Healthy Eating Habits in the Early Years

Encouraging healthy eating habits in the early years of a child’s life is so important, and it can be easier than we think. Proper nutrition leads to healthy skin, teeth, and eyes, weight management, strengthens bones and muscles, boosts immunity, increases digestive system function, and supports brain development. A lot of parents, especially first-time parents, often feel at a bit of a loss when it comes to feeding their kids filling and nutritious meals and snacks. A big area of concern, especially in the United States, is that of portion sizing and food quality. Many adults aren’t aware of just how much (or how little) their kids need to eat, and with the constant access to fast food and junk foods, they also may be unaware of the importance of choosing foods that are fresh. Luckily, as a society, we are seeing a switch in the mentality surrounding nutrition and a lot of parents are opting for foods that are raw, fresh, and homemade. With that being said, however, regardless of whether your child is eating foods made at home or foods that are storebought, filling our babies’ bellies is the goal.

Portion control

Children have so much energy, and because of this their need to snack is much higher than adults. Despite this, however, their amount of food ingested in one sitting should be supervised so as to avoid overeating. The United States Department of Agriculture has a feature called My Plate which shows recommended food group portions based on a person’s age and other factors. In recent years, My Plate has replaced the food pyramid, which was an outdated resource that wasn’t truly helpful in promoting a nutritious diet, nor was it necessarily realistic. According to My Plate, generally speaking, half of our total serving should be fruits and vegetables (more veggies than fruits) and half should be grains and proteins, ensuring a well-balanced diet. Healthy Children, a blog powered by pediatricians and sponsored by the American Academy of Pediatrics, goes into more detail about appropriate portions for children between the ages of one and ten. For more information regarding this chart, click this link.

What should kids be eating?

Exposing children to a wide range of foods is beneficial for expanding the palate, thus expanding our children’s flavor interests, but that is often times easier said than done. Online blog Eating Well has plenty of resources for healthy meal ideas that are generally kid-approved, but what about snacks? Making the switch from processed snacks to nutrient-rich ones isn’t always easy – or affordable. Some options that are nutritious, tasty, and won’t break the bank include: fruit, cheese sticks, whole grain crackers, rice cakes, plain popcorn, yogurt, cottage cheese, oatmeal based snacks, and more. As with food, consuming healthy beverages is a vital part of maintaining a child’s health. It’s important that kids are drinking plenty of water throughout the day. Healthy Children recommends preschool aged children drink anywhere from 8 to 40 ounces of water daily (depending on their needs and activity level). Juice is good in moderation, but ideally it would be 100% fruit juice, and it shouldn’t serve as a replacement for water. Juices that contain additives tend to be high in refined sugars and other chemicals that can negatively impact a child’s health and development (such as dyes, flavor enhancers, and preservatives). (Click here and here for articles on the negative effects of food dyes on young children, and here for an article about food additives.) Replacing artificial juices in your child’s diet can be easy and affordable; you can make fruit-infused water, smoothies, or purchase juice alternatives like Hint or Honest juice boxes. Alex Turnbull, a registered dietician, has a great article regarding juice consumption for children where she details the pros and cons of various beverages marketed towards young kids, as well as healthy alternatives.

Childhood nutrition is something that should be taken seriously by everyone involved in a child’s life. Ensuring proper nutrition not only optimizes the child’s health and mental well-being, but it also creates healthy habits that can last well into adulthood.