Eat Great with MyPlate

By Kristi Winkels, RD, LD, FamilyHealth Medical Clinics

As a parent, you are the biggest influence in your child’s life. Making good food choices and healthy meals can have a positive impact on your family’s health and well-being. MyPlate, based on the USDA’s 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, is a simple guide for making healthy food choices. I’m excited to share more about MyPlate and how to build a great plate for your family at the Oct. 22 Sleep, Rattle and Roll educational event at the FamilyHealth Medical Clinic in Lakeville.

For parents struggling with picky eaters, here are a few helpful tips you can implement today. Good nutrition at a young age is crucial – it sets the stage for a lifetime of healthy eating. And with childhood obesity on the rise, you want to ensure that your children get the right vitamins and nutrients – even when all they want to eat are chicken fingers.

What Can a Parent Do?

Toddlers are known for being extremely picky, and it can be difficult to get them to eat anything, let alone vegetables and other nutritious foods. If all they want to eat is junk food, parents should be vigilant in consistently providing a variety of healthy food options. By providing small quantities of many healthy choices, toddlers will usually pick and choose what they want from their plates. Babies have large appetites, as they need to eat enough to keep up with their rapid growth. As toddlers, their growth slows down and so does their appetite. Toddlers need an average of only about 1,000 calories per day. Offering small meals throughout the day, such as a few bites of salad, skinless chicken and whole-grain pasta can help support a toddler's activity level and provide necessary nutrients.

Try, Try Again

Familiarity is important to young children.  Children may need at least 10 exposures to a food before it is accepted.  It might seem easier to cave in and serve mashed potatoes every night when they turn up their noses at broccoli, but toddlers can learn to like vegetables. Try serving a few pieces of broccoli next to those mashed potatoes. Kids will sometimes eat things that are near or in their favorite foods. And make sure Mom and Dad eat their veggies too! Children will be more likely to eat certain foods if they see you enjoying them.

Finally, avoid making deals or insisting that plates must be cleared. Teaching children that if they choke down some vegetables they get a sugary treat, or that they must clean their plate, even if they are no longer hungry, can create bad eating patterns for life.

A few simple strategies can turn even the pickiest eater into an adventurous one, and can help your child grow into a healthy adult. And you can look forward to a more peaceful family dinner! If you are concerned about your child's eating habits, talk with your doctor. I also encourage you to attend Sleep, Rattle and Roll to learn more about kids’ nutrition and ask me your nutrition questions. It starts at 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 22 at the FamilyHealth Medical Clinic in Lakeville (9974 214th St. West). You’ll hear from a variety of child health experts, including me, a sleep specialist and a pediatrician.