Good Nutrition For Kids & Teens

All parents want their children to be healthy. As elementary school aged children go through remarkable physical changes of all kinds, their food intake becomes a critical aspect of this growth and development. Recent research shows that nourishing food not only makes a child healthier, it makes him emotionally more stable, and it improves school performance. It appears then that paying attention to our children’s diets pays high dividends. If only our children thought so, too! Because children tend to rank their parents’ views on food along with their unpopular views on curfews, rock music, hair styles, etc., it is up to the parents to, first of all, be clever about insinuating nutritious foods into the family menus and, secondly, take a reasonable but hard line when other approaches fail.

Breakfast

A child in the classroom whose last meal was dinner the night before has gone about sixteen hours without food, and that child is hungry, whether he knows it or not. A nutritious breakfast will provide energy for several hours-until lunch, in fact. Is any kind of breakfast better than no breakfast at all? Unfortunately, no. A doughnut, for example, provides a quick rush of energy that lasts about 40 minutes, about the length of time it takes the youngster to get from the breakfast table to his classroom!

Traditionally, teachers schedule “heavy” subjects, such as reading and arithmetic, during the morning hours, and so it becomes even more important that the child’s brain be fueled. The following suggestions have proved helpful in sending youngsters off to school ready to team.

Offer options. “Here’s what’s for breakfast. You have two choices. Pick one of them.” Just be sure that both choices have high nutritive value.

Put the blender to good use. Concoct a shake or smoothie with milk, vanilla, and a couple of tablespoons of honey. There is an unlimited assortment of blended breakfast drinks with all sorts of combinations: orange juice, bananas, apple juice, wheat germ, etc. Eight ounces of such a drink served over shaved ice with a couple of slices of whole, wheat toast will keep any youngster on his toes until noon.

If the youngster likes cereal, dry or cooked, give it an extra boost with a sprinkling of wheat germ. chopped nuts, raisins, or other fruit.

Leftover pizza doesn’t make a bad breakfast. It’s more nutritious than any other fast food, and you can increase its nutrition by adding extra cheese.

Layer yogurt, fruit, and granola in glasses for a parfait look.

Try a breakfast buffet with sliced fresh fruits, finger food vegetables, hard-boiled eggs, whole-wheat muffins. The more colorful, the better, and kids love to help themselves.

Lunch

The sack lunch! Does the child give, trade, or throw most of it away? (The clue is if he comes home ready to eat anything and everything in the refrigerator!) It’s altogether possible that the youngster is jettisoning his sack lunch because he is bored to tears with it, so it’s time for the parents to get creative. One clever parent inserts a smaller bag labeled “this is for trading” into the larger bag, and it seems to work wonders! The following suggestions may help.

Apples and oranges certainly qualify on all counts-nutritious, no preparation, relatively inexpensive. But they’re also easy to toss in the garbage can! Get a couple of plastic containers with lids that stay on and fill them with fruit cocktail, applesauce, mandarin orange slices, yogurt, even popcorn or Crackerjacks.

Use cookie cutters to shape sandwiches, crinkle-cut carrots, stuff some celery. If your youngster is a peanut butter addict-and most are-add any of the following to peanut butter for a change from the tried and true peanut butter and jelly sandwich: chopped dates or nuts, raisins, bacon bits, applesauce, crushed pineapple.

Mix tuna fish or canned salmon with sliced cucumbers, sprouts, grated carrots hard boiled eggs, chopped celery, etc.

After School Snacks

Once a child has entered the primary grades, it is no longer possible for him to eat whenever he feels hungry, and it can be a long time between lunch and the final bell. Most youngsters arrive home wanting and needing an immediate energy boost. It’s a great opportunity to add some “in nutrients to the youngster’s diet. To many youngsters a snack automatically means something sweet; however, sugar should be removed from the diet as much as possible except for special occasions.

Post a “what’s inside for a snack” list on the refrigerator door and let the child help himself.

Select a special spot where the child will find either that day’s snack or a note telling him where to find it. (Sample: “You’ll find fresh orange juice popsicles in the freezer.”)

Keep a supply of trail mix in a moisture-proof container. The combinations are limitless: nuts, coconut shavings, dates, sunflower seeds, pretzel sticks, banana chips, etc.

Most youngsters like dried fruits, especially if they can spread them with peanut butter or a fruit butter.

Popcorn-youngsters love it as a snack, and it can also be sprinkled on soup.

Cheese, cheese, cheese-spread, melted or in chunks. Whole wheat crackers.

