Every parent wants to give their child the very best. We search for the best kindergartens and the most correct schools, select clothes with taste, teach good manners and try to feed them with the most correct food.
And if most of us manage to cope with clothes and kindergarten, then we often fail with proper nutrition.
5 Helpful Tips for Parents of Loved Ones
Statistics show that up to 60% of children do not eat very well. Not everyone likes vegetables, many refuse fish, and few agree to eat oatmeal or scrambled eggs in the morning. Nutrition experts offer some tips to help teach children to eat healthy foods.
Cook together
Make a menu together, buy all the groceries you need, and cook breakfast, lunch, or dinner together. It is possible that the child will like to taste the dishes prepared by him and he will dare to try them, even if he has never tried fish before and refused vegetable soup.
We remove temptations
Eating a vegetable salad and a meat patty is much easier if there are no harmful foods like french fries or frozen pizza at home. There will be no temptations in the form of cookies, sweets and other sweets – the child will not snack on them and will more readily agree to carrot sticks or apple slices.
We offer a choice
If you have to choose between a sandwich with chocolate spread and oatmeal with berries, then the choice will most likely be made in favor of chocolate – and parents will not always like it. But the choice of topping for porridge is another matter, the child is more likely to have breakfast with oatmeal, if he decides himself, you need to sprinkle it with raisins, berries, or pour a spoonful of honey.
Setting an example
If parents with an appetite absorb this or that dish, then there is a chance that the child will agree to try at least a small portion. Let the new healthy product be in the public domain – it is possible that the child will decide to try it, if not at the common table, then secretly, when no one will look at him.
Adding new products
Deciding to taste celery or another vegetable can be difficult for a child, but he may well agree to try it as part of a vegetable smoothie. Some parents do not even announce to their children the full composition of the dishes they have just tried, because they know that zucchini in cutlets will definitely be rejected. In the event that the cutlets receive approval from the most severe critic, the recipe with the secret ingredient will become permanent, and the baby’s nutrition will be healthier.
Vitamin Patrol
However, all these tricks do not work with all children, and therefore many of them continue to eat not too varied.
However, it’s not just about the variety and quantity of ingredients – an unbalanced diet can lead to vitamin and micronutrient deficiencies. Specialists from the Research Institute of Nutrition of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences studied the diet of preschoolers and schoolchildren from different Russian regions and found that 90% of them had a vitamin C deficiency, 40-80% had a lack of B vitamins, 70-80% had iodine, 30- 40% – iron and calcium, more than 40% of children – lack of vitamins A, E, and beta-carotene. In many children, nutritionists have found several vitamin deficiencies at once.
The lack of vitamins does not have the best effect on health, and for a child’s body, this can be critical, because growth, physical and mental development directly depends on the intake of essential nutrients. For example, iodine deficiency can lead to thyroid disorders, and short stature and iron deficiency can cause anemia. A deficiency of vitamin C and zinc will cause problems with immunity, a lack of B vitamins will not have the best effect on brain function, and a decrease in beta-carotene levels will negatively affect visual acuity.
Particular attention should be paid to cognitive functions – the ability to solve problems, attention, and memory. In the event that a child is not easy at school, he gets tired quickly, sleeps poorly, and does not cope with tasks in the best way, it is necessary to contact a specialist and identify the cause of such problems.
A doctor can diagnose Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), which has been linked to a deficiency of omega-3 fatty acids in the body. Most of these fatty acids are found in sea fish, olive oil, and soy. Children are not big fans of such products, and therefore the likelihood of developing an omega-3 fatty acid deficiency in their body is quite high.
To provide the child with the necessary vitamins and microelements, so necessary for his normal growth and development, the intake of vitamin-mineral complexes will help. For example, products of the children’s series “Doppelgerz® Kinder”:
Balanced, specially designed formulas for preschoolers and schoolchildren, which have a pleasant taste, and are produced in Germany according to international quality standards. Chewable forms do not contain artificial colors and preservatives. They can complement the already chosen healthy lifestyle strategy that parents are trying to introduce their child to. Success will depend on the efforts of the whole family – teamwork will certainly help achieve your goals.
