Childhood food addiction prevention techniques : The best feeding habits for kids

Techniques for preventing childhood food addiction involves incorporating the children in decision making on what they want to eat ant to what quantity.

We are all concern in seeing how our children are being brought up in all dimensions. In our quest of bringing them up, we sometime do certain things ignorantly that impacts quit negatively in the development of our children. We spoke with experts from AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center a facility that was established by a veteran addiction expert primarily to make a difference in people’s lives. In her over two decades of working experience doctor Akoury has really made immense contributions in transforming peoples’ lives from all walks of life across the globe. We are therefore privilege to have such brains to help us understand some of the childhood food addiction prevention techniques  even as we progress into this discussion. Doctor Akoury is very categorical that children can eat and enjoy a wide variety of foods and textures and will not complain much as we do. It is therefore very important that all parents and guardians to taking opportunity when the children are still young to encourage them to enjoy family meals and even go beyond the family means by trying a wide range of other foods, tastes, flavors and textures.

Experts from AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center have established that toddlers and young children have a natural ability to sense when they are hungry and when they are full a function that most of us adult may not have. Ordinarily children will learn to eat what the family eats and that will only be possible if they are offered the same food and encouraged to try it. Low-fat or restricted diets are not always recommended for toddlers primarily because this may result in poor growth and development. Nonetheless we all ore our children the duty of care to ensure that as we feed them they do not engage in feeding habit that can have serious addiction impact in their lives in the future. In that regard, let us take some time to briefly highlight some of the concerns parents may have in bringing up their children to be free from the temptation of being addicted to food.

Childhood food addiction prevention techniques: Common parental concerns

In the process of feeding kids we must all appreciate that quit often selective way of eating will be a common occurrence in toddlers. This selectiveness is not just with the children but take a keen look at the kind of lifestyle we live today. For sure we can all attest that the world has become an exciting place and ironically food may be less important when there are many other things to do. In that breath the following are some of the reasons why children’s eating patterns may change:
Slower growth – ordinarily children’s growth often slows down in their second year. This means at this point of time they will often have smaller appetites and consequently need less food. That also means that the quantity of food eaten from day to day can change dramatically. It is however important to note that even though sometimes parents get worried of these changes, they actually normal and doesn’t mean that your child is being difficult or is unwell.
Eating and snacking – children rarely follow our triangular traditional meal pattern of breakfast lunch and dinner instead they tend to feed on smaller and regular snacks. This satisfies their small tummy sizes and provides them with adequate energy to keep moving all day. The amount eaten at mealtimes, and more so in the evening meal may be smaller than parents would like. However, children can balance the amount of food eaten with exactly how much they need if they are given the opportunity to enjoy good foods and are not forced to overeat or finish all the food on the plate. This means that healthy snacks are important to help provide the energy and nutrition your child needs during the day.
Fussy eating – showing independence is part of normal children development and this often includes refusing to eat foods that you offer. Remember that by rejecting any given food does not necessarily mean the child doesn’t like it therefore next time if you offer it on another day they are likely to enjoy it. Other common children eating behavior may include:
• Meal-time irritabilities and food refusal
• Delay in self-feeding
• Preference for pureed foods or difficulty with chewing
• Overeating
• Reduced intake of food or reliance on drinks.

Childhood food addiction prevention techniques: Empower the children to make decision

Your role as parent to your child is to decide what food and when to offer it, but the child decides whether or not to eat and to what quantity they’ll eat. Remember that children eat when they’re hungry. They have a natural ability to sense when they are hungry and when they are full. Therefore insisting that your child eats more than they choose to is not advisable because doing so is likely to encourage them to overeat in the future and probably become addicted to certain foods particularly those that you are forcing on them. Professionally doctor Akoury recommends that it is you let your children decide whether they will eat and how much they will eat. This may not sound reasonable for you but remember it is one of the best techniques for preventing childhood food addiction.

Childhood food addiction prevention techniques: Mealtime suggestions for parents
As a parent you need to be on top of everything and the following are some suggestions you could adopt:
• Be a positive role model by eating a healthy, balanced and varied diet together as a family.
• Serve the same foods as the family eats.
• Remember that children need smaller meals and regular snacks.
• Don’t worry too much, a child’s appetite and food intake can vary daily.
• Offer small serves and give more if needed.
• Let them tell you they’re full and don’t force a child to finish all food on their plate.

Finally it is always said that teach a child the way to go and when they grow up they will not depart from it. This is often taken for granted but if we want to bring up healthy children who will be lean and free from food addiction, we must chose to lay good foundation from the beginning. Therefore if you are not so sure on how to go about it, then you may want to schedule an appointment with doctor Dalal Akoury today for more professional advice.
Childhood food addiction prevention techniques: The best feeding habits for kids