To keep up with a child’s unrelenting energy to play, jump, and run around the whole day, mothers need to supplement them with the necessary foods that are nutritious enough to fuel their very dynamic day to day activities.  Mothers are often faced with the dilemma of what foods to serve to their children that will encourage them to eat healthy.

 Children nowadays are greatly influenced by food commercials on TV. Big companies advertise their food products targeting children with their sugar laden, high fat and sodium based confections. I have to admit food on TV is enticing, colorful and very tempting to eat. Children who are glued to the television cannot be prevented to be influenced by such advertisements. Children naturally love anything that is sweet and this is how advertisers try to latch on their spells to the kids. Now to get your kids to eat healthy and promote consumption of nutritious foods you will need willpower to discipline them the earlier the better. It wouldn’t hurt to add some fun and creativity in there as well.

 Start young and train your babies to eat raw food. It can range from pureed fruits and soft vegetables. You will see that raw food tastes even better than the processed ones in cans and bottles available at the supermarket. These processed foods contain preservatives which makes them available for storage in the shelves for a longer time. Have you imagined yourself feeding your baby with preservatives? I guess not.

 Preparing food for your toddlers can be a little challenging than feeding the baby. A little extra creativity and effort needs to be done to present the raw and nutritious foods to these kids. Cut vegetables in bite size pieces and gather different kinds in different colors in a plate. The variety in colors and textures will surely attract kids into eating nutritious vegetables. Snacks doesn’t always have to be junk food, you can cut vegetables like carrots, celery, apples and melons into strips and have a chocolate dip or cheese dip on the side. It’s equally yummy without the worry of salt and sugar overload for your toddlers. To quench their thirst from play time outside you can make fruit shakes from a blender or juicer. This will re-hydrate them and give them energy for another round of play time.

 Concerns arise on serving raw food because of the complexity of preparing it. But surprise! It is even easier than preparing cooked food since there is no recipe to follow and no cooking at all. Raw food diet is defined as eating food in its natural state, without cooking it. Some people may shy away from the thought of eating raw if they have been raised with cooked or processed food but gradual change to a raw diet can be made easy as long as you think of the benefits it will provide one’s body in the long run. Tools that need to come in handy are blender, juice maker, dehydrator and sealed containers.

 As you progress into the raw diet, you will feel a different glow on your skin, lowered risk for heart ailments, and an increase in energy. This will definitely boost your child’s nutrition.

Over the years, a lot of the diseases we have come to encounter have been attributed not only to the changes in our environment but also to the modifications that have been made in the foods we eat and in the way we eat these foods. Life then was undeniably simpler and as a result, there were fewer diseases and fewer problems even for the vulnerable children.

Nowadays, we encounter the term genetically modified. This tag means that the product involved is genetically engineered. Simply put, the source of the involved products has been altered in such a way that the DNA or the genetic code of the plant or animal is supposedly changed to something that is better than the original. For instance, a potato which is believed to be of inferior quality and may not suit well for a French fries cut will have a gene added to it to make it bigger, better, more resistant to insects and diseases and more tolerant of extreme weather conditions. Additionally, a gene is also added to make it more nutritious.

Other crops that have been genetically modified include corn, soybeans, papaya, rice, squash, tomato, sugar beet and alfalfa. Now, the problem is, should parents be worried about this remarkably gaining acceptance of the public towards GMOs? Why? Why not?

The fact is that you may get disappointed with the varying views on these products as their use and consumption still remains controversial. With the contention that these GMOs are altered in such a way that they are more of the superior quality, then, there is not much to worry about. GMOs, particularly in the US have been there in our groceries without several complaints received against their use. Plus, these products are grown with fewer pesticides and less toxins because of the altered gene. In addition, such products are also monitored by lead agencies like the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency.

However, there are just those people who are not convinced with GMOs. One main reason given is that since the genes are already altered, then the products are unnatural and may be harmful at one point to the immature immune system of our children especially babies. Another cause of concern would be the presence of allergens which may either be known or unknown. There is also a possibility that new allergies may be introduced via the altered gene and allergy from an altered product may be something difficult to pinpoint.

Another point of concern raised is that not all GM foods undergo testing as laws do not usually require the safety testing of the products concerned. Although lead agencies monitor the presence of the GM foods, they do not exactly require the companies to test their products voluntarily. For this reason, parents should make sure that the sources of their GM foods are reputable ones. The downside, however, is that companies do not usually put all the information on their labels so it is somehow difficult to say that a certain product is genetically altered. That said, it is really possible that we eat GMOs everyday without really knowing it.

Your best option is to go organic. While you may not still be 100% sure about such products, the risks are lower. For now, the public has to wait for better labeling schemes.

