Diet Advice
for Kids
By Dietitian,
Juliette Kellow BSc RD
Don’t force
younger children to eat everything on their plate – kids quickly get tired of
the same taste, which is why they often only eat half of their main course but
still want a pudding – they’ve simply got bored with the taste of the main
course.
Avoid using
food as a reward – it simply becomes more desirable. But that’s not all – other
foods become less desirable, too. In other words, telling children they can
have some sweets if they eat their veg simply makes the sweets more alluring
and the veg less appealing!
Get children
involved at mealtimes – younger children in particular are far more likely to
eat something they’ve made themselves so let them help you cook healthy meals
such as fishcakes, homemade burgers, fruit muffins, wholemeal scones, smoothies
and sandwiches. Meanwhile, encourage teenagers to eat with the family.
Encourage
children to eat regularly, especially breakfast – studies show that breakfast
eaters tend to be slimmer than people who skip this meal.
Don’t make
your child’s weight and size an ‘issue’. To help your child lose weight focus
on good nutrition, avoid using the ‘diet’ word, don’t weigh your child
regularly and lead by example – if you eat sensibly and exercise frequently,
your child will be more likely to do the same.
Talk to your
child about the benefits of eating well and looking after their body. Health is
generally not a priority for children so focus on other issues that are
important to them.
For example,
for teenage girls explain that a healthy diet will give them glowing skin,
shiny hair and strong nails, give them more energy to go shopping with their
friends and help them concentrate so they’ll perform better in their favourite
subjects at school.
For boys,
explain that eating well will help to build and tone muscles, give them great
skin and help them do well in their favourite sports.
Find out
what’s on the menu for school dinners and discuss with your child whether
they’d prefer packed lunches. If they want school dinners, talk to them about
the healthier options they could choose, for example, a jacket potato with
cheese and salad rather than a hot dog and chips. If they’d prefer packed
lunches, follow the tips for healthy packed lunches.
Encourage the
whole family to be more active and include plenty of fun activities, for
example, playing football in the park, going ten pin bowling or going for a
cycle.
Use sports
activities as an opportunity to spend some quality time with your children,
too. For example, mums and daughters could go to dance or aerobics classes
together, while dads and sons have a game of squash.
Take a look
at what the whole family are eating – kids rarely have bad eating habits on
their own so if your child is gaining too much weight, it’s unlikely the rest
of the family is having a healthy diet. If this is the case, encourage a
healthy, balanced diet for everyone. This means…
- Cutting
down on sweets, cakes, biscuits and fizzy drink
- Eating
fewer fatty foods such as chips, burgers and fried food
- Eating
regularly, especially breakfast
- Basing
meals on starchy foods and choosing wholegrain varieties, when possible
- Eating
more fruit and vegetables
If you’re
concerned about your child’s weight see your GP for advice before starting any
sort of diet. Bear in mind that the standard Body Mass Index (BMI) chart is
unsuitable for growing children and so shouldn’t be used to assess a child’s
weight.