Feeding Children Made Easy
Do you ever wonder why kids can grow so fast then just suddenly hit a plateau?
Don’t fret; it is actually considered normal for their growth rate to slow down and become irregular at some point during their childhood. Children have increased appetites during small spurts of growth, and little or no appetite when the growth rate plateaus.
With this in mind, parents then should not make eating a fuss and should stop wasting time on coaxing, arguing, begging or even threatening their children. Parents should have the flexibility, patience, time and a sense of humor to provide the right nutrition to their children for continued growth and good health.
The nutrition of toddler and preschool children can be managed thru the following:
- Provide frequent meals in small portions. Distribute energy and nutrient needs within the day. Let the children ask for second helpings rather than force them to eat one big meal, which may be beyond what the child’s stomach can accommodate.
- Offer a variety of food options. Let children develop broad food preferences by letting them explore various food tastes and textures.
- Don’t serve overseasoned food. Children are not fond of highly flavored nor too spicy or salty foods. Let tastes develop gradually by letting them have small portions and tasting one food item at a time.
- Don’t force food dislikes. If the child dislikes a particular food item, offer an alternative that is similar (example: exchange ampalaya with a dark, green leafy veggy like pechay Tagalog).
- Keep nutritious foods around for an in-between “fix”. Have ready to eat foods available such as Del Monte Fruit Snacks, Del Monte Fruitini juice drinks, crackers, cookies, bread, cheese and peanut butter to serve between meals and provide a quick source of essential nutrients.
For school-age children, food preferences and habits are usually influenced by what has been established in earlier years—such as standards of peers, and exposure to stimuli like television. While this is inevitable, this doesn’t mean we shouldn’t continue emphasizing sound nutrition.
It is still important to develop the habit of eating breakfast and having balanced meals. Then there are also food favorites, which play an important role in encouraging children to eat. Favorite food choices can be incorporated in the meal but at the same time balanced with those from other healthy food groups. Good thing nowadays, there are lots of light and refreshing ready to eat canned fruits and fruit snacks, 100% juice and juice drinks that are available to eat on the go. This just means there’s no excuse to keep up those empty-calorie snacking habits. So as long as you care for your kids’ health, you will find that there are always simple ways to instill good eating habits. And you can be sure that in the long run, these will all pay off and greatly benefit your kids’ overall development.
by: Llena L. Tan-Arcenas
Senior Nutritionist
