The Eat, Play, Love: Raising Healthy Eaters blog series you’ve been enjoying included a live webinar yesterday on childhood feeding strategies. The following tips were compiled during the webinar featuring registered dietitians Janet Helm, Maryann Jacobsen, Jill Castle and Andrea Garen.
1. Focus more on HOW to feed kids versus WHAT to feed kids.
2. Adopt a feeding strategy, and use Ellyn Satter’s “Division of Responsibility in Feeding Model,” in which parents decide the “what, when and where” of feeding and children decide “whether” and “how much” they’ll eat.
3. Trust children to respond to their own hunger and fullness cues.
4. Make time for family meals—breakfast, lunch or dinner—and serve the same meal for adults and children. No short-order cooks!
5. Take a positive approach to food; don’t talk about foods as good or bad.
6. Be a healthy role model. Try new foods, make healthy choices, drink milk and eat a variety of foods from all food groups.
7. Don’t bargain, bribe or reward kids with food.
8. Expose children to new foods 10 – 15 times or more. Pair a new food with a favorite for a more positive experience.
9. Give kids choice—let them choose between two healthy options, like carrot or celery sticks with yogurt-based dip as a first course or applesauce or pears for dessert.
10. From an early age, get children involved in planning and preparing healthy meals.
Access a free recording of the entire webinar at http://learningtimesevents.org/dairycouncilofca/.
You can also access a full news release about the webinar at http://www.prweb.com//releases/RaiseHealthyEaters/051911/prweb8441252.htm