Parents always worry about what and how their children are eating. Not withstanding whether their children are overweight, underweight or perfectly fine. Here are some ways to raise a child to adapt a healthy lifestyle that parents can learn from.
Healthy young children eat when they're hungry and stop when they're full. They're following their natural, internal signal, and you shouldn't mess around with that by encouraging them to eat past the point of fullness. This will allow them to have a comfortable relationship with food and avoid over eating as they grow older.
According to Lauren Levine, a pediatrician at Columbia Doctor's Midtown in New York City, "Pushing kids to eat when they aren't hungry sets up a bad precedent."
Make exercise fun for the Kids. Kids just need an hour of moving around each day to keep fit. This can done while doing what they like best, such as kicking a ball in the backyard or walking the dog along with you.
Alanna Levine, M.D., a pediatrician and spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) says, that the key to keep them engaged is to make sure, they're enjoying it.
Don’t let them eat in front of the TV. Dr. Lauren Levine says that children who eat while watching a tv show, eat "mindlessly'' unaware whether they are already full or not. Thus, they can just go on eating without really needing to.
Kids who watch more than five hours of TV a day also tend to eat less healthy later in life. So, it's best to set good habits now while they still young. The longer they live with habits, the harder it is to change them.
Don’t reward good behavior with candy, but don't go crazy with the "no junk food" rule either. With all the fuzz about pediatric obesity, it's no surprise that some parents have completely prohibited sweets. But that's a pretty extreme measure. What's needed is to strike a balance. Children should be allowed to enjoy a healthy portion of their favorite dessert every once in awhile.
Alexis Tindall, RD, a dietician at the Center for Healthy Weight and Nutrition at Nationwide Children's Hospital advises, "It's not good to over-restrict [foods]," likening this rule of absolutism to, "Kids are going to go to birthday parties and you don't want them to try to eat half the cake."
Lead by example. Parents will not be effective in teaching the children self-discipline unless they are self-disciplined as well. "You can't drink soda for dinner and expect them to drink water or milk," explains Dr. Alanna Levine. "You want to show your kids that you're setting these rules not to be mean," she adds, "but because these habits will help them feel better."
