Question to the expert: Do we need to teach children to "healthy" food
OLGA LUKINSKAYA
RESPONSES TO THE MAJORITY OF US QUESTIONS we used to search online. In the new series of materials we ask such questions: burning, unexpected or widespread - to professionals in various fields.
It seems that everyone knows everything about a healthy diet: it should be diverse and balanced, and its quantity should be adequate to energy. At the same time, it often seems to adults that it is necessary to feed a child according to a certain “ideal” scheme, completely excluding “harmful” products and carefully calculating the volumes of “useful” ones. But is it necessary to strive for a perfectly healthy diet (and does it exist)? Does it make sense to prohibit the child sausages or ice cream? Do I need to count the amount of protein, fat or carbohydrates in the daily diet? We asked these questions to the expert.
Elena Motova
Diet doctor at the Dawn Clinic, author of the book My Best Friend is the Stomach. Food for Smart People, and a blog about evidence-based dietetics
It seems that food is a simple and understandable thing, and we live in good times when it is available and diverse. But in my practice, as well as among pediatricians, I notice how the parental (especially maternal) concern about “nutrition by the rules” is growing. It is known that healthy children can independently adjust the amount of food, following the internal signals of hunger and saturation. And yet, I often get questions about how much cottage cheese, bread, cereal, or eggs should be given to a child. Of course, I give references to average recommendations, but they may not be suitable for a specific child, about whose diet I do not know anything. A single portion does not matter: during the week the child is likely to receive products from all food groups in sufficient quantities.
Modern "hyper-responsible" (by definition, Lyudmila Petranovskaya) mothers were between two mutually exclusive concepts, and the "correct" nutrition of the child became something of a measure. parental competence. The experience of previous generations shouts that the child should be fed at any cost (and it’s better to have only healthy and healthy food). On the other hand, excess consumption and associated health risks are increasing, and nutritional information from popular sources is frightening and controversial.
I try to reduce parental anxiety and perfectionism regarding nutrition. It turns out badly. Parents are most concerned about “unhealthy foods”. This is the most varied food - from chips to ice cream, from sweet soda to yeast bread. The list can be extended indefinitely: spicy, fatty, fried, flour, sweet. With such an attitude to food, the perfect dish will be wiped mucous soup from outdated Pevzner diet tables, and the ideal approach will be the most severe restrictions.
I am not agitating for connivance, but adequate nutrition must be flexible. In the Russian-speaking space, eating issues are discussed a little, but (as in other countries) it is fashionable to “lose weight” independently (even if the weight is normal), and sitting on restrictive diets is considered correct and socially approved behavior. And this experience is also absorbed by children. Very often the first diet begins before puberty, because already at this age the girl seems to be "fat" (usually without the slightest reason).
Very often the first diet begins before puberty, because already at this age the girl seems to be "fat"
The strategy of banning "harmful" food is in effect - but only as long as you fully control the nutrition of the child. And then he or she will still try deep processing food and will surely love something from it. And there is nothing scary or unhealthy. The black-and-white approach to food (“it will either kill or heal”) is a mythology, not a reality, if we are not talking about pale toadstools. It is better to offer a child to quench their thirst with water than to forbid, avoid, or bring up the fear of sweet soda. As my colleague Rene MacGregor writes: “For me, any food is a friend; but, as in life, I want to spend more time with someone of my friends, but less time with someone.”
Almost every parent would like the child not to like and not eat sweets. But when the time comes for self-selection, it is more important that children can make adequate nutritional decisions. To keep sweets under lock and key and to completely ban them is to fuel unhealthy cravings for sugar. Teach children that desserts and sweet foods can be part of a healthy diet, only moderation and portion size is important. Such a balanced and balanced approach will allow you to enjoy the food with the whole family.
The wider and more diverse the family food is, the greater the chances that the child will eat everything without being hung up on some foods. Never praise a child for what he eats or eats, do not comment on his weight and appetite, do not offer food as a reward for good behavior. The calmer in the family to the nutrition of children, the less anxiety and anxiety. Do not forget that the child, just like an adult, should be tasty, and the food offered should be enjoyable. Teach children to choose foods and cook, cook together.
If the choice of food for the family causes concern and anxiety, if it absorbs a lot of time and resources, if the parent feels that any deviations from "proper nutrition" are accompanied by a feeling of guilt, then you should seek help from a specialist.
PHOTO: Smalllable