Your Child's Journey

wisdom for the big steps little children take

What Nutrition?

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As our children grow we may worry about whether they are getting the right kind of nutrition. We knew exactly what our children were eating when we were the only one feeding them. But soon, too soon, they discover fast food.

Is fast food OK for our kids?

When our time and strength are limited, it is easy to wheel into McDonalds for a quick bite. But here’s some food for thought.

It’s extremely difficult to eat in a healthy way at any fast food restaurant. The fats, sugar, and salt in fast food draw kids like a magnet, largely because they appeal to a child’s “primordial tastes,” explains Shanthy A. Bowman, PhD.

Because fast food doesn’t contain much fiber, kids don’t feel full afterward — so they eat more later. So it is not just what they eat at that meal, but what they eat the rest of the day that is a concern. It is easy to go above the appropriate calorie intake and fall way short of nutrition on days they eat fast food.

An occasional fast food meal is OK, but more home-cooked, family meals with better nutrition will go a long way to helping your children learn healthy eating habits for a life-time.

Should we hide veggies so kids will eat more of them?

There are two opposite ideas about getting kids to eat more veggies. One says we should make them more attractive so kids will want to eat them and the other says to hide them in foods they already like. After some research, here’s my take. If our kids won’t eat canned peas or slimy boiled spinach, making our veggies more attractive could help a lot! Providing veggies with crunch, cut up to eat as finger food, served with nutritious dips, and in a variety of colors will appeal to most kids.

But when the nutritious food just won’t be eaten by our kid no matter how nicely it is served, it’s time to become more creative. Packing whole grains, yogurt, veggies, and eggs into foods they love like pastas, soups, and smoothies makes good sense.

Penn State researcher Barbara Rolls, PhD found that adding pureed vegetables to favorite foods led 3- to 6-year-olds to consume almost twice as many vegetables (and 11 percent fewer calories) over the course of a day. “I think it’s really important for children to know what vegetables and other ingredients are in their food; that helps them learn about the many forms in which vegetables can be eaten and how vegetables served in different forms can taste different.” Never lie about the ingredients. When your child asks what is in the food, answer honestly so he will trust what you say about food.

Exposing children to a variety of nutritious foods that are minimally processed, serving foods in appropriate portions, and limiting nutrient-poor foods are small steps we can take to help our children learn to appreciate the tastes, textures and flavors of healthful foods. It may also reduce the likelihood they’ll get hooked on less healthy options.

Getting children to help plan, buy, and prepare food helps them develop an interest in eating wholesome food. Talking about the color, texture, and value of different nutrients gives our kids more reason to enjoy food that it good for them.

Healthy Snack Ideas
To help you find additional ways to get more nutrition into your kids, see our Kid Friendly recipes section of Your Child’s Journey.

Here are some ideas for quick to prepare, nutritious snacks that may interest even the pickiest eaters.

  • Peanut butter and jelly on rice cakes or rye crackers, banana bread, sweet potato muffins, or oatmeal cookies with raisins, cranberries or nuts
  • Whole grain tortilla roll ups with cheese, chopped veggies, beans, or left over chicken
  • Hard boiled eggs and cheese slices or cubes. Baked sweet potato chips- no salt necessary
  • Hummus (chickpea paste), guacamole, or salsa with cut up veggies or salt-free crackers to dip
  • Snack mix made with popcorn, nuts, pretzels and dried fruit
  • Whole grain waffles with peanut butter or low-fat cream cheese and jelly or raisins on top
  • Yogurt and cut fruit or juice frozen into popsicles or blended into smoothies
  • A small cup of frozen fruit

Please: write in if you have other questions about or suggestions for nutritious, fun food for kids.

What a Difference a Mom Makes

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Some time ago I bought Dr. Kevin Leman’s book, What a Difference a Mom Makes, the indelible imprint a mom leaves on her son’s life. There is so much in the book that will help moms raise their sons to be the kind of men she can be proud of.

