Finding something good to eat
The struggle to get your children to eat properly doesn't have to be an all out war, according to nutritionists
"Mom?! Dad?! There's nothing good to eat!"
For countless parents these words are not unusual to hear at any given time from their kids. What more parents are becoming aware of now is what is meant by what foods are actually "good" to eat.
With childhood obesity continuing to rise, balanced and nutritional eating are more important than ever before.
"I often hear parents worry that their child is a picky eater," says Sonia Stadler, a registered dietician who works at the Atlantic Superstore Main Street Market.
"In these cases, it's important to be more persistent or more creative.
"If you give up too early on certain foods, you're reinforcing some bad habits as they learn they don't have to try new foods. You don't want to force your child to eat things, but you have to be persistent."
Today's kids are often looking for quick and tasty (and often sweet and salty) snacks or meals.
"Fruits and vegetables are often big problems for lots of children," explains Sonia.
"According to lots of information we have, most Canadian children don't eat enough of them."
Often times, children are reluctant to try new foods or refuse to try a food that they've previously tried and not enjoyed.
"One of the best things parents can do in that case is to keep trying and trying to introduce different fruits and vegetables, offer it in different forms," says Sonia.
"Some kids don't like certain vegetables cooked, but they may like them raw, for example.
"There is no right or wrong way to serve these foods - whatever way you can get your child to eat them is the right way."
Another common mistake that parents may make is giving up on a certain fruit or vegetable after their child has already turned up their nose at it once or twice.
"A lot of parents don't realize that with younger children it can take up to ten times of introducing a new food before they decide whether they really like it or not," says Sonia.
"Giving them something once and having them reject it shouldn't mean that you just never offer that food again.
"Some parents will give up on new foods a little too easily, which can really start to limit a child's diet."
Some of the best foods for children simply come straight from Canada's Food Guide.
"I find it's best to try and keep snacks very basic," explains Sonia. "Your number one choice for snacks should be fruit, vegetables, yogurt, cheese - very basic foods that come from the four food groups.
"When you look on the nutrition panel on foods, you want to look at the fats. Saturated and trans fats are both bad fats. For young children, the total fat in a product doesn't matter - they need fat in their diet. Saturated and trans fats are not good for anyone of any age."
"Another key thing for parents to do is to look at the ingredient list," says Sonia. "Ingredients are always listed in order of quantity. Whatever is listed first is the largest portion of the product and so on.
"If you see something that isn't good for you in the first three ingredients like sugar or salt then the product is mostly made of that."
Keeping an open mind and being creative and patient will help parents to keep their children open minded about their nutrition.
"How children like foods can be very individual," says Sonia. "For example, parents shouldn't worry if their child decides one day that certain foods aren't allowed to touch certain other foods.
"Behaviors like that are usually just phases that children may go through. There's no one way that works for every child."
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