No one, in general, likes fat. The mere mention of the word is enough to send anyone running for the nearest exit. We obviously don’t like fat in our bellies, in our thighs and definitely nowhere near our precious kids. But what most folks do not know is that there are two types of fats – first, there’s the kind that gives you ridiculous weight gain, keeps you from fitting into your clothes, and puts you at risk for life-threatening health problems; then there’s the kind of fats that lower this risk and offer major health benefits, particularly to children.

If you take your sweet time reading product labels at the supermarket, you will notice how orange juice, yoghurt and a lot of snacks are fortified with DHA and ARA, omega-3 fatty acids which are associated greatly with enhanced brain development in children. Recent studies made on these fatty acids have discovered that these fatty acids can help protect kids from developing diabetes, and can lower their risks of acquiring cardiovascular diseases.

Omega-3 fatty acids exist in natural food and drinks, so you don’t have to rely on fortified processed goods. Here are some facts about omega-3s and how you can ensure your child gets enough of them:

 Breast milk contains omega-3 fatty acids.

This is certainly another edge breast milk has over formula, but that doesn’t mean formula-fed babies are DHA and ARA-deficient. A mother’s milk naturally has sufficient levels of omega-3 fatty acids, which are even more enhanced if a mother’s diet consists of omega-3-rich foods.  However, because of the never-ending conflict between breast milk and formula, makers and brands of the latter are now creating milk that’s closely patterned after breast milk. Most major brands contain a good amount of omega-3s. Even baby food such as cereals and veggie and fruit purees are fortified with DHA and ARA.

 Omega-3 fatty acids are best obtained from fish.

Fish is by far the best source of DHA and ARA, but the threat of mercury contamination is always a reason for parents to avoid giving their kids fish regularly. In general, 12 ounces of low-mercury fish per week is a safe and very healthy amount to give kids.

If you are clueless about which fish to serve, here are the safest options: canned light but not white tuna, Pollock, salmon and seafood like shrimp. The DHA used to fortify processed foods is from purified fish oil or algae.

Raise a fish-lover.

Help your young child appreciate the taste of fish by giving him or her mild-tasting ones such as tilapia and cod when he or she is ready for table food. Supplement your child’s diet with DHA-fortified milk and pureed veggies and fruits or cereal. Puree fish like salmon for babies who are starting to eat semi-solid food. Make fish nuggets, fish fingers, or fish cakes. Get creative with your fish dishes in order to get your child to like eating fish.

When you have a child in the house, then you know that every meal time can become a struggle. You may have a toddler who will only eat spaghetti and no other kind of pasta and no other food on the table. Your preschooler may insist on eating with his hands, and making the dinner table look like an aftermath of a world war. And then there’s the child who seems to be food-phobic.

Mealtimes are supposed to be fun and relaxing for the entire family. Help your young child ease into the healthy eating habits.

The All-or-Nothing Eater

This is the child whose appetite is either ravenous or completely absent, but never in between. This means that on some days, your child may eat anything at all and want to eat all the time, but on other days will refuse a single spoonful. This is most common in toddlers.

Here’s why you shouldn’t worry. Your toddler does not have to eat much, and that’s why he or she doesn’t. Grow is slower during toddlerhood, so calorie needs are lower as well. An infant feeds frequently because he or she grows fast, but a toddler‘s growth pace is that of a snail’s.

Toddlers are natural grazers, so don’t expect them to sit through a meal when they’re not hungry. Give your child five mini-meals instead of the three main ones. Avoid empty calories such as sodas and offer filling but nutritious snacks. This is a problem that solves itself on its own in time. Your child will ask for something to eat when he or she feels it.

The Only-or-Nothing Eater

This child will eat only a particular type of food and nothing else. He or she will eat chicken nuggets in the morning, chicken nuggets for lunch and chicken nuggets for dinner, and the same chicken nuggets for snacks. You don’t even have to ask what he or she wants, because it’s always the same.

Young children depend of routines and repetition for comfort and security. That’s why toddlers get thrown off their pleasant disposition if their daily routines get changed. Young children like to play with the same toys, listen to the same sounds, read the same books and be with the same people they see every day. The same is true for wanting the same foods every meal time.

Your biggest concern is that your child eats, so prepare what he or she wants, but you should always offer a nutritious alternative or an extra. For example, if it’s chicken nuggets all the way, serve with fries, fresh fruits or steamed vegetable pieces.

The Food-phobic

This child will run and hide when a strange new food is served. Toddlers exhibit this most often – they are afraid of unfamiliar flavors. The good news is, this is really temporary. Kids grow out of this by the time they are four or five years old when they are ready to try out new tastes. In the meantime, be consistent in offering new foods. They may or may not appreciate them, but your gentle persistence will eventually get to them, and they will learn to try the foods out.  

