Download pdf - Developing Good Eating Habits in Children€¦ · Developing Good Eating Habits in Children 3 To learn about nutrition, children should be involved with actual food—not simply answer

DevelopingGoodEatingHabitsinChildren

Whilechildrenareyoung,theyneedtodevelopgoodeatinghabitsthatwilllasttheirlifetime.Mealtimeistheidealopportunitytosetanexamplebycreatingapositiveatmosphereinwhichhealthyfoodattitudescanbedeveloped. Earlyexperienceswithfoodhaveastrongimpactonthefutureeatinghabitsandhealthofyoungchildren,andthebesttimetoteachgooddietaryhabitsisduringtheearlyyears.

1Healthy Practices: Nutrition and Fitness

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Thefood"pyramid"releasedbytheDepartmentofAgriculturein1992,suggeststhatahealthydietisonethatincludesmultipleservingsofvariousgrains,fruits,andvegetablesperday,andlimitingtheintakeofsaturatedfat,cholesterol,sodium,andsugar.

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PoordiethasbeenassociatedwiththedevelopmentofmanyofthechronicdiseasesintheUnitedStates,includingheartdisease,highbloodpressure,anddiabetes.

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Tolearnaboutnutrition,childrenshouldbeinvolvedwithactualfood—notsimplyanswerquestionsinworkbooksorsingsongsaboutvegetables.

Hands-onnutritionactivitieshelpchildrendevelophealthyeatinghabitsandcancomplementotherlearning,forexamplemath,science,language,socialdevelopment,cooperation,andrespectforculture.


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TeachingaboutFoodGroups

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Foodswhichhavethingsincommonbelongtofoodgroups.

Inafoodgroup,allfoodsarenotthesame;buttheyhavesomethingsincommon.Therearefivebasicfoodgroups:grains,protein,dairy,vegetables,andfruit.Oilisnolongerconsideredafoodgroup.


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Grains

Eatinggrainsmayreducetheriskofheartdiseaseandotherchronicdiseases.Eatingfoodshighinfibermayreduceconstipation,promoteintestinalhealth,andhelpwithweightmanagement.

GrainsthathavebeenprocessedmaylosemanyoftheirnutritionalelementssuchasfiberandBvitaminsandminerals.Trytousewholegrainfoodsinmealsandsnacks.


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Vegetables

TheVegetablegroupincludesanyvegetableor100%vegetablejuice.Vegetablescanbeservedraw,cooked,fresh,frozen,canned,ordried/dehydrated.Thereare5subgroups:darkvegetables,starchyvegetables,redandorangevegetables,beans,peasandothervegetables.


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Fruits

Whenservingfruitchoose100%juice,fresh,canned,frozen,ordriedfruits.Certainfruitscanprotectagainstcertaintypesofcancerandhelpwithpreventingillnesssuchaskidneystones,decreasebonelossandcolds.Fruitsthatcontainpotassiummayhelpwithbloodpressuresuchasbananas,prunes,driedpeachesandapricots,cantaloupe,honeydewmelon,andorangejuice.


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Dairy

Manyconsiderdairythebestsourceofcalcium.Thoughcalciumcanalsobefoundintheotherfoodgroupscaremustbetakentocombinefoodstomeettherecommendedcalciumrequirements.

Becauseoftheconcernsforahealthyweightmanyhouseholdsareusing2%,1%,andnon-fatmilkproducts.Children2yearsandundershouldbeconsumingwholemilkproducts.Somechildrenarelactoseintolerant.ForthosechildrenthereareLactose-freeandlower-lactoseproducts,calciumenrichedsoy,andricemilk.


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Meat(Protein)andMeatAlternates

Proteinfoodsincludemeat,poultry,seafood,beans/peas,eggsandprocessedsoyproduct,nutsandseeds.Meatandpoultrychoicesshouldbeleanorlow-fat.

Vegetarianmealsmustalsoincludeasourceofprotein.Vegetarianmealsmayincludetheseoptionsbeans,peas,processedsoyfoods,nutsandseeds.

CAUTION:BecauseofthedangerfornutallergiesDONOTusenutsasaproteinoption.


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Fats,oils,andsweets

Thedifferencebetweenoilsandfatsistheirconsistencywhentheyareatroomtemperature.Oilsareliquidatroomtemperaturesuchasoliveorcanolaoil.Oilscomefromplantsandfish.

Oilsprovideessentialnutrientsbutarenolongerconsideredafoodgroup.


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Caution:

Youngchildrencaneasilychokeonrawvegetables,fruits,seeds,nuts,peanutbutter,hotdogs,etc.Donotgivethesefoodstoinfants.Closelywatchyoungchildrenwhentheyeatthesefoods.


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TheScooponFatsandSugars

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Children’sfavoritefoodstendtobehighinsugarand/orfat.Fatandsugarmakefoodstastegoodandfeelgoodinthemouth.Thinkaboutyourthreefavoritefoods.Formostpeople,atleastoneofthesehasalotofsugarorfat.Manyfoodsweserveatsnacktimetendtohavelotsoffatandsugar.Becauseofthis,manypeoplethinkeatingsnacksisnothealthy.

Servingchildrenfoodswithlotsofsugarmaygivethemenergy.Buthighsugarfoodsmaynothaveenoughofthevitaminsandmineralschildrenneedforgrowthanddevelopment.


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Willeatingfoodswithlotsofsugarmakechildrenhyperactive?Alotofresearchhasbeendoneinthisarea.

ThereisNOevidencethatsugarmakeschildrenmoreactive.Adultsneedtothinkaboutwhattheyexpectbeforetheycallachild“hyperactive.”

