Rosalee Brown
Children look forward to the summer holidays and it's here! Parents and other caregivers, however, may not feel the same way. They are wondering, 'What will I do with these children all summer long?'
One of the major concerns of caregivers is how to feed youngsters with hearty appetites that never seem to be satisfied. Many parents say that they cannot afford this non-stop, unbridled eating. To solve the problem, many parents bulk buy popular food items such as sugary drinks of all sorts, chips and trixs, cookies, dehydrated soups and so on.
However, caregivers should watch their children's diet. Many of our children are at risk of being overweight for their age and gender. Their eating patterns and food choices are not all healthy and these patterns are not just related to choices they make at school, but to those which they are learning at home. To guard against unhealthy weight gain, caregivers must dedicate some of their time to planning meals for youngsters while they are on the summer break. Yes, there is a place in a child's life for the occasional treats but these should not form the basis of their daily meals.
Benefits of planning meals
Planning and preparing wholesome foods for your children is hard work but think of the benefits such as:
Passing on good eating habits to children.
Reducing the risk of chronic diseases by introducing meals with less fat, sodium and fructose corn syrup.
Reducing the risk of children becoming overweight.
Improving children's self-esteem when they are not bothered with being overweight.
Encourage play
Also, encourage your children to play outdoors where safety is not an issue. Discourage them from spending the entire day indoors watching television and playing computer-type games. Sedentary behaviour, such as television watching, is linked to weight gain not just because of the inactivity, but because of the snacking associated with this behaviour and the exposure to food advertisement directed at this age group.
So, help your children to have happy and memorable summer holidays.
Rosalee M. Brown is a registered dietitian/nutritionist who operates Integrated Nutrition and Health Services; email: yourhealth@gleanerjm.com.
Buy the fruits in season and make them available for children this summer.
Mealtime tips
Make enough dinner, teenagers will enjoy the extras as lunch the next day.
Make enough breakfast, the extras can be eaten at lunchtime.
Buy the fruits in season (mangoes, oranges, pineapple, sugarcane, and so on) and make them available for the children.
Expose children to drinks such as limeade and teach them to make their own. Often, a small amount of sugar in homemade drink is healthier than the commercial drinks laced with high fructose corn syrup which has been linked to the obesity epidemic.
Have bread, unsweetened crackers, canned fish, peanut butter, cheese and so on available so they can make their own sandwiches.
