Nutrition for your Child: Part 4

STAY-N-WEIGH
Part 4: Snacktime – More Than Just the Munchies

By Lisa Hassell

Do you deny your child an after-school snack because “it’ll ruin his dinner?” There’s no need to worry as long as he’s snacking on nutritious things. Children’s bodies are still growing, so they need to consume enough calories each day to help build new tissue. Because their stomachs are generally too small to handle large meals, small meals and snacks throughout the day are best. Since children will take in many of their daily calories at snack time, it’s critical that parents provide healthy ones packed with nutrients.

By serving good-for-you snacks (and eating them yourself!) you are setting your children up for a lifetime of nutritious eating. It may take multiple tries before a child learns to like a certain food, but by setting an example of eating smart snacks and offering them numerous times, your children are learning that you place importance on what goes into their bodies.

My personal favorite go-to snack for my son and me is an apple with peanut butter. Bags of apples are cheap and have a much longer shelf life than many other fruits, such as bananas. I have this apple cutter & corer ($10 on Amazon and worth every penny!) so it takes seconds to cut an apple into 8 neat slices. I’ve never peeled an apple before so my son doesn’t know the difference; he eats it, skin and all, which is much more nutritious and easier for me! I plop some peanut butter on a plate for protein and we each dip our apple slices in it. Easy!

ME, ME, ME!
Put your toddler’s independence to good use. Give her a choice of snacks. Children like to be in charge, so if you offer several nutritious options, they’re getting something that’s good for them while maintaining their control of the world.

DIP, BABY, DIP!
Kids like to dip, so offer light ranch dressing, applesauce, or a yogurt dip for bananas, grapes, strawberries, bell pepper strips, carrot and celery sticks, and grape tomatoes. Whole grain crackers, baked tortilla chips, or pita triangles are fun to dip in a bean dip. Many fruits and veggies can be washed and cut ahead of time and stored in individual containers in the fridge, making it easier to drop in a bag for preschool or as an after-school snack. Hummus is a tasty snack for many children, too. Dip veggies into it or spread some on a whole wheat tortilla and make a fun-to-eat wrap.

ENTERTAINED EATERS
Keep them busy while feeding them nutritious food. Let kids make fruit kabobs (skewer sticks and a variety of bite-sized fruits) or a mini pizza (English muffin half or mini tortilla, a little jarred tomato sauce and cheese, and some fresh veggies heated in the toaster oven or microwave). My mom used to let me make my own yogurt parfaits. I’d get a choice of several kinds of yogurt and various fruits to layer in a “fancy” milkshake glass.

PACKED WITH PROTEIN
Yogurt and cheese are protein-laden snacks that keep bellies full. Use cookie cutters to create fun shapes with cheese or put some on a rice cake. When using yogurt as a snack, try buying low-fat plain yogurt and mixing it with fresh fruit or sweetening it with a little honey. The colorful, licensed-character yogurt found in most grocery stores may contain as much sugar as a candy bar!

OTHER TREATS
Freeze grapes for a sweet treat rich in vitamins and fiber. Use a combination of milk, juice, yogurt, fruit, and ice to make homemade smoothies or milkshakes in the blender. Throw in a scoop of wheat germ for extra fiber. I still add a scoop of baby grain cereal to my 2-year-old’s applesauce. He loves it. The cereal adds nutrition and thickens the applesauce, making it less messy! You can even make cookies by substituting the oil with applesauce and using dried fruit, nuts, oats, and whole wheat flour.

When you’re cramming items into a lunchbox as you rush out the door or your hungry children just dragged themselves lethargically off the school bus, you need things that are quick and easy. Take a few minutes each weekend to prepare a few snacks that will be available during the week and smile knowing your children are fueling their active, growing bodies with the right stuff.

Sources Used:

• http://www.livestrong.com/article/374497-the-importance-of-healthy-snacks-for-kids/
• http://allrecipes.com/howto/healthy-snacks-for-kids/

Lisa Hassell is a stay-at-home mom to a 2-year-old in Indian Trail, NC. She writes for StayNPlay and also has a parenting blog at http://tottalks.wordpress.com.

