The news is so full of nutritional advice it can seem impossible to know where to begin to ensure your kids eat well. What\u2019s a parent to do?<\/p>\n
Eating less sugar can decrease our risk of diabetes and cancer. Fiber is fantastic for preventing constipation and irritable bowel syndrome and is linked to a reduction in colon cancer and heart disease. Blueberries and walnuts have antioxidants that can help prevent cell damage. Salmon and tuna have vitamin D and healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Yet eating too much tuna can be harmful as it has mercury. Drinking too much cow\u2019s milk can lead to iron-deficiency anemia. Too much soy milk is risky as well.<\/p>\n
How does a parent put all of this advice into action?!<\/p>\n
My patients\u2019 parents often ask questions about nutrition. I offer them a collection of\u00a0nutritional soundbites<\/a>. One bit of \u201cwisdom\u201d I always tell them is this:\u00a0\u201cMake snacks count.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n Snacks are a great chance to get in the foods we most want our kids to eat. You might offer cut up vegetables with hummus, sliced fruit, or a handful of healthy nuts. As a mom of 3, I try to follow this advice. Sometimes, though, I fail.<\/p>\n It struck me one July day at the beach, as I watched my 12-year-old gleefully eat her bowl of very sugary cereal complete with colored marshmallow bits, that something about summer vacation seems programmed to allow these failures.<\/p>\n My childhood summer vacations were spent on the beaches of Virginia and North and South Carolina, in the woods around my grandparents\u2019 home on the Chesapeake Bay, and on a lake in the Blue Ridge Mountains \u2013 with long days of freedom, swimming, exploring, and happiness. Sand and heat, mosquitoes, crabs and fireflies, watermelon and Fritos formed the texture of the days.<\/p>\n Fritos? Yes. Looking back, many of my summertime memories centered around foods enjoyed only then. Some, of course, were healthy treats \u2013 like watermelon \u2013 but some were not. S\u2019mores, Fritos, and the occasional bowl of sugary cereal were a wonderful break from the healthy diet my mother usually fed me. Now I realize I have programmed my own children to expect the same sort of nutritional holiday.<\/p>\n Sugary cereal never enters my house, and to their credit, the kids don\u2019t ask for it either. They know, though, that on vacation away from home they\u2019re allowed to get a box of the junkiest cereal their little hearts\u2019 desire. It seems to me this kind of holiday has a place in their lives.<\/p>\n I may have benefited from being allowed to lie in a sunny spot on a houseboat with a bowl of chips. How? It taught me moderation. As the Roman writer Petronius said:<\/p>\n Moderation in all things, including moderation.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Perhaps if we allow our kids the junk food snack, they\u2019ll crave the junk less regularly. Outright prohibition doesn\u2019t seem to work well, for adults or for children. Kids who are forbidden certain foods overeat them as soon as they get a chance \u2013 at school or a friend\u2019s house.<\/p>\n Allowing junk food holidays at times provides us an opportunity to discuss how all foods have a place in our diet but that some are healthier and can be eaten often while some should be eaten less often – but fully enjoyed. Maybe kids will appreciate junk food more if they eat it less. I do know for certain as I sit here now, I’m enjoying my bowl of Fritos.<\/p>\n My Doctor Online:<\/strong> American Academy of Pediatrics:<\/strong>\n
Resources for Parents:<\/h3>\n
\nEat Well, Be Active, Live Better<\/a><\/p>\n
\nKids Need Fiber: Here\u2019s Why and How<\/a>
\nFat, Salt and Sugar: Not All Bad<\/a><\/p>\n