Remember,itisokaytoservesomefoodsthatarehigherinsugar,aslongasyoubalancethesechoiceswithfoodsthatcontainaloweramountofsugar.


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Ifyouserveavarietyoffoodsandabalanceddiet,itisnotnecessarytorestrictfoodchoicesformostchildren.Someexpertsthinkwhenyoukeepafoodawayfromsomeone,itbecomestheveryfoodthatpersoncraves.

Youmaywanttoservechildrenlowerfatandsugarchoicesoftheirfavoritefoods(suchaslowfatfrozendesserts)alongwiththeoriginalfood.Thiswillhelpchildrentryavarietyoffoodsandavarietyoftastes.


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Fat:Howmuchistoomuch,andhowmuchisnotenough?

Manyadultsareconcernedaboutlimitingfatinachild’sdiet–andforgoodreason.Childrenneedsomefatforgrowingbodies.Somefatisalsoneededforbrainandnervetissuesandforenergy.

• Donotlimitfatforchildrenundertwoyearsofage.Thismeansusingwholemilkandmilkproductsforchildrenfrom12to24monthsofage.


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Fat:Howmuchistoomuch,andhowmuchisnotenough?

Ifyoucareforchildrenofdifferentagesyoumayneedtohaveseveralkindsofmilkinyourrefrigerator.

• Afterthechild’ssecondbirthday,beginservinghim/herreduced-fat(2%)milkinsteadofwholemilk.

• Aroundagethree,changetoserving1%(low-fat)milk(orskimmilk(fatfree)if1%milkisnotavailableinyourarea).


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ChildrenandFood

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Theamountoffoodachildneedsdependsonthechild'sactivitylevel,currentweightandstature,growthspurtsandappetite.Theamountoffoodchildreneatmaybeinfluencedbyhunger,appetite,foodchoices,moodandwhateverelseishappeningintheirlives.

Ifachildfillsupfast,makingthechildeatmoremaycauseanegativeassociationwitheating.

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ChildrenandFoodItisbettertolimittheamountoffoodswithhighsalt,highfatcontent,andsugaronthechildcaremenuforallthechildrenthantolimitcertainfoodsforspecificchildren.ByfollowingtheWashingtonStateMealPatternfoundintheWACsandplanninghealthymealsandsnacksyoucanofferfoodsthatprovidetheoptimalamountofnutrientsforgrowthwhilehelpingtosatisfyachild'sappetite.

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Unlessmedicallyindicated,foodmayneverbewithheldfrom

childrenduringscheduledmealandsnacktimes.


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AboutDesserts

Nevertellchildrentheymusteateverythingontheirplatesinordertogetdessert.Thiswillonlymakedessertsappearspecial.

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Whenincluded,dessertsshouldbepartofthemeal,likethevegetableorbread.Theyshouldnotbetreatedasaspecialpartofthemeal.


AboutDessertsDessertsareoptional,andinfactoftenlicensinghaslimitationsonhowoftensomedessertscanbeserved.Plandessertscarefully.

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Manyarehighinfatandsugarandlowinothernutrients.Forexample,plaincookiesandcakeshavelittlenutritionalvalue,butarehighincalories.Instead,plantousecarrotsorpumpkininrecipestoprovidevitaminA.Custardsandpuddingsareconsideredgooddessertssincetheycontaincalciumandprotein.


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FoodsfromOutsidetheFacilityAhealthynutritionenvironmentiscreatedbyservingnutritiousfoodsduringregularmealsandsnacksaswellasatspecialoccasions.

Typicalcelebrationsusuallyincludecaloriedensefoodsoflimitednutritionalvalue,suchascookies,cakeandcandy.Onoccasion,thismaynotposeaproblem,butitsendsamessagetochildrenthateatingsuchfoodsistheonlywaytocelebrate.

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Photo Source: Super Healthy Kidswww.superhealthykids.com


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FoodsfromOutsidetheFacilityThecentershouldhaveguidelinesforfoodsornonfooditemsbroughtintothefacilityandservedforholidaysandcelebrations.

Childcarefacilitiescanletparentsknowgentlybutfirmlythatthefacilitysupportsahealthierapproachtocelebrations.Thiscaneasilybedonebyincludingthefacilitypolicyinthecenterhandbookgiventoparents.Everyonebenefitsfromhealthychoices,anditsendsamessagetofamiliesthatgoodnutritionisimportanttothefacility.

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Apple NachosPhoto Source: www.123playandlearn.com


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FoodsfromOutsidetheFacilityHolidaysshouldbecelebratedwithmostlyhealthyfoodsandnonfoodtreats.

Childcarefacilitiescanbearolemodelforthefamiliesusingtheirservices.Theycanmovefamiliestowardahealthierwayofcelebratingbyreducingunhealthyfoodsandincreasingfunactivitiesthatareapartofcelebrations.Birthdaysandcelebrationscanincludemanyhealthytreatsandhelpkidsappreciateandlearnaboutothercultures.


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FundraisingFundraisingactivitiesshouldconsistofsellingnonfooditemsonly.

Fundraisingisacommonpracticeformanychildcarefacilities.Evenifthemoneyraisedisusedtosupportthingsthefacilityreallyneeds,themessagebecomesunclearwhensalesofunhealthyfooditemsareusedtoraisefunds.

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Photo Source: www.healthyfundraising.net

Alsorememberthatfamiliesandstaffbuymuchofthefoodthatissold.Havingextracandyandsweetsaroundthehousemakesitthatmuchhardertoencouragehealthiereatingforchildren.


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