Dinner

The time-honored tradition of breakfast, lunch, and dinner seems the best way to ensure a balanced diet, but the fact is that we may not need three meals a day. A better solution for some families may be more frequent, lighter meals. And it really isn’t a matter of life and death if a family member misses dinner. No child ever starved to death because he was playing softball and forgot to come home for dinner. Common sense, flexibility, and creativity go a long way to make the evening meat pleasant.

Let the youngsters serve themselves In this way they can decide how much to put on their plates and can always take a second helping if they want it.

Children should be expected to taste every dish that’s been prepared. If they don’t like it, they don’t have to eat any more but it’s an excellent way to expand their food horizons.

Make food look attractive and interesting. One mother cuts liver into bite-sized pieces and sticks toothpicks in each piece. Her children eat the pieces lollipop-style with a great degree of gusto!

Involve your youngsters in the family menu. Let them suggest foods, familiar and unfamiliar, although some of their choices may need to be discussed in terms of whether or not they fit into the family budget.

Occasionally take your children to the grocery store. (Be sure to feed them and yourself before you go or your food bill will soar!) It’s a good place to give them choices. (“Do you want broiled chicken or fish for dinner? Peas or green beans? ” “Pick out some fruit for your lunches this week”) What you don’t buy is as important as what you do buy. If you don’t buy potato chips and sodas, your youngsters won’t be able to snack on them.

Turn off the television set. Make the dinner table a place for good conversation.
Junk Food

Most of the foods served in fast food restaurants have fat as their main source of calories. Even milk shakes are often nude with highly saturated coconut oil. In addition, their foods are usually low in iron, fiber, and vitamins, and extremely high in sodium. Unfortunately, youngsters are exposed to virtually thousands of junk food television commercials a year, and parents might as well accept the fact that occasionally their children are going to head for a fast food restaurant. However, they’ll survive, especially if their daily diet is nutritious.

Child Development Ages & Stages

Children go through distinct periods of development as they move from infants to young adults.  During each of these stages multiple changes in the development of the brain are taking place.  What occurs and approximately when these developments take place are genetically determined.  However, environmental circumstances and exchanges with key individuals within that environment have significant influence on how each child benefits from each developmental event.

Ages and Stages is a term used to broadly outline key periods in the human development timeline.  During each stage growth and development occur in the primary developmental domains including physical, intellectual, language and social – emotional.  Our goal is to help parents understand what is taking place in their child’s brain and body during each period with the hope that they will be able to provide the necessary support, encouragement, structure and interventions to enable a child to progress through each stage as easily and successfully as possible based on each child’s unique set of traits and interests.

Infants/Babies (0 – 2 years)

Raising a baby, especially for the first time, is both exciting and challenging.  This is a time for developing the bonds that will last a lifetime providing the child with the inner resources to develop self-esteem and the ability to relate positively with others.  It is also the time for parents to begin to discover who this new person really is.  Each child is unique and it is imperative that parents learn to understand, respect, support and encourage the unique characteristics and abilities of each child.

·         Expert Articles on infant development and tips for parents on baby care

·         Baby Care on our blog

Toddlers/Preschoolers (2 – 5 years)

When a child takes the first step on his or her own, a new phase in development begins.  At this stage children are now free to roam around their world.  It is a time for active exploration of their environment.  Language development takes major leaps which leads to learning the names of objects of interest, the ability to ask for things and as they discover their independent nature, yes, they develop the ability to say “NO!”.

During this developmental stage, a major challenge is developing what psychologists call emotional regulation.  “Meltdowns” are common during this period but parents can use the bond developed during infancy to help the child learn to modulate their emotional expression and begin to grasp the difficult concept of delay of gratification.  While they instinctively seem to be able to say “NO” toddlers also need help in learning how to accept “No” from others.

This is also a stage of rapid physical and intellectual development preparing these children for starting school which includes interacting cooperatively with peers while at the same time being able to compete physically and intellectually.  A child’s parent is in the position to be a coach providing just the right combination of encouragement, support and guidance.  Parents also need to serve as primary teacher for the mastery of basic learning skills and encourage active discussion and experimentation of new concepts and skills.

·         Expert Articles on child development and tips for parenting  toddlers & preschoolers

·         Blog posts related to toddlers & preschoolers

School Age Children (6 – 12 years)

Raising school age children can be awesome.  Watching them try new activities, cheering them on at athletic events and applauding their accomplishments at recitals are usually some of the high points for most parents.  However, achieving success is often preceded with frustration and sometimes learning to accept one’s weaknesses as will as celebrating and building on strengths.  When will equipped parents can be excellent coaches for their child no matter what the endeavor.