He summarizes 10 of his main points in the following excerpt:

The Top 10 Countdown to Being an Awesome Mom

10. Remember, he’s a boy, not a girl.

9. I know he’s adorable, but he needs to be held accountable.

8. Don’t always pay attention to how he looks; pay more attention to his heart.

7. How you handle his failures is more important than how you handle his victories.

6. No two children in a family should be treated the same, because they’re not the same—including your boy.

5. Remember that your boy will only stay weird for about 15 years.

4. He’s the wavy line—all over the place. You need to be the consistent one.

3. Start with the end in mind. Who do you want your son to be?

2. You don’t get to relive moments. Make every day count.

1. Many have tried, and no one’s succeeded—you can’t do it all. But what you do will make a lasting difference in the life of your son.

Here are a few action points to help you in raising your son:

1. Make your home a place of connection.
A place of unconditional acceptance. . .
with a sense of belonging. . .
and the knowledge that you consider him competent and capable.

2. Teach him to be kind and courteous, and you’ll heap blessings on his head.

3. Be loving and consistent in your discipline.

4. Present age-appropriate choices.

5. Hold your child accountable for his actions.

6. Let reality be the teacher.

Whether or not you have a son, I hope you have seen some things that you want to incorporate in your parenting style. All kids can benefit from these good approaches to parenting.

Bedwetting Myths

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Parents.com published an article, 10 Bedwetting Myths. Take the quiz below and see how well you do at knowing the truth about this common problem.

  1. A child who wets the bed is just too lazy to go to the bathroom.
  2. Punishment helps a child stop wetting the bed at night.
  3. Bedwetting is caused by stress.
  4. Boys wet the bed more than girls.
  5. Most bedwetters have a true medical problem.
  6. Prescribed drugs will end bedwetting.
  7. The best tactic is to just wait it out.
  8. All children wet at night for the same reason.
  9. Bedwetters simply drink too much before bedtime.
  10. Bedwetting is brought on by poor potty training.

To learn the truth about these statements go to: 10 Bedwetting Myths.

TV and Electronic Gadgets in Kid’s Bedroom

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I just read a really disturbing article in Great Schools.org. Great Schools is a very reputable site concerned with giving kids the best possible start in life. I would really like every parent to read this and heed the warning! Here are the highlights:

Is there a TV in your child’s room?

Research shows having a boob tube in your kiddo’s bedroom can be far more damaging than we ever knew.
By Jessica Kelmon

  • The average person will watch nine years of TV. Nine. Years.
  • And it starts early. The average American youth spends roughly 900 hours in school each year — and about 1,200 hours a year watching TV. (To do the math: 1,200 hours is 150 school days.)
  • In one study, kids ages 4 to 6 were asked whether they’d like to spend time with their dad or watch TV — 54 percent of them picked pixels over pops.
  • An estimated 71 percent of American kids ages 8 to 18 have a TV in their room. One study found 70 percent of third graders had bedside boob tubes.
  • Here’s the really bad news: researchers followed the kids and their parents two and four years later and discovered a TV in your bedroom is linked with both being overweight and continuing to gain weight. Two years in, kids with TVs in their rooms reported higher BMIs. After two more years, their BMIs had grown again. What’s particularly noteworthy is that obesity isn’t linked isn’t to the hours of TV being watched. It’s to the presence of the TV in their room. . .Certainly, having a TV in a child’s bedroom sets kids up to be sedentary and isolated — choosing, day after day and hour after hour, to be alone and immobile — an unhealthy way of life for any child.
  • Kids with TVs in their rooms read less, score lower on tests in school, tend to have sleep issues, and may be more likely to smoke in adolescence.
  • In 2011, 8 percent of all families had iPads; in 2013, that figure was 40 percent, according to Common Sense Media. What’s more, as of 2013, 75 percent of children 8 years old and younger have access to a smartphone or a tablet. All of these findings add up to the fact that it’s never been easier — TV or no TV — for children to be transfixed by endless hours of videos on YouTube, TV shows on Hulu, and movies on Netflix from the comfort of their rooms.

You may download a pdf version of the complete article here: Is There a TV in Your Child’s Bedroom?