Healthy Eating Strategies: The Five Most Important Things You Can Do for Your Kids
You read every parenting book on the market during pregnancy. During your child’s first year, you devotedly tracked his every developmental milestone. You subscribe to at least one Super-Mom Magazine and here you are online, faithfully checking out what other Moms have to say about their child-rearing experiences. Your desire to do the best for your children is as great as the day is long, but the time you have available for reading is short. So, here in a nutshell, are the five most important things you can do for your children when it comes to healthy eating:
Include whole grain cereals, whole wheat breads, and brown rice as part of healthy diet
Remember the old food pyramid that listed bread, cereal, rice and pasta as the foundation of a nutritious diet and recommended 6-11 servings of these foods each day? Even though the USDA Food Pyramid has changed its layout, keep in mind that whole grains remain a cornerstone of healthy eating.
The current pyramid recommends that parents look for the word “whole” before the name of a grain on a food label and that at least half of the grains children consume each day are whole grains. It is recommended that kids eat at least 3oz. of whole grain cereals, breads, rice and pasta each day.
Consume fruits and veggies each day
Eating a variety of fruits and vegetables each day provides your children with vitamins and nutrients that have significant, long-term health benefits. In fact, this single dietary change of increasing vegetable and fruit consumption can help prevent your child from being a part of the rising trend in chronic disease, including strokes, hypertension, diabetes, obesity and cancer.
Choose lean, low-fat or fat-free meats, poultry, milk and dairy products
Meats, poultry, milk and dairy foods are rich in protein, iron, calcium, and other important nutrients. Calcium is especially important for building bone in little ones. Some of the best sources of calcium include low-fat cheeses and yogurt (as well as spinach!)
For optimal nutrition, be sure to vary your choices among these foods. When it comes to preparation, variety is also the way to go: grill, broil, and bake your meats for great flavor and healthy variety.
Reduce intake of saturated fats, sugar and salt
Nothing beckons kids like an ice cream cone! While sweets and treats are fine in any diet, the key is moderation. Limit your children’s intake of saturated fats and sugar, as well as the salt that sneaks into their diets in seemingly healthy ways (atop vegetables, in dairy products) and in hard-to-resist snack foods such as pretzels, chips, and crackers.
Research suggests that one of the best ways for parents to influence their child’s eating behavior when it comes to junk food is to make healthy foods readily available in the home, while making less healthy ones more difficult to access.
Sitting down with your children tells them they are important
The most important thing you can do for your child with regard to eating behavior is to sit with him at mealtimes. Studies show that children who eat with a parent at least five times per week are significantly less likely to be involved in risky behavior later in life, including smoking, drug and alcohol use, and promiscuous sexual behavior. If there is one change you can make, this is the one to aim for!
Teaching children to make wise and nourishing food choices is one of the most important ways that you can contribute to his healthy development on a daily basis. These five, key strategies for good nutrition and healthy eating are some of the most important steps you can take to help him grow up fit, strong, happy, and healthy.
By Signe Whitson, LSW. She is a mom, therapist, and fabulous blogger. Check out blog chocked full of advice on dealing with passive aggressive people. She contributes her advice to My Baby Clothes Boutique. They have a wide assortment of baby accessories and baby gifts to meet the needs of every baby.
The Traveling Dad
I think so many times we as women get caught up the our roles as mommy, we forget Daddy. Dads are supposed to be our rocks, don’t show much emotion, and are quite often misunderstood. This story is from a dear friend of mine. It made me stop and think, hope it does the same for you.
My husband i
s a wonderful father, husband, and friend. We don’t see him cry, get choked up, or even seem sad. Steady as you go, is his motto. His family was pretty much the same way. Mostly men, of course. His mom was the emotional one.
For example, at his father’s funeral I turned to him sobbing and saw a stiff calm demeanor. His father passed away unexpectedly and a very young age. The family was, of course, sad, yet they all had the same demeanor. To cry was a sign of weakness. Not a tear was shed by one. This really gave me an insight to my husband and his unwillingness to show emotion.
