Good food consumption habits (notice we do NOT use the word
diet because this is not a temporary fix, but rather a life long commitment to
proper eating habits) must begin NOW regardless of child's age. While you
work to establish good habits through REPETITION, you also are educating your
child as to the value of food while instilling the good habits.
KidNutrition.org Psychology of Food
We at KidNutrition.org believe there are only 3 categories of food for
discussion purposes: Meals, Snacks and Dessert.
Food is NEVER A TREAT. A treat is a non-food item such as a play date, a visit to the park or the zoo, or a chance to watch a movie with the family. There are certain times and places for meals, snacks and desserts and they must be rigidly observed. Aim for feeding your child every 3 - 4 hours, depending on your child's individual energy expenditures. Meals are breakfast, lunch and dinner and we suggest one snack per day, no more than two snacks at the most.
Dessert is only for one night a
week, unless there is a birthday to celebrate. Remember, dessert
or ANY FOOD is NEVER A TREAT. Birthday cake is not a treat, it is
a dessert. If you adopt this behavior, your child will never
'treat' themselves to food as an adult ~ unlike many of us who grew up with
food as a treat who still struggle with this concept.
May is
Sample Schedules below:
Schedule A
Schedule B
6:00am Breakfast
7:00am Breakfast
9:00am Snack
11:00am Lunch
Noon Lunch
3:00pm Snack
3:00pm Snack
6:30pm Dinner
6:00pm Dinner
Snacks are to maintain energy in between meals.
Food that does not provide adequate energy is not food, it is trash that
should be thrown away.
For all children, discussing food in terms of energy works amazingly well.
Emphasize that high energy foods are bright colors; orange, yellow, green,
red, brown, purple. This covers almost all the healthy vegetables and
fruits.
Always serve a glass of water along with the glass of milk or other beverage at EVERY MEAL. Offer water at every snack time. Speak about water as energy liquid- as being the best liquid fuel for our bodies. Be creative, little children like to 'fill their tank' with energy. Carry bottles of water wherever you go; to the park, the mall, everywhere.
Keep the focus on the positive characteristics of the foods that you want to encourage them to eat. Stay away from negative comments about unacceptable food, simply sum up those foods with simple comments like, "Desserts are low energy food, they don't help you grow strong or smart, and that is why we only eat them once a week"