Nutrition for your Child: Part 3

STAY-N-WEIGH
Part Three: Mealtime Matters

photo by Veer

When you choose to meet up with a friend you haven’t seen in a while, celebrate a co-worker’s birthday, or work on project details with a business client, chances are you do so over a meal, right? There is a reason for that – mealtime is generally pleasurable! Sitting down to engage in conversation with the important people in our lives fosters warmth, security, and a sense of belonging. And since we all have to eat to survive anyway, mealtime is the perfect opportunity to experience all of that with our family members.

Parents sometimes complain that they don’t know anything going on in their children’s lives or that their children have terrible table manners and are picky eaters. Those are all things that can be addressed with family meals. Mealtime, particularly dinner, should actually be more about socializing and learning good manners than it is about the eating. Use the time to model good manners and etiquette and to introduce new foods that might not be served at McDonalds or in the school cafeteria. Don’t bribe or force your children to eat the foods, but offer them, eat them yourself, and encourage your family to at least try them.

Family dinner isn’t always easy or even feasible for many families. There are business dinners, PTO meetings, piano lessons, soccer practice, church activities, and homework. Aim for at least two or three family dinners together each week. If dinner just doesn’t work for your family, gather around the table for breakfast or lunch. Instead of checking email or watching TV in the mornings, spend 20 minutes at the breakfast table as a family. Instead of picking up the dry cleaning on your lunch break from work, use the time to visit your child at school or daycare for lunch occasionally. Many work-at-home parents have flexible hours that could allow them to spend 30 minutes having breakfast or lunch with their children.

Breakfast and lunch should be the biggest meals of the day. In most other countries dinner is very light and more about having conversation as the day winds down, which is healthier. Aim to have the main course for lunch and just enjoy a salad, fruit, or some yogurt for dinner.

Mealtime doesn’t have to be the biscuits-made-from-scratch that your grandma used to do! Although we should obviously be striving to serve nutritious meals at home, if occasionally getting some take-out Chinese is what gets your whole family together for an hour it’s probably worth it! Pick up fresh subs on your way home from work. Work as a family to make a homemade pizza with a ready-made crust.

MORE SUGGESTIONS FOR MAKING THE MOST OF MEALS:

• Serve meals already dished up on individual plates rather than buffet-style, which encourages larger portions and overeating.
• Turn off the TV. Leappads, ipods, iPhones, and all other electronics must be left away from the table. (Yes, that means you, too!).
• Let the answering machine pick up if the phone rings. Return calls after dinner.
• Instead of asking your children, “what did you do today?” (likely to result in just a shoulder shrug), ask specific questions, such as, “what was your favorite part of math class today?” or “what did you play at recess today?”
• Share things about your day, too. Children like to feel important, and talking about a grown-up job can do just that. Discuss how you felt about certain situations, such as how you were embarrassed when you dropped the oranges at the grocery store or when you spilled iced tea on your boss.
• Using age-appropriate information and facts, discuss worldly topics with your children, such as an earthquake in another country or an upcoming presidential election.

Remember: Mealtime DOES matter to your kids. Make the most of it!

Check back next week as we discuss healthy and new ideas for snack time.

COMING UP:
Part 4: Snacktime – More Than Just The Munchies
Part 5: Beverages – An Unlikely Suspect
Part 6: Mini Mouths – Creating a Foodie Under 2
Part 7: Favorite Recipes

Sources:
http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=439
http://www.dukehealth.org/health_library/advice_from_doctors/your_childs_health/obesity 

Lisa Hassell is a stay-at-home mom to a 2-year-old in Indian Trail, NC. She writes for StayNPlay and also has a parenting blog at http://tottalks.wordpress.com .

Nutrition For Your Child: Part 2

STAY-N-WEIGH

Part Two: Eat the Rainbow

 It’s said that variety is the spice of life, and when it comes to what we eat that is especially true. Each different color of fruit or vegetable has different nutrients that our bodies need, so although it’s great if your child regularly eats bananas and peas, he is missing out on some other really important components of a healthy diet if he isn’t eating a variety. It might be time to help him expand his/her horizons (and maybe yours, too!).

