yours for that matter). Healthy fats like those from animal sources, coconut oil, raw nuts and seeds, olive oil, avocado and others are essential for your child’s development. An excellent way to get some healthy fats into your child’s diet is to add some butter (organic, grass-fed and, ideally raw), raw cheese, or olive oil to lightly steamed veggies.Eating preferences often change. Parents should keep preparing a variety of healthful foods and putting them on the table, even if a child refuses to take a bite. In young children, it may take 10 or more attempts over several months to introduce a food.We all need some fat in our diet, the question is just how much. If you are a protein nutritional type you may need two or even three times as much fat as a carb nutritional type.
This is just a sampling of what NOT to do with your children.
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