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There are as many opinions on how to
feed children as there are parents and there seems to
be a scientific study to back up each one of them. Food
allergies, vegetarianism, fat, meal-time habits: all of
these are controversial subjects that can be endlessly
debated.
Most caregivers will agree on the important
role nutrition plays in their child's growth and development.
Multi-Sport parents will also be aware of how food provides
the fuel for their son and daughters' performance in team
sports and play activities.
As the debates around feeding your child
rage on and the flow of information on the subject continues
unabated, the best you can do is arm yourself with a basic
knowledge of the facts and a healthy dose of common sense
to provide your child with the nutrition they need to
thrive.
Food allergies
True food allergies are not as common as most people
seem to think and only affect a small percentage of children.
Moreover, most children affected by allergies will outgrow
them by the time they are three years old.
The most common foods that can cause
allergies include: peanuts, tree nuts (walnuts, pecans,
etc), fish, shellfish, eggs, milk, soy and wheat. Symptoms
can include wheezing and difficulty breathing, itchy skin
rashes, vomiting, diarrhea, nausea, abdominal pain and
a swelling in the mouth or throat. These symptoms will
usually occur fairly quickly after your child has ingested
the food.
Keeping a diary and recording what your
child eats will alert you to what specific foods cause
an allergic reaction and then those culprits can be avoided.
It is also important to remember, however, that it can
sometimes take the immune system time to build up an allergic
reaction to certain foods and parents should be aware
of the fact that their child may be allergic to a food
even if he has eaten it many times without experiencing
any problems.
Less severe and more common than an allergy
are intolerances to certain foods, which affect parents
and kids alike. The main food groups to monitor here are
wheat and dairy. A negative reaction to these can manifest
itself through indigestion, bloating, muscle weakness
and a general feeling of sluggishness. The following are
a few tips on coping with allergies in your children:
If you have a family history of food allergies, try to
avoid your child developing one from the beginning by
breastfeeding and avoid supplementing with infant formula.
As the mother you should avoid milk, eggs, fish, peanuts
and tree nuts in your own diet at this time.
Foods to avoid until your infant is at least a year old
include egg whites, cow's milk, citrus fruits and wheat.
Also avoid peanuts and peanut butter until your child
is at least two to three years old.
Introduce new foods slowly - one new food every four to
five days. This will allow you to pinpoint which food
is causing an allergic reaction, if this happens.
Talk with and educate your child and his friends, teachers
and other caregivers about his allergy. Most people do
not realize how serious certain food allergies can be.
Read all food labels to check for ingredients that your
child may be allergic to and don't be afraid to ask questions
in restaurants as to how foods have been prepared. Often
the simple fact that your child's dish was prepared using
the same utensils that were used to prepare a food he
is allergic to is enough to cause a reaction.
Vegetarianism
More and more people are opting for a vegetarian
diet and some children are also making this choice on
their own as part of a meat-eating family. The whole topic
of the vegetarian diet as opposed to the carnivorous diet
is always controversial and can often lead to heated debates.
While it is true that vegetarian diets
can lead to health problems in children and deficiencies
of certain vitamins and minerals if the diet is not well
planned, a conscientious parent can make sure that their
vegetarian child is as healthy and active as any other
child through careful meal planning and preparation. Some
areas you should pay specific attention to if your child
is vegetarian include:
Energy and Calories. Vegetarian diets contain fewer calories
on average then meat and dairy-based diets. This should
not be a concern to you if your child is developing normally
and displaying normal activity and energy levels, but
make sure that he is eating food regularly and in sufficient
amounts.
Vitamins B12 and D. B12 is only absorbed from animal products
so give your child nutritional supplements or fortified
soymilk or nutritional yeast to ensure absorption of this
essential vitamin. Exposure to sunlight should give your
child enough of the vitamin D he is not getting from fish
or eggs.
Iron. Iron is present in many vegetables and fruits but
it's absorption rates from these foods are much lower
than from meat, chicken or fish. You will need to increase
your child's intake of green, leafy vegetables or give
him a supplement in order to fulfill his body's iron requirements.
Calcium. Leafy vegetables, especially broccoli, are packed
with calcium. These are often a healthier source of the
mineral than excessive amounts of dairy that is generally
regarded as the best source of calcium and can cause mucous
formation and respiratory problems.
Zinc. This mineral is found in abundance in meat and yoghurt.
Adapt your child's vegetarian diet to supply him with
this nutrient by including lots of whole grains, brown
rice, legumes and spinach.
Kids and Fat
Doctors now recommend that both children and adults
get less than 30% of their calories from fat. Refined
western diets and junk food ensure that most of our children
are overdosing on this allowance! Experts suggest lowering
it to 20 - 25%.
A look at the traditional Chinese diet
with it's lower levels of saturated fat and cholesterol
can gives us clues as to how to lower the fat in our children's
diet. Reducing their fat intake when they are young can
help prevent heart disease and a life-time of weight watching.
Fatty streaks, which may later produce
heart disease, can appear in children's arteries as early
as age three. Try replacing the fat content of your child's
diet with monounsaturated fat, easily found in olive oil,
nuts and seeds as opposed to the saturated variety we
consume through meat and dairy.
Mealtime habits
Parents see it as their responsibility to control
not just what their children eat but also how much of
it they eat. Research has demonstrated that children are
naturally able to regulate how much they eat and that
learning this habit from a young age helps them to regulate
their food intake and weight later on in life. The parental
role should therefore be limited to providing the different
types of food and then allowing the child to regulate
his own consumption of those foods.
Some would argue that giving your children
this amount of freedom over their food intake would mean
that they would be able to refuse those leafy greens and
other vegetables that are so important in their diet.
This is not necessarily so as children respond best to
foods presented to them frequently and in a no-pressure
environment and there will always be some vegetables that
they like. Make sure you also lead by example at the table
and eat a good amount of vegetables yourself.
Setting aside a specific time in the
day for meals is also a building block for a healthy lifestyle
for your child. Seeing you eating on the run provides
a bad example and gives them the impression that food
is simply a fuel that needs to be ingested quickly rather
than a source of nourishment that is meant to be enjoyed
and savoured.
Don't cater to finicky eaters by cooking
"special" meals just for them. Make sure your
child doesn't go hungry even if she snubs the main dish
by including something you know she likes in the meal.
A slice of bread, a piece of fruit, or a helping of potatoes
will tide her over to the next meal or snack. Don't allow
her to complain about individual dishes she dislikes.
Make it clear that she is not allowed to ruin the meal
for the rest of the family, and don't let her have anything
else to eat until the next scheduled snack or meal.
All in all parental intuition and a
good dose of common sense will help you navigate the sometimes
stormy waters of feeding your children. What's clear is
that some planning and effort early on in their childhood
can help them to develop a healthy approach towards food
that will be invaluable to them later on and give them
the energy and well-being they need to lead active lives
now.
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