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Tips For Tackling Picky Eaters

Many a parent understands the problems posed by picky eaters. Dinner table confrontations over vegetables can try parents’ patience, and kids busy refusing to eat their broccoli may not be getting all the vitamins and minerals they need to grow up healthy and strong. Recognizing that parents sometimes face an uphill battle when confronted with picky eaters, the American Heart Association offers the following tips. Let kids pitch in on prep. The AHA recommends allowing picky eaters to help shop for groceries and prepare meals. Youngsters who pitch in may be more invested in their meals and therefore more likely to eat them. Steer clear of unhealthy foods. Kids imitate their parents’ behaviors, and that extends to the foods mom and dad eat. Parents who set bad examples by eating unhealthy meals and snacks may find it especially difficult to convince youngsters to forgo pizza and potato chips in favor of healthy fare. In addition, kids can’t sneak unhealthy snacks if such snacks are nowhere to be found. Avoid sugary drinks, such as soda, in favor of water or 100 percent juice as well. Stick to a snack schedule. The AHA advises that many kids like routine and will grow accustomed to eating at certain times. When parents and kids stick to a snack schedule, the AHA suggests kids are likely to eat what they’re given. Choose healthy snacks, ideally incorporating two food groups. Add healthy foods to dishes kids already like. Another way to get picky eaters to embrace healthy foods is to introduce such foods into dishes kids already like. For example, add antioxidant-rich blueberries to pancakes. Kids might like that extra burst of flavor, and parents can rest easy knowing kids are eating something healthy. Don’t be afraid to serve the occasional bowl of ice cream or brownie. When eaten in moderation, foods that are not often associated with nutrition, such as ice cream and baked goods, don’t pose much of a threat. In addition, if kids’ diets never include such indulgences, the AHA notes that youngsters are more likely to overindulge when they do get their hands on forbidden foods, such as at birthday parties or other special events.

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Parents

Want healthier kids? Get a pet!

f youngsters have been eyeing fuzzy kittens or boisterous puppies at nearby shelters or pet stores, parents may want to give in to those cries for a family pet. Pets are added responsibilities, but the health benefits associated with pet ownership may be well worth the investment of time and effort. Caring for a pet is sometimes viewed as a childhood rite of passage, but there’s much more to the experience than just learning responsibility. Experts say a child’s emotional, cognitive, physical and social development can be enhanced through interaction with a family pet. Studies continue, but the effects of family pets on children was heavily researched by developmental psychologist Gail F. Melson in 2003. Melson looked at literature on child-animal relationships and found that children who had pets were better able to understand biology and children who could turn to pets for unconditional emotional support were less anxious and withdrawn than their peers without family pets. Data from a small study conducted by researchers at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University reported that adolescents who had animal experience were more likely to see themselves as important contributors to communities and more likely to take on leadership roles. Pets can also help children develop into well-rounded individuals. Playing with a pet requires children to engage in physical activity and can help stimulate motor skills. An English study conducted in 2010 and published in the “American Journal of Public Health” found that children from dog-owning families spent more time in light or moderate to vigorous physical activity and recorded higher levels of activity counts per minute than kids whose families did not own a dog. Pets may help with allergies and respiratory ailments as well. A 2012 study by the American Academy of Pediatrics discovered that children who have early contact with cats and dogs have fewer respiratory infections and ear infections and need shorter courses of antibiotics than children who have not had contact with pets. A study from Dennis Ownby, M.D., a pediatrician and head of the allergy and immunology department of the Medical College of Georgia, found that having multiple pets decreases a child’s risk of developing certain allergies. He found that the children who were exposed to two or more dogs or cats as babies were less than half as likely to develop common allergies as kids who had no pets in the home. Pets also may foster social interactions, which can benefit children who are shy. Inviting others over to meet pets can help children make friends and find others with similar interests. Children may also confide in pets, which can help develop their self esteem.

