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FFA Issue 20 - Raising Healthy Kids - Some Tips for Parents

March 2004

Despite the conveniences of modern life, parenting has never been more challenging: Deadlines, household chores, school and extra-curricular activities can sometimes result in nutrition and physical activity getting pushed down the list of priorities for both parents and children.

To compound the problem, children sometimes seem to actively resist efforts to feed them nutritious food. No-one wants meal-times to deteriorate into battle of wills with kids refusing to eat the foods so carefully planned and prepared by their parents, so it can be tempting for parents to abandon efforts to encourage healthful eating habits.

Furthermore, young people today are spending a lot more time watching television or playing computer and video games instead of running around in playgrounds as their parents did in their own childhood. Reduced physical activity has serious ramifications even for children. There is mounting evidence that the worldwide rise in overweight and obesity levels are strongly linked with falling physical activity levels.

Diet-wise, the key may be to attune your children to eating right. Instead of labelling foods “good” or “bad,” educate your children on foods that should form the basis of an everyday diet like rice, noodles, chapatti or pasta, fruits and vegetables, fish, chicken, lean meat, tofu and foods which are OK to eat less often, such as fried foods, candy, snack food and soft drinks. In AFIC’s latest survey, it was clear most of the children surveyed could tell and accept the difference. Allow the children to enjoy these treats in moderation, and set clear ground rules on frequency and timing, thus avoid creating taboos or points of conflict.

Another key finding from the survey was that children enjoy spending time with their parents; a feature that can be taken advantage of to ensure children get the recommended physical activity.

Here are suggestions to help parents tip the balance in favour of healthy lifestyles.

 The Right Start. Studies have shown that children who eat breakfast do better at school, pay better attention in class and are less likely to have behavioural problems. Eating breakfast also help children to meet their daily nutritional needs and avoid weight problems. No time to cook breakfast in the morning? Here are some time-saving solutions:

• Stock up on low-fat granola, muesli bars or fruit that children can eat on the way to school.

• A bowl of breakfast cereal and milk takes very little time to prepare and is a nutritious way to start the day or try cereal drinks that can be consumed after leaving the home.

• Make or buy a batch of fruit muffins or rolls during the weekend that kids can pick up before they leave for school.

Happy Meals Children resistant at meal times or insisting on less healthy options? Try these suggestions for mealtime peace:

• Encourage them to help out in meal preparation. Studies and parental experience show that children are more likely to eat something they helped prepare. Having the kids help out may be more troublesome in the beginning but in the longer term would actually cut food preparation time with your new kitchen “helpers.”

• Make sure kids don’t snack too close to meal times.

• Be realistic about children’s food portions and hunger levels. Forcing children to clean up their plates even when they are not hungry may lead to a life-time of weight problems.

• Ban TV-watching during meal times.This encourages children to concentrate on their food and enjoy their meal more and ultimately be more attuned to when they are full.

Veggie Power Nutritionists recommend that the daily diet should consist of at least five servings of fruits and vegetables.

• Bring your children grocery shopping and let them select the fruits and vegetables they want to eat.

• Hide the vegetables e.g. add carrots, tomatoes, ladies fingers/okra and other vegetables in curries, stews, pasta sauces, omelettes, etc, or order up extra vegetables as pizza toppings. Put lots of salad such as, cucumber, lettuce and tomatoes in sandwiches.

• Keep a supply of 100% fruit juices in the fridge.

Snack Smart Snacking can be a healthy way for children to get sufficient energy and nutrients throughout the day. There is also emerging evidence that regular sensible snacking in response to feeling ‘peckish’ helps prevent weight gain, probably by staving off bingeeating in response to ravenous hunger. However not all snacks are created equal...

• Stock up the house with easy to eat fruits like bananas, apples and wax apples (jambu merah).

• Buy pre-cut fruits at the supermarket.

• Keep dried fruit, roasted nuts, whole-wheat biscuits, cheese slices and yogurt for at-hand and readyto-eat for children to snack on.

Screen Savers Screen time is taking children away from traditional physical activities like sports, games and active play. Here are suggestions to help you and your children limit screen time.

• Allocate one or two hours of screen time per day _ either on the TV, video games or computer. Let the children choose which they want to spend time on.

• Give children alternatives for afterschool hours. Post a list of activities like biking, skipping rope, playing with the pet, doing household chores or even helping with dinner.

• Get your kids to dance, skip or move while they are watching television.

• Cut down on screen time yourself and get the whole family involved in a physical activity instead.

Family Movers The family that moves together stays healthy together. According to Dr Poh Bee Koon of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, “90% of children surveyed in Malaysia said they like their parents to bring them to sporting activities or watch them play.”

Physical activity need not be strenuous exercise like jogging, running or sports. Concentrate instead on physical activity, which includes free-play that children associate with fun.

• Organise family outings that revolve around physical activities. This could be a visit to a park, zoo or museum that involves a lot of walking, or playing a game of frisbee or rounders in the park.

• Instead of gathering in front of the television after dinner, get the family together for an after-dinner walk. It’s a great way to encourage conversation too!

• Buy everyone bicycles and have cycling weekends.

• Get the family to do housework, gardening or wash the car together. Chores quickly evolve into fun this way.