My husband’s job has required him to travel approximately one third of the year. The trips seem to come all at once. One week he is home, the next he is gone. This last business trip took him away from the family for a week to sunny southern California. I was excited for him. How much fun was it going to be, there is so much to do and see in California. I was even a little jealous.
As we were packing his bag, he looked especially somber. I asked him what was wrong and to my surprise he answered, “I hate traveling!” I read between the lines and realized, he misses us. All the great restaurants, sites to see, and sunny Cali – couldn’t compare to spending time with me and his son. He just wishes we were with him.
Fighting back the tears, I took our son and we disappeared into the guest room. Together we made a special gift for Daddy’s trip. We took a picture of us, Mommy and son, glued it to a piece of construction paper with the words “I Love You Daddy!” on the bottom. My little man even drew his Daddy a special picture. We hid it in his suitcase.
Eight hours later – I get a phone call. Clearly choked up, his voice was so full of emotion as he said “You made my day! I Love You Too!”
I am almost positive there were a few tears that day. I am told your learn something every day and that day I learned not to take my husband for granted. I may think I know what he is going through, but until I ask I will never know for certain. I also learned the importance of the littlest gifts that mean so much.
Life is so short! Don’t take people in your life for granted. Send them the smallest gift to remind them how much they mean to you.
This story was brought to you by Krissy Stark of My Baby Clothes Boutique. They have the widest selection of baby gifts for the new little ones in your life. Baby hats, baby headbands, adorable layettes and so much more.
SLEEP?!?!
What is sleep? It has been so long since I had a full night of undisturbed sleep, I can’t even remember what sleep means.
It has been almost three years.
In the beginning, seven months pregnant, I could not sleep well. Heartburn, back pain, mother nature’s calls, or whatever new change my body was going through were my bed companions.
Then my daughter came along, for the first four weeks or so, I was sleeping when she did. I was beginning to think that the difficulty sleeping while I was pregnant were training for these first weeks. She had her days and nights messed up, but I was so exhausted I did not have the energy to get her on track. Eventually, I didn’t know whether it was day or night, what day it was, or even my name.
Believe it or not, I managed to get us on a schedule. I started slowly – waking her every few hours during the day. Ever hear the old wives tale, “don’t wake a sleeping baby”. I can tell you where that came from. The result of my sleep training was numerous crying fits, but it only lasted a few days. I promise, it does end. The biggest test is to see who is more persistent.
Once a bedtime routine was established, it was a much easier transition. Sleep experts will always say that the brain needs cues to signal its time to end the day. We would give her a bath, change her into a baby gown, and then wrap her in her swaddler. Then I would dim the lights, put on soft music, and rock her while she breast fed. It was great way to calm myself as well, we wound down together. She began to sleep for four hours at a time at eight weeks.
To teach her the difference between naps and nighttime sleep, I would put her in her crib at night. During the day, she would nap in her playpen or swing. As her sleeping habits changed, we adapted her daytime routine, but we kept her bedtime routine the same so that she could still distinguish that it was nighttime. Keeping her bedtime routine the same was very important. Substituting mommy with a lovey or baby blanket, has shown to be very successful during these transitions. Infants are able to gain comfort, so that mommy can sleep a little longer.
Every baby is different, so it is important to take cues from your own. Remember to be flexible, there isn’t one method that works perfect every time. Also, all the efforts to establish a routine, doesn’t mean it will always go perfectly. There will be those days where no matter what you do, she won’t go to sleep. Take it from me as I sit here after 9pm listening to my 2-year-old singing in her bed. We still have a bedtime routine for her and she knows that it is time to be in bed. She will go to sleep eventually but at least she is in bed.
By Jane Gingrich is a mom and a writer for a new online baby clothes boutique. Before coming to write for this boutique, she spent many years as a clinical researcher and writes for the Examiner.com.
