Posts Tagged ‘kids eating habits’

Time for Lunch?

Wednesday, September 15th, 2010

Ever since school started two weeks ago, our first-grader has come home with at least 75 percent of his lunch still completely intact and untouched. (We’re wondering – where does he get all of his energy if he’s not eating? But that’s a side issue for the moment.) When we try to get to the root of the problem, his chief complaint is that he simply doesn’t have time to eat. The lunch break is a half-hour and it encompasses the eating time and the time for a bunch of squirrel-y 1st-grade boys to run around and get out all of their energy. Usually it’s the latter that takes precedence.

Concerned, we started to ask around among readers and friends in other schools across the country, and we learned that we were not alone. For one thing, lunchtime is just getting shorter. Numerous requirements and cutbacks in the rest of the school day have crowded out the lunch “hour.” Plus there are fewer opportunities for physical activity (i.e. P.E. classes) during the school day, so there’s a lot of pent-up energy by the time lunch/recess rolls around.

So what do you do if your kid never has enough time to eat lunch? Lucky for us, there’s a discussion about this very topic on Parent Hacks this week. Through some of the comments on that discussion, and from our own conversations, we’ve put together a list of suggestions for getting more food into your kid during the school day:

  • Cut food into small, bite-sized pieces. The food is easier to eat that way, and visually, it may appear more manageable to your little one.
  • Pack nutrient-dense foods (hard-boiled eggs, chopped grilled chicken, carrot sticks, or nuts if your school will allow them) instead of light snacks that won’t give them long lasting fuel (potato chips, puffed cheese or rice snacks).
  • Have your child assist in packing lunch – This will give them some control and will help you understand better what she is able to (or is more likely to) eat.
  • Be ready for them to have a large, hearty snack (or finish the remainder of their lunch) when they get home.
  • Make sure that the meals they are eating at home are nutritious and well-balanced to compensate for the lack of nutrition during the school day.

And remember – it’s only the beginning of the school year. There’s plenty of time to get your child settled in and adjusted to new, healthy routines.

Posted Under: Nutrition | Tags: , , , ,
This post was written by jollytomato on September 15th, 2010

Give Kids Good Food, Not Gimmicks

Tuesday, July 6th, 2010

Sometimes we walk through the supermarket amazed and bewildered by all of the organic or “healthy” foods designed for kids. When we look at some of the food that has been created to appeal to health-conscious parents, we wonder why food manufacturers go to such lengths to create products that are so very, very contrived. Haven’t they heard one of Michael Pollan‘s classic “rules” – Don’t eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food? And don’t they want kids to learn to appreciate good food too?

Yesterday we walked through the aisles at Whole Foods and puzzled over the Vegan Strawberry Chocolate Chip Dino Bites (hey, they’re vegan!) along with the Crispy Rice Peanut Chocolate Drizzle bars. In the cereal aisle, we pondered the Clifford Crunch, Gorilla Munch, and Organic Peanut Butter Pows. Further down the snack aisle, we had a good chuckle over the Tuscan Three-Cheese Pretzel Chips. Do you think that somewhere in a farmhouse in Tuscany, a mother is serving her children some homemade three-cheese pretzel chips? (No, but that reminds us of another classic Michael Pollan rule: You can eat as much junk food as you want, as long as you make it yourself.)

We get it, food manufacturers: We’ve said we want healthier food for our kids, and you’ve responded the only way you know how, which is to manufacture and market the heck out of it. But as parents, what we’d really love is something a little closer to just plain food. Even our three-year-old, who’s at an age where he’d eat just about anything with a funny shtick, said “no thanks” to the Vegan Strawberry Chocolate Chip Dino Bites. But he happily ate a strawberry, because at least he knew what that was.

What kids need is real food, not gimmicks. We’ll gladly pay for some good quality pretzels, but we sure don’t need them topped with cheese or shaped like endangered species. We’d love to serve our kids some healthy breakfast cereal and – news flash! – they’re OK with it being brown or tan-colored, like food really is. We’re happy to serve them granola or energy bars every now and then, but they don’t need to be frosted or drizzled with anything, even if it’s vegan.

Let’s help kids appreciate good food by supporting the manufacturers and choosing the products that are as close to “real food” as possible. If kids learn to enjoy good food now, it will set the stage for a lifetime of healthy eating.

Posted Under: Nutrition | Tags: , , ,
This post was written by jollytomato on July 6th, 2010

Closing Down the “Clean Plate Club”

Friday, June 11th, 2010

When we were kids, we were constantly reminded to join the “Clean Plate Club.” But in a time of childhood obesity, out-of-control portion sizes, and learning to eat only until you are full, this little mantra seems outdated at best and perhaps even harmful at worst. And yet why do we keep hearing it? Because it feels “better” to us when kids polish off every morsel of food? Or because it feels bad to see food go to waste?

We were reminded of this earlier in the week when we read about a restaurant in Australia that charges 30 percent more to patrons who don’t finish all of the food on their plates (via LA Weekly’s Squid Ink blog). In this case the chef is concerned with food being wasted, but the end result is the same in terms of creating an incentive other than hunger to clear one’s plate. The restaurant is essentially saying that it has the right to decide on food choices and portion sizes for everyone else. But if they’re so concerned about wasting food, why can’t they just insist that customers take home the leftovers if they are full? Why should our otherwise satisfied tummies have to take on more than they need or want?

Then our heartstrings got tugged upon hearing of nutritionist Lindsay Ek’s visit to an elementary school cafeteria, in which an otherwise happy little girl was shamed by the lunch aide for not finishing her sandwich. Ek puts it this way:

If the young girl is repeatedly scolded for not finishing her meal how do you think she is going to respond? This is going to push her to ignore her body’s fullness cues in order to please the noon duty, her mother and whoever else wants her to eat “one more bite.” Furthermore, telling a child she is “good” or “bad” based off of the food she eats is confusing for her. Young children want to please. If she gets praise from an adult for what or how much she eats that is another reason to ignore her internal cues and rely on external cues and praise to guide their eating. Not to mention the emotions (negative and positive) that can begin to form around food. Children are “good” because they treat their friends and family with love and kindness, not because they can finish their sandwich.

But of course jumping in and correcting your parents, your in-laws, or your child’s teacher comes with its own set of baggage. You want to keep them involved and engaged in your child’s life, and you don’t want to insult them by rejecting or negating their advice.

The best you can do to mitigate any sort of unwanted advice is to keep reinforcing your own positive messages at your own home. Teach your kids to eat a good meal, and let them stop when they say they are full. (Of course, don’t offer snacks before meals, and make sure they come to the table hungry.)

When some other adult comes over and start pushing the “Clean Plate Club” mantra, you can teach your child to say, with a smile destined to melt their hearts, “It was delicious, but I feel like I’m full now.” At that point, you can jump in, agree with your child about what a delicious meal it was, and then ask them to help with the dishes. In other words, just let it go with a smile, and continue on with the day. Club dismissed.

Posted Under: Childhood Obesity, Nutrition, Parenting | Tags: , , , ,
This post was written by jollytomato on June 11th, 2010
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