This Eat Better, Eat Together blog post is written by Jill Castle, MS, RD, registered dietitian and child nutrition expert. Follow Jill’s blog at Just the Right Byte where she writes about feeding children and offers well-balanced family meal ideas from all five food groups.

As a mom of four children and a child nutrition expert working with children and their families everyday, I live and breathe “mealtime”—the drama, the dynamic and the dilemma of keeping meals healthy and a positive experience for everyone.

Undeniably, parents have a powerful role in guiding their children to a healthy lifestyle, and this begins at the meal table. To help you be a guide for your children, remember these 7 principles:

#1: Eating together increases the likelihood of healthy eating. Joining together at the family meal table is your best defense against picky eating, obesity and eating disorders and your best bet for a healthy weight, good grades and social stability.

#2: Kids can stop eating when they are satisfied. My 9-year old son is a master at stopping when he’s full. He’s not always right, but with a predictable meal routine, he’s learning to become self-aware, self-regulated and a healthy eater.

#3: Kids pleasantly surprise you with their eating. My 14 ½-year old daughter ordered the hummus salad plate at a local eatery, independently. My neighbor’s daughter was a “picky eater,” but when offered family-style meals, she made better choices and was less picky. Kids are ever-changing, so don’t give up on them.

#4: Kids are able to make good food choices. Given a consistent and positive mealtime environment (free of conflict, full of good nutrition and authoritative in style), kids evolve into great eaters. Take note: this can take a whole childhood to accomplish.

#5: When it comes to eating, kids aren’t created equally. I have four kids and they each have their own eating style. I have 2 “grazers”, a “square meal” child and a “foodie.” Getting a predictable meal and snack schedule on board is the only way I know how to match everyone’s eating personality.

#6: Friendly interaction beats pressure. Kids do better with eating when the conversation and mealtime vibe is fun, light and supportive--and not about food or eating performance.

#7: Kids will follow the leader. I know if I do my part with feeding, such as getting meals on the table in a timely fashion and serving a balanced and healthy meal with foods from all five food groups, my kids will do their part with eating.

Admittedly, it’s rewarding when a child makes a good food choice or surprises you with liking a new food. Don’t miss these moments: get the first row tickets, at your meal table!

Jill Castle, MS, RD
www.jillcastle.com

Subscribe to the Meals Matter blog, follow @MealsMatter and #EatBetter2Gether on Twitter for more tips, recipes and family meal inspiration.

This guest post is part of our New Year, New Approach feature to kick off the year with a renewed passion for healthy eating.

If you are here, I know you’ve done a great job feeding your family—planning, preparing, and paying attention to the important details of nutrition.  But getting nutrition right is a work in progress, and there’s no better time than now to re-emphasize your efforts.

 

And when it comes to kids, we parents have to be on our toes!  To create healthy eaters who appreciate good food and a healthy body, parents need to go the “extra mile”. As you move forward in the new year, these pointers will help you and yours along the path to great health—making your family even healthier than you were last year!

1. Family-Style Meals:  You’ve heard a lot about having meals together, but have you thought about how you serve them?  Do you pre-plate the food you serve your family?  If you do, this may be sabotaging your family’s intuition about how much and what to eat. Family-style meals or The Dinner Barapproach offer the independence your child needs to make the decisions about food and eating that is right for them.

2. Fun Family Exercise:  For children, exercise has to be fun!  And let’s admit it, when kids and adults are having fun, both are more likely to participate.  Turn your family walk into a hike. Take your love for summer swimming indoors and your love for the water to the ice rink. Stuck at home? Try the new video dance and sports games and host a family tournament.

3. A Sweet Approach that Will Satisfy:  Try the 90:10 Rule.  It’s a simple guideline for kids to use for keeping the sweets under control. It goes like this:  90% of what you eat in a day is good-for-you, growing food (aka MyPyramid foods) and 10% of what you eat in a day is FUN food (sugary sweet, high fat foods, aka “junk foods”).  For most kids, 1 to 2 FUN foods each day are reasonable.  And the best part: kids are in charge of their FUN food choices!

4. If you Haven’t Tried these Foods Yet, Now is the Time:  Loaded with nutrients like protein, fiber, and healthy fats (aka nutrient-rich foods) and low on sugar and saturated fats-- these are sure to be part of your New Year shopping list!  Edamame, nut butters, Greek yogurt, bison, tilapia, flank steak, reduced-fat Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses, quinoa, bulgar wheat, and whole grain pasta. I could go on and on, but you get my point, now is the time to experiment and try new foods to get your family’s health to the next level.

5. Tweak Your Feeding Philosophy: Tweak your self-concept: think of yourself as a Provider, “bringing home the bacon and frying it up in the pan”. Your child is the Consumer—she decides if she will eat and how much.  Remember that your child is the master of his own appetite and body. This straightforward philosophy about feeding goes a long way in reducing friction at mealtimes, and problems with eating. And it helps parents keep the division of responsibility intact.

I know that you can be even better in 2011!  Every step forward, every new attempt, and every new behavior will help you be a better parent and provider, helping your family be healthier--mind, body and soul!

Jill Castle, MS, RD, LDN

Jill Castle is a registerd dietitian who has a passion for working with children and a dedication to helping parents be the best feeders, supporters, and homefront nutrition experts they can be. You can read more on her blog Just the Right Byte.

Find related posts on Twitter by searching #NYNA.