It’s great to see you have a curious mind and want to explore my site. Psychology is a ever increasing field of growth in the clinical study of human behavior. Sometimes I will offer you a summary of some of clinical studies I have completed here in the Arabian Gulf states, or some summaries of my personal observations.
Today, I will give you a short overview of concerns that I frequently hear. I hope it will give you an overview of common everyday problems people feel concerned about, and some hints that may be of help to you.
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NUTRITION FOR CHILDREN
Children develop a natural preference for the foods they enjoy the most, so the challenge is to make healthy choices appealing. No matter how good your intentions, trying to convince your eight-year-old that an apple is as sweet a treat as a cookie is not a recipe for success! However, you can ensure that your children’s diet is as nutritious and wholesome as possible, even while allowing for some of their favorite treats. The childhood impulse to imitate is strong, so it’s important you act as a role model for your kids. It’s no good asking your child to eat fruit and vegetables while you gorge on potato chips and soda. Here are some top tips to promote healthy childhood eating.
- ve regular family meals. Knowing family dinner is served at approximately the same time every night and that the entire family will be sitting down together is comforting and enhances appetite. Breakfast is another great time for a family meal, especially since children who eat breakfast tend to do better at school.
- Cook more meals at home. Restaurant meals tend to have more fat, sugar, and salt. Save dining out for special occasions.
- Get kids involved. Children enjoy helping adult’s grocery shop, selecting what goes into their lunch box and preparing dinner. It’s also a chance for you to teach them about nutritional values of different foods, and for older children to learn to read and understand food labels. Let them pick out a new fruit or vegetable to try.
- Make a variety of healthy snacks available instead of low value, calorie filled snacks. Keep plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grain snacks and healthy beverages (milk, water, pure fruit juice) around and easily accessible, so kids become used to reaching for healthy snacks instead of chips, cookies and sodas.
- Limit portion sizes. Don’t insist your child “cleans the plate”. Never use food as a reward or bribe.
We all can encounter kids who are picky eaters. How to get them to enjoy a wider variety of foods? Consider offering a new food only when your child is rested and hungry. Present only one new food at a time. Make it fun. Cut food into unusual shapes, create something playful in appearance. Serve new foods with favorite foods to increase acceptance. Eat the food yourself, children love to imitate. One key seems to be “balance” – we don’t have to have kids eating a perfect selection of all the food groups at every meal. If the food variety is there and mild encouragement is given to try at something new, over a few meals kids natural instincts will balance their intake. I believe that’s true if those instincts are not distorted by too much sugary or fat saturated snack foods.
One thing that I think is important and overlooked is you should think about exercise as a food group too. Encourage physical activities. Take family walks, go cycling, skating, swimming, and help your kids find activities they enjoy by showing them different possibilities. These habits start a healthy life style and sound exercise will stimulate them to make better food choices.
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