BEIGE = BLAH
Yes, potatoes and bananas are good foods, but they shouldn’t be the only produce to touch your child’s lips. If his typical dinner is predominantly white and brown, make a game out of eating a rainbow of foods from now on. Allow your child to help you fill the grocery cart with a rainbow of produce and then work together to learn about new ways to prepare and eat the various foods. Keep a chart on the fridge and see if your kids can eat at least one fruit or veggie from each color group each day. (And no, a red, strawberry-flavored cupcake doesn’t count!)

ROY G. BIV
Remember learning that rainbow acronym in 6^th grade science class? Now see if you can use that somewhat useless tidbit to choose a different fruit or veggie for each color every single day. For purposes of this task, consider blue, indigo, and violet to be the same color “family,” making five color groups total – Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue/Purple. How many days can you go before repeating a food?

Make healthy foods as easy to eat as potato chips and granola bars. When you bring fresh produce home, immediately wash and slice it to store in the fridge so it’s easy to grab. When you slice a bell pepper, divide it into several small reusable containers that you can stick in lunchboxes that week. You can do this while dinner is in the oven. Studies show that cutting vegetables ahead of time does cause them to lose a little nutritional value, but some nutrients is certainly better than none, so if you’re more likely to reach for something simple when you get the munchies make your veggies “simple!” Green peppers don’t do any good if they turn rotten in the drawer of the fridge!

Fresh isn’t always best. Sometimes frozen fruits and vegetables actually contain more nutrients than fresh because companies pick the food at its prime and “flash freeze” it, locking in the nutrients.

START SMALL
If your little one is used to a life where French fries are her only veggie it might take a while to help her develop a taste for other foods, but by making it fun (and not a chore or a criterion for getting dessert!) she might surprise you and eat foods you never dreamed she’d consume. And just because she doesn’t like the ordinary peas and green beans doesn’t mean she wouldn’t love baked kale or edamame. Just continue offering a host of foods. Children should be eating a minimum of five fruits and vegetables every day. Suggest that your child eat at least from one color group each day for the first week, or that she just have one bite from each color in the beginning. Slowly phase healthier foods into her diet. She is much more likely to eat these foods if she isn’t filling up on sweets or starches and if she sees you eating them, too, so make sure you’re setting a good example.

The USDA recently changed their food guidelines by trading the old food pyramid for the updated plate (www.choosemyplate.gov). This visual aid better illustrates what a typical meal should look like, which consists of half the plate being filled with fruits and veggies.

HELPFUL RESOURCES:
· Today I Ate a Rainbow – www.todayiatearainbow.com This site has some great ideas and activities for your children. There are videos teaching children and adults how to use different kinds of produce. I especially enjoyed learning how to make eggplant chips and plan to try that very soon! For $25 you can order a kit that includes a chart and incentive magnets, but most parents could easily make their own for free. The site also sells some cute, helpful shopping lists where you can categorize your items into the different color groups. You can follow this group on Facebook and Twitter.
· GoodVeg on Squidoo – www.squidoo.com/eat-a-rainbow This site has
many recipes and suggestions for eating a variety of fruits and vegetables as well as a chart of sample foods from each color group.
· DK book, I Can Eat a Rainbow by Annabel Karmel -
http://www.amazon.com/Can-Eat-Rainbow-Annabel-
Karmel/dp/1405339063/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1327005580&sr=8-2 This hardcover book is designed for toddlers. The photos of foods grouped by color are appealing for everyone!
· Eating the Alphabet: Fruits & Vegetables from A to Z by Lois Ehlert -
http://www.amazon.com/Eating-Alphabet-Fruits-Vegetables-
Harcourt/dp/0152009027/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1327005720&sr=8-1 Another book designed for toddlers, this one teaches upper- and lowercase letters while also introducing children to fruits and veggies that begin with each letter. It might be fun for a family to go in order and try to eat a food from every letter in a week or two!

Sources:
www.todayiatearainbow.com
www.squidoo.com/eat-a-rainbow
www.kblog.lunchboxbunch.com
www.thehappyfamilymovement.com/2011/10/eating-a-rainbow
www.choosemyplate.gov

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/12/27/2879381/new-years-resolutionkids-

eat.html

Check back next week as we discuss mealtime.

