healthykids
Keep it fun, so that your kids will try new things like vegetables. Remember, it takes 12 times before a
baby actually prefers a new food, so don’t give up!
~Veronika Van de Geer Buckley, Maine mother
KIDS ¤ VEGGIES
How to Instill Healthy Lifelong Habits by Clancy Cash Harrison
Starting at conception, the early years of a child’s life are a perfect window of opportunity to establish a foundation of healthy eating.
W
ant a child to love veggies? Here are simple tips par- ents can practice in the first
three years to establish lifelong good eating habits. Start early. We all know that eating
healthy during pregnancy will help a baby grow, but many may not realize that an infant can taste flavors in utero and through breast milk. Eating a vari- ety of fresh produce during pregnancy and breastfeeding helps shape a healthy diet later in life. Treat weaning as a time for the infant to explore the texture, taste and aroma of an array of foods. After six months of exclusive breastfeeding, food can be introduced, although breast milk is still the primary source of nutrients. Small, repeated exposures to many foods during this stage will help mini- mize refusals to try or accept foods in the toddler years.
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Children’s foods should be explod- ing with nutrients. Offering a variety of organic produce ensures optimal nutrition and decreases chemical expo- sure. Research reported by the Harvard Medical School and the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, among others, shows that richly colored foods help build dense bones, powerful brains and tough immunity. Good can- didates include butternut squash, sweet potatoes, leafy greens, carrots, broccoli, berries and citrus. Also go for those nat- urally high in iron, such as peas, leafy greens, apricots, raisins and legumes. Avoid anything high in sugar and other sweeteners, hydrogenated oils, artificial colorings and other harmful additives. Another important yet often over- looked foundation of healthy eating is encouraging a child to self-regulate his or her calorie intake. Self-regulation starts on the first day of breastfeed-
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ing and is carried through adulthood. Respecting a child’s decision to end a meal allows them to control their own food intake. Common signals infants use to end a meal include turning their head away, arching back, throwing food on the floor and showing an interest in other activities. To encourage self-regu- lation, always serve meals and healthy snacks on a schedule and allow the child to feed himself when possible. As early as 7 months of age, most
healthy infants are developmentally ready to do this, which should optimize nutrient consumption, increase partic- ipation in family meals and contribute to a less stressful mealtime. Appropriate foods for self-feeding should easily melt in an infant’s mouth and be a safe size, such as soft fruits and cooked vegetables. To prevent choking, avoid round, hard and sticky foods such as whole grapes, peanuts, popcorn and nut or seed butters. Don’t be afraid to add mild herbs and spices to a child’s food. An easy way to teach healthy flavor preferences, develop taste buds and reduce pick- iness when they’re older is to expose children to many foods, textures and aromas. A dash of cumin in smashed avocado or freshly chopped mint mixed with diced strawberries introduces new perspective on a favorite food. Food refusal is inevitable, normal
behavior. Children will love a food one day and hate it the next. Rethinking the definition of variety empowers parents to reintroduce a not-so-favorite food many times. If children don’t like the way an item feels or looks, they may not taste it. The refusal of a carrot doesn’t necessarily doom carrots. They can be coined, minced, mashed, puréed and diced to change the texture, plus they can be served cold, at room tempera- ture or tepid.
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