Children, Parents, and Nutrition
(11/26/2009) You are what you eat. At least that is what we have been taught. Yet in a fast-paced world that is full of gimmicky food packaging, enticing commercials, and candy-ridden checkout lanes in the grocery store, it can sometimes feel as if getting your children to eat healthy is a constant struggle. As parents, we are often tempted to take the easy way out
 Mariah Bruehl |
and give in to our children’s constant requests for sugary foods, yet we grapple with the nagging voice in the back of our minds that tells us it is not the best thing for them in the long run.
I had the opportunity to talk with a pediatrician, Dr. Michael Schessel, and a nutritionist, Jessica Reijnders-Schessel, about tips for parents on how to provide healthy foods for the family and ways to engage children in making good choices about the food they eat.
In terms of your children’s nutrition, Dr. Schessel recommends that you “approach it from a perspective of simplicity and purity. It’s definitely within each parent’s reach to provide a much more pure, much more simple diet to their children. It’s a lot easier than you would think.”
Start young and don’t give up. “I think it’s important to keep in mind that children do not really have any inborn aversions to foods,” Ms. Reijnders-Schessel said. Studies have shown that children’s eating preferences can be set by the time they are 3 years old; therefore, it is important to provide your baby and toddler with a wide range of healthy foods. It is also important to remember that a child may need to try a food 5 to 10 times before developing a preference for it.
Ms. Reijnders-Schessel recommends paying attention to the taste and texture of the food you present to your children. They may not like the stringy texture of spinach, but may happily eat the same food if it is blended into a nice creamy texture.
Look at the ingredients. Although we have all been told that we should read the labels, it is getting more and more difficult. Today marketers of big-brand food companies have found ways to make even candy labels appear to be healthy. Dr. Schessel has simple and clear advice on exactly what to look for on food labels. “When you’re buying a product, try to buy the least processed product. That will be the one with the least number of ingredients. Avoid foods that have a laundry list of unpronounceable names and that exceed 10 in number.”
A great way to involve children in the selection of food is to have them read the labels with you. I tried this just the other day with my 6-year-old. She wanted to pick out a granola bar for her lunches. I gave her a few choices and told her that it is best to choose one that has only a few ingredients that she can recognize. She was able to make a decision on her own that we both felt great about.
Buy organic. Conventionally grown produce contains residues of pesticides and other agrichemicals. Research has shown that various pesticides can contribute to health problems such as cancer, hormone disruption, and abnormal brain and nervous system development. It is also important to eat locally grown vegetables and fruits. The abundant farms and farm stands in our area provide a great opportunity for children to get in touch with where their food comes from.
Snacks are as important as meals. “Parents have to realize that kids are getting a quarter of their calories or more during snack times because their stomachs are so small; they can’t fill up like we do in a meal,” Dr. Schessel said. It is important to make snacks count; otherwise, kids are eating less-than-desirable foods between meals. Some of the snacks that Dr. Schessel and Ms. Reijnders-Schessel give their own 3-year-old son are dried fruit, nuts, carrots with hummus, apples with almond butter, rice cakes with agave sweetener, low-fat organic cheese with apple butter, and whole wheat rolls with raisins.
Talk to your children about their choices. If you involve children in the discussion about what kinds of food you are eating and the reasons behind your decisions, they become well informed and better prepared to make decisions while out in the world on their own. “If you explain things to them, they feel like they’re a part of the decision-making. If you just say no, sweet foods simply become a desired forbidden fruit,” Ms. Reijnders-Schessel said.
It is also helpful to have discussions with your children about how various foods affect the way they feel. If they can make a connection between the huge piece of birthday cake they just ate and the headache they have, they may make a different decision the next time they are confronted with the same choice. Once children can tune into their own bodies, they begin to realize that eating healthy gives them sustained energy, while eating sugary or processed foods may cause them to peak and then feel tired or grumpy.
Build family traditions around healthy food. Cooking favorite family recipes together is another way to engage children in healthy eating. When children are able to pick their own food from a farm or a grocery store and then participate in the process of preparing it, they are much more likely to try a wider variety of foods.
Ms. Reijnders-Schessel recommends cooking healthy versions of your favorite fast-food meals such as pizza, hamburgers, and fries at home. If children begin to associate healthy food choices with the closeness that comes with spending quality time together as a family, they begin building habits that can last a lifetime. “It’s easier than it sounds,” Ms. Reijnders-Schessel said. “Once you start doing it and, as a parent, start believing in it, your children will get excited by it too.”
Dr. Michael Schessel has been on the East End for three years and is opening a general pediatrics practice in Sag Harbor this fall. In addition, he has special training in childhood nutrition and treating overweight and obese children. He has trained residents and medical students at both Cornell University and the State University at Stony Brook.
Jessica Reijnders-Schessel is a holistic health counselor trained at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and is jointly certified by Columbia University’s Teachers’ College in Manhattan. She also has a degree in conversational therapy from her native Holland.
Questions can be directed to Mariah Bruehl at mariah@playfullearn ing.net.