Whatever you do, never bribe or threaten your child into eating a new food. Time is all your child needs to grow out of his or her food phobia.

The Food Throwing Machine

You may think your child is doing it on purpose – food just ends up everywhere, every meal time. It’s on the floor, on the table, on his or her shirt, on the wall, on his or her sister’s hair, on your plate, but never ever on his or her plate or in his or her cup.  

Here’s a scenario you may be familiar with – you give your child a sippy cup with milk and turn your back for a second. The next thing you know, your toddler’s hands are happily playing with a puddle of milk on the table.

If you have a toddler who is doing all of the above, resist the urge to think he or she is deliberately annoying you. In reality, your little one is just curious about everything – how fast his piece of nugget falls to the floor, or how many spoon banging will crush a piece of carrot. Your child loves the feeling of anything squishy between his or her fingers, and doesn’t know yet that food is not the same as Play-Doh.  

Never punish your young one for making a mess – if you do, meal-time will be a dreadful time for him or her. Instead, use positive reinforcement. Toddlers only eat for about five to ten minutes – anything beyond that and they get bored, so offer distractions like a toy or take them off the table.

Being overweight much more obese won’t do good to the body. Weighing more than expected makes one prone to have conditions like hypertension, diabetes, and certain cancers. That is why everyone is encouraged to weigh what is normal for his height so as to prevent the diseases mentioned above. But weight problems seem to be a growing problem today even in children. As a matter of fact childhood obesity is very rampant now a day. Parents are often worried on what would be the health consequences that being obese gives their daughter.

Female children who are overweight are prone to have early onset of menses can lead her to have gynecological problems later on aside from the conditions mentioned above. Recognizing the harmful effects that being overweight gives their daughters; many parents want to do something on their child’s weight. Here are some of the ways on how you can help your daughters lose weight:

• Before starting any diet and exercise regimen for your daughter, bring your daughter to the pediatrician first. The doctor will still have to assess your daughter and recommend on how much weight she should lose in order to be healthier.
• Inform your daughter on the harmful effects that being obese or overweight gives the health. In this way you can have her to cooperate on making her shed the extra weight.
• Bring her when you shop for the groceries and orient her on reading the nutritional labels that are found on foods. Teach her that the lower the calories, the healthier it is for the body. When she wants to buy junk foods and chips, make her choose the healthier variety like vegetable crackers. This is enough to satisfy her cravings from the foods that she usually loves to eat.
•  Involve your daughter in planning her healthy meals. In this way you will know what you will be letting her eat are foods that she will surely eat.
• Let your daughter be engaged in sports. When she has regular exercise routine, your child will be losing weight. If your daughter isn’t much into sport activities, then you can enroll on her dance classes. In this way she is not burning those unwanted calories, but also learning a new skill that she will enjoy.
• Be your daughter’s diet partner. When you join your daughter with the goal of becoming healthy, then it is like hitting two birds at one stone. It is not just your daughter who is gaining the benefits of diet and exercise, you are too.

Encouraging them to be healthy, will be one of the best things that you can do for your daughter.

Parents are often excited when it is time for their babies to eat solid foods. This means that their little angel is already starting to grow. Mothers especially are eager to think on what foods they are going to feed their babies that will make them satisfied not just with nutrition but their taste buds as well. Feeding the baby when it is not yet time will cause harm rather than good. So before parents try to feed their baby, here are some of the important points to remember before you start feeding your baby solid foods:

• Get the approval and go signal from their baby’s pediatrician. The doctor is the best person to advice when it is best for you to start giving your baby solid foods apart from the usual milk diet that your baby usually has. Usually babies can already start eating solid foods around four to six months when he already knows how to properly swallow and her digestive system is already ready for the introduction of food.
• Your baby already needs to start eating solid foods when he is already crying and asking for milk more than eight times a day. This signals that his stomach is not satisfied with milk alone so there is a need to reinforce the baby’s nutritional needs with solid foods.
• When your baby seems to be interested on the food that you are eating and try to eat the food when you try to put the spoon near his mouth. This is an inclination that your baby is ready to be fed with solid foods.
• Prior to feeding solid foods to your baby, make sure that your baby is already able to sit down on his own and the extrusion reflex should be already gone so that the baby can chew the food properly.
• Make sure that the foods that you give the baby are those that have less allergen and those foods with no heavy sauces because it can cause irritation to the baby’s gastro intestinal tract. Rice porridge is a good example of foods that are safe to be eaten by the baby.
• See to it that you are feeding the baby first before giving him his milk. Giving the milk ahead of time will lose his appetite for food because he is already full with milk.
• It is very important that the food you will be giving the baby is well prepared because your baby is very much prone to food poisoning especially because his digestive system is still developing.

