Healthy Eating for Children: Preventing Eating Disorders
As parents we have the responsibility to educate our children and identify our children’s eating disorders and prepare them to face all aspects of life, therefore, teaching them to eat healthy is also part of that commitment. Many times the rhythm of the day does not allow us to dedicate so much time to the kitchen, but it does not mean that this is why there can not be a healthy diet for children at home.
We already know that one of the most important tasks we have is to ensure the proper development of children, this includes feeding them well. This topic may bring a lot of frustration because we constantly get with the refusal of children to try foods that for them are not appetizing, but, if we manage to propose a clear strategy at home, mealtime can be a pleasant time that everyone will love.
What can we do to help children acquire healthy habits? We must understand that this is an issue that requires dedication, we cannot pretend that children will eat healthy because we demand it, as parents we have to be proponents of this movement.
Achieving healthy eating habits for children
Each stage of childhood is special, it is a matter of understanding the needs of each one. The ideal will always be to talk and teach children about healthy eating from their early years, with this, we not only avoid eating disorders in children, we also involve them with awareness about what they eat and also with gratitude.
If you plan to have your family eat healthily, start small, with small changes in the family diet.
Include in each meal vegetables and fruits, those that you know your children like. After a while you will notice that it will be easier for you to add those that they do not tolerate if you use them in different ways, the key is in your ingenuity.
Tips for getting kids to eat well
If you want your children to learn to eat healthy, start with you. Children are beings who learn with experience, with what they see at home, so telling them what to do will not always work, on the contrary, they need to see that their parents act consciously. Set an example for children, maintaining daily physical activity, also in your eating habits. An infallible example is that your children eat the same food that adults eat, of course, all balanced in quantity.
The family is a support factor for the child, this not only helps him cultivate his sociable side, it also facilitates learning. A child who feels loved, respected and supported by his family will be in the future a more conscious and successful adult in life.
Now, if we want to take care of the feeding of children, we have to start growing them. How? Establish routines at home, do not allow distractions at mealtime, never force them to eat when they do not want to, this only makes the situation worse.
The key is to make mealtime a quiet time, a few minutes of fun that reinforce the family bond.
Prevention of childhood obesity
Obesity is a global public health problem, where not only the genetic factor influences, but also the example of parents, for this reason, the feeding of children is so important.
Being overweight is always linked to excessive fat accumulation that is a health risk.
The World Health Organization (WHO) points out that the causes of obese children do not stay only in the consumption of unhealthy food, it also goes hand in hand with lack of physical activity, socioeconomic factors and family. A child exposed to all these situations will be more likely to suffer from obesity.
One of the eating disorders in young children, without a doubt, is obesity, which is not only evident in low-income countries, also in developed countries this problem is frequent among children, since poor diet and sedentary lifestyle are part of globalization.
What is the ideal weight?
A child’s ideal weight varies with age and height, and should be monitored from time to time by a medical specialist.
During the first years of life, a baby’s weight can be very different in a matter of months, a healthy baby is one who increases in size as he grows. But as we have already mentioned, each case is particular. We can also say that weight depends on many factors, such as the child’s metabolism or complexion.
The complexion determines the amount of muscle mass that our body may require, which means that if a child’s bone structure is small, he will have less muscle mass compared to the bone structure of an older child. It is important to know that there is no “ideal weight” there is a percentile table that helps us know the average of a normal weight for children, but beyond this table, the health of children depends on the good habits they have.
3 feeding tips for children
- Explain to your children how they should behave at mealtimes, also how much they should eat in the day. Don’t make it a habit to reward them with food, especially when it’s harmful.
- Make them part of the preparation Involve the children in the kitchen, tell them about all the foods you are going to use. This will make mealtime a favorite time, because you can play preparing what you are going to eat later.
- There is no better food than home-cooked food. Sometimes you may not have time to cook, but you must make the effort if you really want your children to eat healthy. It will never be a good example to order food or buy fat-saturated foods that will only make them sick.
- In conclusion, eating disorders in young children can be avoided with parent-directed food education.