While toddlers and preschoolers need constant supervision, school age children become gradually ready for more independence.  However, learning to make good choices and exercise self-discipline does not come easily for many.  Parents need to impart a moral code that the child gradually internalizes.  As children struggle with these important tasks parents must be able to provide praise and encouragement for achievement but parents must also be able to allow them to sometimes experience the natural consequences for their behavior or provide logical consequences to help them learn from mistakes.

·         Expert Articles & Blog Posts on Raising School Age Children

·         Blog posts related to School Age Children

Adolescents/Teenagers (13 – 18 years)

There is no doubt that for most families, the teen years present a challenge for both parents and children.

Middle School is not fondly remembered by most who attend.  It is often fraught with scary body changes, bullying by peers and a new surge for independence.  This leads to passive-aggressive behavior (“I’ll do it in a minute”), self-consciousness (“What are you staring at?”) and self-doubt (“I’m not good at anything.”) and/or over-confidence (“Well, I thought I could do that.”) and of course moodiness (“Leave me alone.”).

High School is usually better for most.  It is a time to really begin defining ones self and realistically contemplating the future.  Skill development is accelerated to prepare for college or job training programs.  Talents are perfected.  Social skills are honed and relationships take on more of a serious nature.  Peer pressure is at its max and in today’s teen society there are more tempting sidetracks than ever.

During adolescence, kids need their parents more than ever.  Research shows that a positive family environment including fun family activities, open parent-child communication and the encouragement to participate in positive extracurricular and community activities, teens are able to navigate these years with relative ease.

Child Development ! Psychology & Mental Health

Child Development

As children develop from infants to teens to adults they go through a series of developmental stages that are important to all aspects of their personhood including physical, intellectual, emotional and social.  The proper role of the parent is to provide encouragement, support and access to activities that enable the child to master key developmental tasks.

A parent is their child’s first teacher and should remain their best teacher throughout life.  Functioning as a coach, the parent exposes a child to age appropriate challenges to encourage development as well as to experiences that allows the child to explore on their own and learn from interacting with their environment. 

Child Development specialists have learned that from birth children are goal directed to experiment and learn from each experience. Child Development experts have taken the concept of scaffolding from the building trades.  Just as scaffolding is put up to support the structure of the building as it is being built and gradually taken down as the building is able to stand on its own, a parent needs to provide the necessary support for a child to allow them to safely and productively explore and learn from their environment.  As the child matures and develops mastery the scaffolding is removed or changed to allow the child to become more independent.  If the child is not quite ready, the support is reinstated and then gradually withdrawn once again.

The information here provides parents with the knowledge and guidelines and tools to provide the support, guidance and learning experiences necessary for their child to grow and develop according to his/her unique developmental blueprint.

Child Psychology & Mental Health

Understanding your child is one of the most important things that you should learn as a parent. It is very helpful in becoming effective in guiding and nurturing your child as they grow and mature. You need to bear in mind that your child has a unique personality trait that remains consistent throughout life.

One of the ways you can understand your child is by observing them as they sleep, eat, or play. Look for the consistent traits. Which activities do they like best? Is adjusting to changes easy for them or do they need time to become familiar with these things? These things are the normal characteristics of a child and your child may not be an exception.

As much as possible, have time to talk to your children as this is crucial to gaining information and understanding. In the case of young children, they require less verbal language and more facial expression and body language in order to understand their thoughts and feelings. Asking them questions will allow them to share their feelings to you.

Self-esteem is a major key to success in life. The development of a positive self-concept or healthy self-esteem is extremely important to the happiness and success of children and teenagers. A positive parent-child relationship provides the framework and support for a child to develop a healthy respect and regard for self and for others. Children crave time with parents. It makes them feel special. Parents are encouraged to find time to spend playing with their kids on a regular basis. This should include one to one with each child and group time with all of the adults and kids in the home. If you are a single parent or have an only child, occasionally invite family or friends over to play.

For one reason or another, some children do not develop social skills as easily as others. They may earnestly seek peer relationships and then, having endured rebuffs, if not downright cruelty, retreat to the safety of home, family, and their own company.  There is probably nothing so painful for a parent as the rejection of his child. Parents need to take the long view of social problems and to map out a plan to solve them quite as carefully and thoughtfully as they would consider academic or health problems. There are guidelines which, if followed, will help these children if the parent is willing to take time and initiative.