encouraging healthy eating habits

amother

Tue, Jan 19 2010, 5:31 am

my 6 yr old dd is slim and healthy baruch hashem.

however, I'm concerned that she has a strong tendency to want to eat foods that are fattening. her favorite foods are pasta with cheese, scrambled eggs with cheese, in fact anything with cheese. she would also happily eat a lot of bread and of course the usual kid nosh.

I want to encourage healthy eating habits for her, but also dont want to restrict her too much in what she eats as then I'm worried she'll just want them all the more and binge on them if she gets the chance.

how do I get this right? I'm not a crazy mom who would put my kid on a diet. I just want her to be healthy, and can see that she would tend towards less healthy eating habits if she was left to eat what she wants. for example, I limit how much cheese she can have on her pasta (I serve this meal once a week), and when she asks for just plain slices of cheese, I tell her she can have only one slice.

but is this bad? as someone who has always struggled with weight issues, I don't want to project my feelings on her too much, but I also dont want her to become overweight as a child, as this will only make it harder for her later. please help.

louche

Tue, Jan 19 2010, 10:11 am

Cheese, pasta, eggs and bread are good food and neither junk nor unhealthy. At your child's age, these are things she should be eating. A growing child has no business eating like an adult woman with a weight problem. If you said she loves junk food and eats it to the exclusion of "real" food, that would be an issue for concern because junk food contains few nutrients.

Keep mum. Of course you need to put a lid on chazzerei for general health, not for weight control. Six years old is not too young to learn that it's not good to eat too much junk, the operative word being "too much." Nosherei is a treat. Just as we don't allow children to play all the time, we don't allow them to eat nosherei all the time. But we do allow a reasonable quantity.

Offer well-balanced meals and combination foods that include plenty of vegetables and fruit. Casseroles and lasagnas can be made heavy on the veggies and lighter on the full-fat cheese, plus you can look for lower-fat cheeses. Opt for whole-grain breads and pastas rather than white, again, not for weight control but for nutrition.

Whatever you do, do NOT start planting the idea of weight control in your dd's brain at this age. So long as she does not have a weight problem, emphasize healthy eating, not weight control, and don't make an issue of what she eats or doesn't. Even cholesterol, which is needed for the still-developing brain and nervous system, is not usually a problem at this age.

flowerpower

Tue, Jan 19 2010, 11:02 am

You can serve it the healthy way-brown rice pasta(tastes the same), put less cheese on her noodles so if she asks for cheese she won't be eating that much, use whole wheat bread....encourage her to eat other healthy products along with her meal like vegetables, if she asks for snack tell her to eat a fruit first.

mltjm

Tue, Jan 19 2010, 4:53 pm

THe kids I've seen with the most well balanced eating habits are usually the ones who have access to both nosh and healthy stuff. Parents who keep washed, sliced and ready fruit and veggies front and center for their kids, but also have nosh available, these kids tend to have very normal, healthy eating habits as they get older.

amother

Wed, Jan 20 2010, 12:17 am

I grew up in a home where there was no nosh and every meal was low fat and healthy. My mother never fried anything in her life. Never bought soda, not even for the company. I binged every chance I got when I went to a friend or a party or anywhere with food. Now I'm fat. Very.

This is something I worry about too with my kids. I think eggs and cheese and pasta with cheese are okay. But don't make it the whole meal. Rather then cut back on the cheese or substitute some weird pasta, just make it the side to something more healthy rather then main course. The world is full of these foods. The key, I think, is that our children should learn how to enjoy them in moderation and appreciate other foods (veggies, fruits) as well.

ABC

Wed, Jan 20 2010, 5:20 am

mltjm wrote:

I like this, and the post below seems to confirm it.

I find my kids love to eat fruit and veg with or between meals if it's all cut up nicely, presented nicely, and is just available. so when serving dinner, I try to put a plate of cucumber 'flowers' in the middle of the table and let them help themselves. snack can be an orange divided into segments and arranged nicely on a plate.

just not so sure how to fit in the 'right' amount of nosh.

miriamg

Wed, Jan 20 2010, 5:41 am

Encourage by example. If your child sees you taking a fruit as a snack during the day and enjoying it, she'll learn to do the same. My kids love fresh fruit (Hashem's candy) and vegetable salad, and I have to tell them that when they finish their meat they'll get vegetables. Having fruit on hand when you go out is also a great way to train them to like fruit as a snack.

For the amother who felt deprived as a child, there's a way to do it in moderation. Fry occasionally, some nosh (preferably healthier variety) for shabbos party.

OOTBubby

Wed, Aug 08 2012, 10:18 am

mocha latte wrote:

As a child, it is totally fine to eat carbs and cheese and anything that appeals to her. As she grows up, her tastes will change ten times over and will appreciate more "grown up" food . Leave her alone, and let her be a kid.

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