COMING UP:
Part 3: Mealtime Matters
Part 4: Snacktime – More Than Just The Munchies
Part 5: Beverages – An Unlikely Suspect
Part 6: Mini Mouths – Creating a Foodie Under 2
Part 7: Favorite Recipes

Lisa Hassell is a stay-at-home mom to a 2-year-old in Indian Trail, NC. She writes for StayNPlay and also has a parenting blog at http://tottalks.wordpress.com.

Nutrition For Your Child Part 1

STAY-N-WEIGH

Part One: Health and Nutrition for your Child

By Lisa Hassell

After all those holiday treats, this is certainly a popular month for adults to join gyms! But now is also a great time to make a New Year’s Resolution to help your children become healthier, too. As rates of childhood obesity and weight-related diseases in children continue to rise, parents are sometimes left unsure of what to do, how to do it, or even how to find the time to do it.

This is the first of a seven-part Friday Stay-N-Play blog series about child nutrition and wellness. We hope this series will give you good information as well as some tasty and nutritious recipes, fun ideas for your child’s lunchbag, and helpful tips for making your whole family just a bit healthier this year.

THE SCARY STATS

• Nationally, about 10% of children ages 2-5 are overweight.
• According to the 2009North Carolina’s Child Heath Assessment and Monitoring Program (CHAMP), 32% ofNorth Carolina’s 10-17 year-old children are overweight or obese.
• Despite the previous statistic, only 15% of parents describe their children as overweight, indicating that sometimes love really may be blind!
• North Carolinaranks 14th in our country for highest percentage of overweight and obese children ages 10-17.
• Overweight and obese children are more likely to have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, sleep apnea, asthma, type 2 diabetes, joint problems, musculoskeletal discomfort, fatty liver disease, gallstones, and reflux and heartburn. These problems were once mostly associated with adulthood but are now cropping up in more and more children.
• Overweight and obese children are more likely to experience low self-esteem and depression.

Throughout his life, my own son has consistently been at the very top of the growth charts for both height and weight. Although his doctor isn’t concerned and I know Jacob comes by this naturally, given his dad’s size, I still find myself worrying about his future weight and overall health. I guess worrying is what moms do best, right?!

Fortunately, being healthy is about much more than just a number on a scale. A healthy lifestyle made up of nutritious food and daily physical activity is important no matter your child’s weight. Good food and exercise lead to improvements in muscular and skeletal strength, endurance, energy, vision, memory, and the immune system, leading to fewer illnesses.

Here’s to a happy, healthy new year for you and your family!

COMING UP:

Part 2: Eat the Rainbow

Part 3: Mealtime Matters

Part 4: Snacktime – More Than Just The Munchies

Part 5: Beverages – An Unlikely Suspect

Part 6: Mini Mouths – Creating a Foodie Under 2

Part 7: Favorite Recipes

Lisa Hassell is a stay-at-home mom to a 2-year-old in Indian Trail, NC. She writes for StayNPlay and also has a parenting blog at http://tottalks.wordpress.com.

WHEN GOODBYES AREN’T GOOD: EASING THE TRANSITION OF PRESCHOOL DROP-OFF

WHEN GOODBYES AREN’T GOOD: EASING THE TRANSITION OF PRESCHOOL DROP-OFF

By Lisa Hassell

Visit any preschool in America at drop-off time and you are likely to see someone so excited she barely casts a glance back, another person standing nervously in the doorway, and still another crying, screaming, and begging not to be separated from his precious loved one. And those are just the parents!

If you are nervous about an upcoming first day of preschool or your child is currently struggling with your leaving him each day, the following tips may make for a smoother transition for all.

FEAR IS CONTAGIOUS

If you are anxious or have doubts about the situation, your child will pick up on those concerns. It is important for you to help your child view preschool as something fun and exciting, not something to fear or dread. Keep your attitude positive and tell your child that she is going to have fun and do many new, big-girl things. Tell her you are proud of her. Remind her of any fun experiences she’s had at school or in a childcare setting in the past. Point out something specific that is familiar to her or that she will do there. “Look! There are some blocks just like the ones you have at home. Maybe you can show your teacher how you can build a really tall tower!”

