In previous topics we have already addressed some ideas to improve the diet of children and now I will talk, more specifically, about tips that you can apply for children to eat better from birth and before still, from the womb.
The first question would logically be to define what it means for children to eat better, but first I want to talk about the basis for achieving it even before birth.
What are good eating habits?
Good eating habits they would be those who, preferably from personal appetite and their own will, allow the child to choose a complete and varied nutrition that covers all their needs and helps them to self-regulate, choosing as healthy foods as possible.
Fortunately there is growing awareness about what it is proper nutrition and about the risks of obesity. However, it is babies and young children who continue to make the mistake of identifying the healthy child with the chubby child and that is completely uncertain.
A healthy child should have a weight appropriate to their age and height. Apart from that, many variations are possible and that if a child is at a high weight percentile we should not identify him with which he is better fed. In fact, within the normal weight limits that the child gets more fat is one of the things that should worry us the most.
Another frequent mistake is to consider that a child eats badly because he eats small amounts, or rather, less than what parents and book listings or pediatric consultations recommend. The actual amounts that a child needs of food and, especially in a diet well distributed throughout the day, in some way means that a soup plate should be eaten to the brim, much less. You can see here what are the actual amounts of food a child needs.
So, if it's not that I'm chubby or that I eat a lot, do I eat everything? Well, not necessarily. What should really worry us is that you have a diet that provides the calories and nutrients you need, respecting your appetite, your tastes and the wide variety of possible amounts that each organism may need.
Should we eat everything, everything, everything?
A good diet should contribute the necessary nutrients , and these come from foods of different groups and origins. If there is a lot of variety it is, of course, easier to obtain what is necessary, but it is not essential.
No human being consumes all the possible foods that our body accepts. Insects, for example, are a source of high-quality proteins but in western countries it is very rare that they are included in the diet and we do not think that by not eating them there will be no deficiency. We can apply this concept to any food.
That is, eat everything more than eat everything What is customary to eat in our culture is to eat to get all the nutrients: proteins, hydrates, vitamins, minerals and fiber. And that would be the first concept that I think parents should be clear in order to be able to have a good disposition towards our children's choices and not force them, since forcing or being overwhelmed is not a favor for us or for the little ones.
I swear you live without chard. I swear you can live without chicken meat. I swear you can live without squid. And even without apples and pears. Or without bread. Nothing can be worse than insisting that certain food is essential for the child to develop a good attitude towards food and nutrition.
What should concern us with the little ones especially is not to force, respect and offer healthy foods, never industrial and that cover their basic nutritional needs.
If you don't eat chard, you still like lettuce and peas, or carrot and cabbage. If you do not eat chicken, you will surely eat some other type of meat. If you do not want squid and fish arcades, we can go to fried anchovies or salmon meatballs. If you do not eat apples or pears the same if you want an orange juice or a watermelon.
The thing is to offer but without despair. How much more freedom of choice and the healthier and fresher the variety of foods available, the better the child will have with pleasant eating.
Eating is necessary to live and should also be a pleasant action. Eating something we don't like hurts us and worse if they force us to eat something that makes us sick.
Neophobia
Neophobia is very common in young children, that is, the rejection of new foods . And in that I am categorical, you always have to respect, giving time, offering them a reasonable time, looking for preparations that are appetizing, and, ultimately, if rejection persists, leaving them for a long time to include them in the child's diet.
One of the most problematic food groups are vegetables. And one of the most frequent mistakes is to offer them to babies in porridge by mixing several of them, even some bitter or strong flavor. There are always strategies that we can try: dishes that hide their texture, raw presentations or make them as a side dish to steam. And if he rejects them but eats fruit, wait a while and be calm, he will eat if we give him time and good example.
I advise, although I did not know him when my son was young but I have seen his excellent results, the Baby led Weaning method, that is to say, let the small child, when introducing the complementary feeding, choose for himself his foods within a Healthy, natural and simple range.
Self-regulation and good eating habits from birth
The child's relationship with food begins already in the womb, where you learn the flavors tasting the amniotic fluid, and will continue during breastfeeding, when breast milk It will bring you the taste of what the mother eats. It even starts indirectly when the child smells what we eat and watches us do it.
So the first tip would be to have a varied diet in pregnancy, breastfeeding at least two years (when your main food must remain milk) and eat with the baby present, leaving you, always after six months and respecting the indications of age of introduction of food, go testing small amounts of things we eat ourselves.
Not making special food for babies, not giving porridge but doing things that they can eat and resemble what we eat and not buying industrial preparations will make them see food as something desirable they want to share with us and will not tarnish their palate.
And linking with this, I must emphasize again the importance of the models. And considering that the first model is the parents, eat us healthy and accompanied by our children. If we never eat fruit, it will be difficult to convince them that they should.
That is, the best way for our children to acquire good eating habits from birth Eat well in pregnancy, maintain breastfeeding for at least two years, and first of all trust your self-regulation, do not press, offer healthy and natural foods and have good habits ourselves.
