Nutrition for Kids & Pre-Teens

Nutrition is a key factor in the development of kids and pre-teens. Parents can create an environment within the home that supports nutrition and healthy living by providing healthy foods for their children to eat. Proper nutrition ensures the success of kids and pre-teens in their daily life at home and at school.

Eat a Balanced Diet

Eating a healthy, balanced diet is the most important factor in nutrition for kids and preteens. Healthy eating patterns support kids' and preteens' normal growth and development. Parents need to provide a balanced diet of low-fat proteins including meats, nuts and eggs, low-fat dairy products, and whole-grain breads and cereals, along with a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. A balanced diet that includes these key elements provides enough energy and meets all of the recommended daily allowances of nutrients

Rethink Fast Food

Fast food is high in calories and fat and contains little to none of the nutrients necessary for kids and preteens to thrive and grow into healthy adults. Eating fast food continuously for meals can result in weight gain and a digression of total health and well-being in kids and preteens. Parents can monitor their kids' and preteens' nutrition by limiting the amount of fast food that is eaten and by making dining out a special occasion that occurs once or twice a month instead of on a daily or weekly basis.

Improve Snacks

Parents can support their kids' and preteens' nutrition by serving as role models, snacking on healthy foods and creating a home atmosphere that supports eating in a healthy manner. Remove unhealthy snacks and replace them with appealing alternative snacks. Kids and preteens tend to prefer snacking on candy, chips, sodas and cookies. Replace these low nutrient, high calorie snacks with fresh fruit and vegetables and offer baked chips and water, juice or low fat milk.

Watch Out for Empty Calories

Parents are often unaware of the calories that juices, sodas, vitamin waters and sports drinks contain. Kids and preteens consume hundreds of empty calories just in their drink choices throughout the day by consuming these types of beverages. Parents should encourage their kids and preteens to drink water, low fat milk or 100 percent concentrated juices.

Nutrition as a Family Affair

Nutrition should be a family priority that is a part of each member's daily life. Kids and preteens look to their parents as role models and as mentors for learning lifelong skills and habits such as nutrition and fitness. Encourage your family to eat balanced meals together on a regular basis. Try taking your kids and preteens shopping for groceries. Teach them how to plan meals and encourage them to help in the kitchen where you can show them how to prepare healthy meals. Teaching kids and preteens how to buy, plan and prepare nutritious, healthy meals is a lifelong gift you can give your children.

References

• Dietary Recommendations for Healthy Children