Nutrition Tips for Preschool to Preteen

From preschool age and even into the early adolescent years, parents still have a lot of influence over what their children eat. Maintaining positive habits at home is especially important since kids will increasingly make choices of their own away from home and with friends.

• Make calories count. This may sound like adult dieting advice, but what it really means is try to make sure every bite your child eats is as nutrition packed as possible. Allowing them to fill up on non-nutritive calories (like too much juice for instance) can displace the nutritious foods they would have otherwise eaten.
• Choose whole grains and whole grain products (breads, pastas, brown rice, bulgur, oatmeal) instead of refined grain products.
• Limit access to “junk” foods, but provide some alternative sweet options. Making all sweets forbidden may only intensify a child’s attraction to them.
• Model good nutrition choices. If you choose fries instead of a baked potato, you can’t expect them to do the opposite.
• Fill nutrition gaps with snacks. What your child eats between meals is just as important as what is eaten during meals. Put as much thought into offering healthy choices.
• Discourage the habit of eating and watching television simultaneously. You might choose to limit television, which has been linked with childhood and adolescent obesity.
• For older children and adolescents concerned about their weight, teach them that physical activity (rather than dieting) is the best route for weight loss.

Nutrition Tips for Teens

Now that they are making many of their own food choices, teens need to be educated about the role nutrition plays in leading happy, productive lives. Explaining the benefits of eating well in ways that matter to teens, like improved performance in school or sports for instance, can motivate them to eat well.

• Teens need more vitamin C, calcium and iron than adults. Dietary surveys show deficiencies in adolescent girls.
• Calcium, best when obtained along with magnesium and vitamin D, are important for bone support. Getting these now will help protect bones later.
• For healthy skin, teens need lots of nutrients, water, fiber and essential fats—and less sugar and highly processed foods and drinks.
• Teens who eat on the run, are active in sports or are concerned about weight should consider a good supplement to help fill the gaps in their nutrient intake.
• The teen years can be very stressful, which can affect everything from skin to decision making to eating habits. Help your teen learn coping skills for stress.