Most children under the age of 15 suffer from sleep disorders brought by blockage of the tonsils in the airway. To avoid this condition parents are often advised by doctors to perform a tonsillectomy. It is a procedure wherein the tonsils are removed from the throat. This surgical procedure is often advised for people who constantly suffer from tonsillitis and sleeping disorders, the former posing a danger to develop rheumatic heart disease if there are recurrent infections. Tonsillectomy can either be with or without adenoidectomy. The surgery is done as an outpatient procedure and recovery usually takes two to three weeks. Parents will need to watch out for bleeding and frequent swallowing which can be a sign that there is perfuse bleeding in the throat.

Recent studies shows that there is an accelerated weight gain in children who undergone tonsillectomy. While some doctors will argue tonsillectomy does not directly cause weight gain but it can predispose a child into eating more because of the removal of the blockage that is causing discomfort in eating in the past. Children who often have recurrent tonsillitis suffer from dysphagia or difficulty in swallowing and this leads to poor eating habits. Thus the children are poorly nourished and underweight. After tonsillectomy the discomfort in eating is removed and children are encouraged to eat more and since they are still in their growing years the chances of growth are doubled.

Parent also plays a major role in the increase in caloric intake for children who just had tonsillectomy. Parents will naturally encourage their child to eat more thinking that they would recover faster from the surgical procedure.

Parents and children who had a tonsillectomy should work together to maintain a well balanced diet to avoid the scare of gaining weight after the procedure. Parents should be informed of the proper foods to serve to their children focusing more on vegetables and fruits rather than junk foods and sweets. Parents should also encourage regular physical activity in their children to burn excess calorie intake from food. Children are naturally energetic and playful which is why encouraging them to increase their physical activity will not be difficult.

Overweight and obesity among children is not just a problem resulting from a surgical procedure such as a tonsillectomy but it shows a deeper problem in the society wherein our kids are slowly becoming unhealthy. With increased frequency of food advertisements in tv, media and internet children are exposed to tasty, delicious yet not so nutritious foods. Fast food chains like hamburgers, fries and doughnuts are popular among kids and parents will not always be around to supervise what their children eats. Parents should really focus on teaching their kids about healthy eating at an early age to instill in them the value of nutritious foods. Parents can still prepare healthy foods that are equally tasty and delicious compared to those served in fast food chains without the excess trans fat and calories.

Being a vegetarian may entail a lot of different meanings to various people.  There are those that simply represent diet, while there are others that embody some ethical or religious beliefs.  In essence, being a vegetarian simply means a person who does not consume meat of any kind – and this includes seafood.  Majority of vegetarians are ovo-lacto which means that they do not eat meat but do consume dairy products like milk, eggs, and cheese.  Ovo-vegetarians on the other hand only eat eggs but not dairy products.  The term vegan represents vegetarians who do not eat any animal products at all.

Health is primarily the most popular reason for being a vegetarian.  However, a vegetarian diet does not always equate to a healthy balanced diet.  One may not eat meat at all but may still be involved in high consumption of chocolates, soda, and chips.

If you have children who are vegetarian, it is important to provide the support and knowledge to them.  The perfect time to educate your child about good eating habits is during their early childhood years.  Studies show that diets that are high in cholesterol and saturated fats, which lead to risks in heart disease, start in the early childhood years.  You may find it difficult to explain to your child vegetarianism but at that young age, a broad explanation of the different aspects and benefits of being a vegetarian is helpful.

A child usually eats what is given to them, which makes it a perfect time to begin developing their eating patterns and taste preferences to food.  Children start to choose their own preference in food at the age of three and this is based on the familiarity with the food they are accustomed to.  This is the time when your child begins to build their own opinions about food which makes it very critical that you get them used to eating healthy foods, like vegetables, early.

As they grow older, they get more opportunities to experience different foods outside your home.  But this is also the time that they would understand you or your family’s viewpoint about having a healthy diet.  However, there is still no denying the fact that there are absolute requirements for a child’s diet.  Eliminating a whole food group will not yield overall health benefits as certain nutrients needed by the body are depleted or deprived. A balanced diet of each food group will promote wellness and optimum nutrition to your growing child.

Iron deficiency, for example, that leads to anemia is the most common problem amongst vegetarian children.  This is because meat products have the best source of iron.  However, iron may also be found abundantly in vegetables like grains, broccoli, beans, nuts, and dried fruits.  Consumption of foods or drinks that are rich in Vitamin C is advised as this greatly improves iron absorption.

Raising your child to become a strong and healthy vegetarian child is pretty straightforward.  All it entails is a little bit of research.  It’s also a good practice to teach your child to do research on his or her own.  The fundamental part is that your child gets all the recommended number of servings and nutrients.  Being a vegetarian may just prove to be not only adequate but very healthy as well.