As we wrap up our conversations discussing tween nutrition this month, it might be a great time to look at OHealthy’s article “Teaching Your Kids to Choose Good Foods.” Here’s an excerpt:

According to Joel Steinberg, M.D., professor of pediatrics at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas and supervisor of a weight-guidance clinic at the school, it’s up to parents to ensure that today’s children don’t turn into tomorrow’s artery-clogged, diabetic, obese adults.

And parents can start as soon as infants are ready for solid food, such as beans, peas and carrots, in baby-food form.

“When you move to table foods, offer those same foods — and don’t doctor them up with ketchup, butter, salt or cheese,” he says.

All is not lost if a preschooler or grade-schooler has already had a taste of chicken nuggets and won’t eat a baked chicken breast as a result. Dr. Steinberg advises parents to place healthy foods on children’s plates during mealtimes anyway.

“Don’t force them to eat the food,” he adds. “Even if they don’t eat it right away, they’re curious and will eventually try it.”

Also resist the temptation to prepare separate meals for children.

“Everyone eats the same, or they don’t eat,” says Dr. Steinberg. “In other words, if your 6-year-old doesn’t eat his vegetables, he goes without.  When he gets hungry enough he gets another chance to eat his vegetables.”

Do as I do

You should also look at your own diet if you want your children to be healthy eaters. Kids follow their parents’ lead. It’s not fair, for example, to tell them they need to eat vegetables while you chow down on a pizza. If you eat a well-balanced diet, your kids also are likely to eat well.

Encouraging healthy eating means more than serving healthy foods — it means lifestyle changes, as well. Dr. Steinberg recommends that all meals, including snacks, be eaten at the table with the television off.

The television — and computer — should be kept off at other times during the day as well, in order to encourage a less sedentary lifestyle.

“It’s amazing,” says Dr. Steinberg. “People walk their dogs every day, but they don’t walk with their children every day.”

So next time Fido is leashed up, take the children, too.

Dr. Steinberg acknowledges that adults have little influence over children’s eating habits once the youngsters reach middle school.

“But if you bring them up in a home where they eat the right food, their diets tend to be easier to maintain and they tend to make the right choices,” he says.

Visit OHealthy to read the entire article.

How do you inspire your tween to choose the right food?

It can be one of the biggest chores: Finding something healthy and easy to make for your tween’s lunch bag. But you have a chance to make something healthy and your tween happy if you follow some advice from these health experts from OHealthy’s article “It’s in the Bag.” Here’s an excerpt:

Children have their own ideas of what’s cool, and those ideas may not score well on nutrition. Fortunately, you’ll find plenty of wholesome variations of children’s favorites, says Marilyn K. Tanner-Blasiar, R.D., an American Dietetic Association spokeswoman.

For example, if your child doesn’t like whole-wheat bread, opt for whole-grain crackers, whole-grain pasta salad, or air-popped popcorn.

“Read ingredient lists,” says Tanner-Blasiar. “The first ingredient should be a whole grain. Watch the fat content as well. Look for 8 percent or less of calories coming from fat.”

Children don’t get enough fruits and vegetables. Turn that around with healthy lunch-bag extras. Fruits and vegetables that are peeled, sliced, or bite-sized are easy to eat.

“Cherries, when in season, are awesome. Cherry tomatoes are easy to pick up,” Tanner-Blasiar says. Kids like cucumbers, too.

Protein is easy: Go with peanut butter, she says. For a change, try turkey or low-fat ham. “Avoid salami and sausage that’s high in fat. Even low-fat lunchmeats are OK,” says Tanner-Blasiar.

Five fresh lunch ideas

• Sort of sushi. Spread 1/2 cup cooked brown rice on a softened whole-wheat flour tortilla. Arrange 1/2 cup cooked chicken breast strips and a couple of thin cooked broccoli spears on one end. Sprinkle lightly with reduced-sodium soy sauce. Tightly roll up and slice into 2-inch pieces. Wrap in plastic wrap. Add orange segments.
• Seashell salad. Combine 1/2 cup cooked whole-wheat seashell pasta, 3 ounces canned tuna, 1/4 cup shredded carrots, and enough low-fat salad dressing to moisten. Pack in a container. Add a sliced apple and honey-yogurt dip.
• Snacker’s special. Combine 1/2 cup whole-grain toasted oat cereal, 1/4 cup roasted soy nuts or peanuts, 1 cup air-popped popcorn, and 1/4 cup diced dried apples in a plastic bag. Add 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and shake well. Add a bag of cherry tomatoes and a stick of string cheese.
• Pita with PB and B. Slice open two mini whole-wheat pita breads. Spread 1 tablespoon peanut butter on each. Top with thin banana slices and close. Add a small peeled cucumber (cut into spears) and a container of reduced-fat ranch dressing.
• Bacon crunchers. Lightly spread honey mustard on four whole-wheat bagel chips. Cut two cooked Canadian bacon slices to fit, then place them on top of the bagel chips. Cover with baby spinach and close with bagel chips. Add a bag of strawberries.

To read the full article, visit OHealthy.

What’s your tween’s favorite lunch? Share in the box below.

Tweens who eat a healthy, balanced diet may not need to take supplemental vitamins.

One of my fondest memories of my childhood was taking my Flintstones vitamins before I went to school. There was something about chomping off  Barney or Fred’s head that filled me with glee. At that time, it seemed like taking a vitamin was the thing to do but it may no longer be necessary.

According to OHealthy’s article “Many Kids Don’t Need the Vitamins They’re Taking”  for some youngsters, vitamins could be redundant. Here’s an excerpt:

Many healthy U.S. children and teenagers may be popping vitamins and mineral supplements they don’t need, researchers report.

The experts note that vitamin and mineral supplements are not considered necessary when a person eats a varied diet.

On the other hand, children who actually need these supplements — those with poorer nutrition, less physical activity, and from low-income households — may not be getting the dosage of vitamins and minerals they require, according to researchers reporting in the February issue of the Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine.

The American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend supplemental vitamins for most children over the age of 1. The supplements are recommended for children with chronic diseases, eating disorders and certain other conditions.

“We were curious about why certain parents may choose to use over-the-counter multivitamin supplements for children, and some might not,” said study author Dr. Ulfat Shaikh, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of California Davis School of Medicine and pediatrician at UC Davis Children’s Hospital. “We hypothesized that supplements might be used to reduce adverse effects if parents thought their child wasn’t eating right or were wondering where their next meal was coming from.”

The authors reviewed data on vitamin and mineral supplementation as well as diet, exercise and health insurance factors on almost 11,000 children and adolescents aged 2 to 17 from the 1999-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

About a third (34 percent) of young people had used vitamin and mineral supplements in the month before being interviewed.

As expected, underweight children used vitamins and minerals the most.

Surprisingly, however, these supplements were more likely to be consumed by children who did not need them as much, i.e. white children from families with higher incomes, more food security and, overall, better nutrition and physical activity levels. Thirty-seven percent of these children (who were also less likely to be obese) took vitamins, compared to 28 percent of those in less privileged situations.

An outside expert added another thought to the process.

“The problem is people who can afford vitamin supplements can also afford a lot of different varieties of food — not that I think people on limited budgets can’t afford to eat healthy,” said Kris Rudolph, a pediatric dietitian at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. “But . . . you definitely need to sit down and think about it, and you have to have somebody who’s helpful.”

Visit OHealthy for the complete article.

Do you give your tween vitamins? Why or why not? Please share your thoughts in the box below.