(BRIEFLY) ACKNOWLEDGE THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM

If your child is truly worried, quickly acknowledge your child’s concerns with a matter-of-fact attitude so as not to undermine his feelings, but then move on. Say something like, “I know you are scared. Sometimes I’m scared, too. It’s ok to be a little afraid, but you will be so proud of yourself when you go to school all by yourself and learn so many new things!” Keep it simple. Don’t ignore his fears but don’t dwell on them either.

STOP, DROP, AND GO

Dropping a child off at preschool is like ripping off a bandage. It might be painful briefly, but it’s over quickly and everyone can move on happily. Parents who linger can actually make the final goodbye more painful and difficult for everyone involved. As hard as it might be, even if your child is screaming, kiss him, tell him you’ll be back soon, and walk away. Then leave. Most children calm down and engross themselves in an activity within minutes. To ease your own worries, plan to call the school fifteen minutes later to check on your child is doing or ask the teacher to call if he is still upset after a certain amount of time. But don’t tell your child about this plan! You don’t want him intentionally using that arrangement as a way to get you to come back.

A FEW NO-NOs

• DON’T take your child back outside the classroom once he’s inside. This makes the process take even longer, raises anxiety, and makes him less willing to go back inside.
• DON’T reinforce the dramatic departure behavior by promising rewards or treats if she stays at school.
• DON’T ask her if she will stay at school. If she’s upset her answer will be “no.” Think about it – in that exact moment, is the decision to stay really up to her?
• DON’T sneak away when your child is distracted. Although that tactic works well for infants, preschoolers may feel abandoned when they realize their parents are gone and be less likely to turn away from them the next time, always wondering when they’re just going to disappear. Although it should be brief, always give your child a loving, reassuring goodbye.
• Establish a special drop-off routine. Maybe you and your child will use a fun type of kiss, such as a butterfly kiss, only at this time. Maybe you will create a special handshake together to be used at drop-off time or choose not to say “goodbye,” but rather “see you later, alligator.” Perhaps you’ll give him a special note for his teacher to read to him after you’re gone or a comfort item such as a teddy bear to hold during the transition.

“GOOD”BYES ARE GOOD FOR KIDS

Although sometimes we parents don’t want to accept this fact, the truth is that our biggest job as parents is to raise our children to become independent, self-sufficient, adaptable adults. That end result doesn’t happen overnight. It comes gradually, beginning in early childhood. Enrolling your child in a preschool program can be one of the most helpful things you can do for his move toward independence. There may be some tears shed at first, but remember that you are teaching your child some valuable lessons beyond just academics: Sometimes we have to do things that are scary or intimidating. Sometimes things don’t go exactly as we want them to go. Sometimes we have to be apart from people we love. We can trust our parents. We have to follow rules set forth by adults other than our parents. We have to work together with our peers, both to form friendships and solve problems.

Those lessons won’t just help our children during preschool. They are lessons to last a lifetime. Now…go give your child the opportunity to learn those lessons while you take some time for yourself!

Lisa Hassell is a stay-at-home mom to a 2-year-old in Indian Trail, NC. She writes for StayNPlay and also has a parenting blog at www.tottalks.wordpress.com.

NO PEEKING!

NO PEEKING!

 By Lisa Hassell

Jacob and I spent Thanksgiving weekend visiting my parents. One afternoon Jacob had a bathroom accident, so after cleaning him up I told him to go upstairs and choose a clean pair of underwear from his suitcase. At two-and-a-half, he’s proven to me that he can follow simple instructions like that, and I knew he knew exactly where his suitcase was, so I felt confident that he’d return a few moments later, ready for my help as he pulled another pair of Lightning McQueen underpants up over his chubby thighs.

As he padded up the steps my mom and I continued our conversation, until I realized it had been about 5 minutes and there was no sign (or sound) of my son. Funny how those kinds of realizations never turn out well, isn’t it?

I climbed the stairs, expecting to find him sprawled across the playroom floor naked and playing with toy cars. I figured he’d likely gotten distracted and had just forgotten what I sent him upstairs to do.

Instead, I found my child sitting on the floor in front of the dresser in my parents’ bedroom, peering into the bottom drawer he’d only been able to open partway. He looked up when he saw me, tugged at a large toy car still in its packaging and stuck in the drawer, and said, “Help, Mama. I open it!”

My toddler had just found his entire Christmas stash from Nana and Papa.

