Monday, June 23, 2008

Help Children Eat Well

Everyone hopes that their kids will eat their fruits and vegetables so they'll grow into big, strong adults who will eat the nine daily servings recommended by the U.S. government. But everyone also knows kids rarely put "broccoli" at the top of a list of favorite foods. So an increasing number of parents are sneaking in healthful foods, but experts say that can backfire. A study shows that it takes as many as 10 tastes over a period of weeks before kids embraced a new food. Most parents give up long before they've offered it to a kid 10 times.
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-sneak23-2008jun23,0,108121.story

I believe that parents can help kids make healthy food choices by being good models, shopping for fresh colorful produce and letting their kids help prepare meals. My mom did that with my sisters and me when we were young and my sister was a picky eater.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

We must help the kids. I think it is possible to never have to say "eat your vegetables again." There is no doubt that the foundation of a healthy diet and weight control is the significant consumption of vegetables and fruit. Unfortunately, many adults do not like these fine foods - so we must make sure kids don’t develop these attitudes. That's why I wrote "The ABC’s of Fruits & Vegetables and Beyond.” I hope parents and teachers interested in getting kids to develop friendly feelings towards fruits and vegetables should take a look at it. Out only a few months and already being bought in quantity for class use. I wrote it for kids of different ages as it is two books in one – children first learn their alphabet through produce poems and then go on to more mature activities. It is coauthored by best-selling food writer David Goldbeck (me) and Jim Henson writer Steve Charney. HealthyHighways.com