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Parents

KidShape | Concentrated juice consumption

Today’s youth continue to battle obesity. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the percentage of obese children in the United States has more than tripled since the 1970s. Roughly one in five school-aged children is obese. Obese children and adults are at a higher risk for chronic health conditions such as asthma, bone and joint problems, Type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Although many factors can contribute to obesity among children, researchers with the American Academy of Pediatrics are now warning parents that fruit juice can be a contributor. In suggestions that overwrite previous recommendations from 2006 in which the AAP said children between the ages of 6 months and 6 years could have up to six ounces of fruit juice a day, fruit juice is no longer recommended for children under the age of 1year old. Plus, health experts say that older children should choose whole fruit sources in lieu of fruit juices whenever possible. According to the article “Reducing Childhood Obesity by Eliminating 100 Percent Fruit Juice,” authored by Janet Wojcicki, PhD, MPH, and Melvin Heyman, MD, MPH, and published in the American Journal of Public Health, excessive fruit juice consumption is associated with increased risk for obesity. There also is recent scientific evidence that sucrose consumption without the corresponding fiber is associated with metabolic syndrome, liver injury and obesity. Obesity is not the only risk associated with fruit juice. Although fruit juice in moderation can be a nutritious beverage, drinking juice from a bottle can lead to nursing bottle dental caries. Also, “toddler’s diarrhea” has been associated with juice consumption, particularly in juice with a high fructose to glucose ratio, according to data published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition. Many health experts are concerned by excessive fruit juice consumption that can lead to an increased caloric intake and obesity. AAP researchers suggest parents of young children mash up fresh fruit instead of giving them juice. Water, milk and breast milk/formula should be the main liquid for children. Older children can have limited amounts of 100 percent fruit juice, but should be steered toward other low-calorie drinks instead.   

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Back-to-School Checklist for Parents of Children Living With Asthma

School-aged kids who catch colds or the flu from their classmates can quickly spread those colds to their family members, who then might spread the colds further when they go to work. Preventing the spread of colds and flu at school is a team effort that requires the assistance of not just parents, but also teachers and students. Still, parents might be the first line of defense when it comes to preventing the spread of cold and flu at school. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 38 million school days are lost to the flu each year. Those lost days can affect students who miss lesson plans, but also affect parents, who often must take days off from work to tend to their sick children. While there’s no way for parents to guarantee their children won’t catch a cold or the flu this school year, they can take various preventive measures to increase kids’ chances of staying healthy and achieving perfect attendance. • Make sure kids are immunized and that their immunizations are current. Vaccinations bolster kids’ immune systems. That’s important, as kids’ immune systems are naturally less mature than adults’, making them more vulnerable to germs and viruses. The CDC recommends that adults and children receive their flu vaccinations in October, while noting that such vaccinations can be administered as late as January and still prove effective. The CDC also recommends that adults and children receive flu vaccinations each year. Additional vaccinations may not need to be administered as often, but parents should still ensure kids are up-to-date with their shots. • Make sure kids wash their hands. Kids often catch colds by rubbing their hands that have been exposed to cold virus germs on their noses or eyes. To prevent that, parents can teach kids to wash to their hands thoroughly, including scrubbing the backs of their hands, between their fingers and around their fingernails. Kids should know to wash their hands regularly, but especially after they use the bathroom and before they eat, drink or touch their mouths, noses or eyes. • Keep kids home when they are ill. Parents don’t want their children to miss school, but kids who are suffering from colds or flu should be kept home. This prevents the spread of colds and flu to classmates and teachers, and time to rest at home may help youngsters recover more quickly. • Teach kids to avoid common germ spots. Germs can be lurking anywhere, but some spots seem to make more welcome homes for germs than others. Studies have shown that kids were most likely to encounter germs in schools on water fountain spigots and on plastic cafeteria trays. Teach kids to never put their mouths on fountains and to avoid eating any food that might fall onto their trays in the cafeteria. School-aged children are susceptible to colds and flu when spending time in the classroom. But parents can reduce their youngsters’ cold and flu risks in various ways.

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