As a child, I honestly never snooped around for my Christmas presents. I liked being surprised on Christmas morning. Once I accidentally came across something and was devastated that I’d ruined the excitement of the surprise. I also knew I wasn’t any good at faking things, so my parents would know I’d already seen it. That said, I knew most of my friends sneaked around to find their gifts early and so I’d acknowledged that someday I might have a child who would do that, but I definitely didn’t expect it to start at such an early age! I was shocked. I had no idea why Jacob even wandered into my parents’ bedroom, let alone began opening dresser drawers. And what are the chances that in that short amount of time he’d find the one drawer in the entire upstairs where his gifts were being stored?

My mom and I both got a good laugh out of it and Jacob got a new toy car (complete with lights and sirens – thanks, Mom) much earlier than expected! Meanwhile, I came home to my house and reevaluated where I had my son’s unwrapped presents stashed. I’m starting to think next year I may be renting a secret storage unit across town!

 

Lisa Hassell is a stay-at-home mom to a 2-year-old inIndian Trail,NC. She writes for StayNPlay and also has a parenting blog at www.tottalks.wordpress.com.

RECORDING YOUR CHILD’S LIFE

RECORDING YOUR CHILD’S LIFE

By Lisa Hassell

When my parents found out they were going to have a baby, my mom’s best friend began a journal for that baby (me!).  She wrote about my parents’ announcement to her and how excited my grandmothers were.  She wrote about the things my parents did to get ready for me.  After I was born my mom took over the writing.  Sometimes she wrote a few short entries each week; other times she let several months slip by and would then write multiple pages about how I was growing, changing, and making everyone laugh.  Many times my mom wrote about how much she loved being a mom but most of the time she recounted the funny things I said or did.  This continued until I was about seven years old.  Being the oldest, I guess I lucked out, seeing as my younger sister never got one of these journals.

This journal is priceless to me.  When I was a young child my mom would read entries out of it to me, which I found touching while also hilarious.  What kid wouldn’t enjoy hearing her mother recount the time she got stuck in mud outside and pulled her feet out of her tiny shoes and ran across the muddy yard screaming, “Bulldozer, don’t get me!” at the construction site next door and how her father then went to rescue her little shoes?  Talk about feeling loved!  When I got older my mom gave the journal to me to keep, and I have always sworn I’d do one just like it for my children.

I’m a mom now, and along with the other things I vowed to do (such as a crafty scrapbook of my child’s entire life – ha ha ha ha ha), this one remains on my to-do list.  I keep saying, “oh, I should write that down,” but somehow I never get around to it.  I do keep a babysites.com journal with details about my son’s life.  This is mostly for out-of-town family and I update it every few weeks.  But the best I’ve managed to do for Jacob is to print each entry off and glue it in a journal so he can have copies of all of them when he’s older.  Occasionally I try to slip a handwritten letter to him in there, but those have totaled about 5 in his 29 months of life.

When I searched on Amazon for “baby journals,” I found 2,481 results.  Apparently there’s a market for these things.  This tells me that I must be the only mother on Earth who isn’t keeping a daily, detailed record of my child’s every breath and blink…or else, like me, all moms have great intentions and buy themselves adorable, expensive, hardback-covered books in which to keep every memento, photo, and lost tooth of their child’s life, only to be hit in the face with reality while the journal fills with nothing but dust.  Please, someone tell me I’m not the only one.

Here are a couple journals I found on Amazon that got good reviews, particularly for busy parents who want something easy to help record some important milestones or memories.  I’ve ordered the birthday one and the quote one is on my Christmas list!

For the brand new parent:

Baby’s Eat, Sleep and Poop Journal by Sandra Kosak

 

Best-selling baby journal:

Humble Bumbles Baby Journal by Amy Meyer Allen

 

For quickly recording funny or endearing things your kid says:

My Quotable Kid: A Parents’ Journal of Unforgettable Quotes by Chronicle Books

Record birthday memories – just once per year!:

Your Birthday Book: A Keepsake Journal by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

 

Lisa Hassell is a stay-at-home mom to a 2-year-old in Indian Trail, NC.  She writes for StayNPlay and also has a parenting blog at www.tottalks.wordpress.com.