Parents As Teachers - Parents Corner

May 21, 2013

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Where parents can find valuable information including parenting tips, area resouces, interesting books for you and your child and much much more. . . .
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Parenting Tip & Ideas

Got Picky Eaters?

lunch bag with food
Don't get mad. Get clever. Use these simple techniques to get your kids to
eat a greater variety of healthy foods without resorting to mealtime
confrontations or worse, forced feeding.

BE PREPARED Keep a cooler in the car that you stock with carrots, pretzels, yogurt and water when you're driving around with the kids. This trick will head off the "I'm starving to death!" syndrome that can cause an otherwise reliable automotible to veer off into a fast food drive-thru lane.	PLAN DINNERS If planning menus for a full week is too daunting, start by organizing only two or three days at a time. Keep the meals simple but balanced. Whole grain bread, rice or pasta, a fruit or a vegetable; and a protein source like lean meat, cheese or beans.
HAVE FUN Giving leftovers a new name and a new look can make them much more appetizing. When my boys were growing up they loved "Bits and Pieces," a highly anticipated and often requested lunchtime treat that was nothing more than leftovers cut into tiny pieces to be eaten with a toothpick -- cheese, meat, fruit, vegetables, pasta, bread, hard cooked eggs and so on. Anything in the refrigerator was a candidate.	DIP IT Kids love to dip, so use it to your advantage. Dip cooked carrots in a tiny dish of maple syrup, fresh broccoli florets and other veggies into Ranch-style dressing; chicken into yogurt and honey; apples and bananas into peanut butter. Introduce hummus and mild salsa as dips-- both are highly nutritional and go well with veggies, chips and whole-wheat croutons. (If you need more ideas and dipping sauce recipes, you can send $5 to Dip It! c/o Cheapskate Monthly, P.O. Box 2076, Paramount, CA 90723 and they will send you recipies for 25 different, quick and easy nutritional dipping sauces your kids will love.)
GET SNEAKY Soymilk, for example, is a terrific source of healthy phytochemicals. Most kids who are not allergic to milk will not prefer soy, so hide it in a recipe that calls for milk such as oatmeal, mashed potatoes, or macaroni and cheese. You can also throw a handful of chopped fresh spinach into the spaghetti sauce and call it "spices." Sprinkle a bit of wheat germ into a tossed salad.	ALLOW TREATS It's OK to have special treats occasionally. Instead of forbidding sugary cereal forever, make it "Saturday Cereal." Fruit juice, water and milk most of the time make the occasional soda much more appealing. "Movie Candy" helps to make your very special family times more fun. Try not to comment on what your kids eat. Bite your tongue to make sure you don't slip and blurt something like, "Eat your vegetables!" Part of a parent's job is to serve nutritionally balanced meals. Your kids are responsible to eat them. If you turn into a food enforcer, your kids will resist and soon mealtime will become a battleground and before you know it, lifelong food attitudes will be set. As long as you balance smart food choices and physical activity with occasional treats, your children will be fine.

SLEEP

One of the best ways to ensure your child will have enough energy and alertness to learn new things is a good night's sleep. According to Janet Cranshaw, MD, St. Louis Children's Hospital pediatrician, getting enough sleep recharges the body and the brain for maximum performance.

Dr. Cranshaw says children-from toddlers to adolescents-who get good sleep learn better. Studies performed on older children show that A and B students consistently went to bed earlier and slept a half-hour longer than failing students. "In infants and toddlers, a good night's sleep helps their brains develop faster and prevents mid-day crankiness," Dr. Cranshaw says. "Older children need enough sleep to allow their brains to sort through information obtained throughout the day, replace chemicals and solve problems."

Counting Sleep
Just how much sleep is enough? Infants under 3 months old should receive about 15 to 16 hours of sleep, half of that is daytime sleep. As the infant grows into a toddler, that amount gradually drops to about 13 hours, including two hours of daytime naps.

A 6-year-old child needs about 11 or 12 hours of sleep to feel well rested and ready for a day of school. Generally, a 12-year-old needs only 10 hours. But it's up to parents to judge the amount that's best for their child and to make sure bedtime is appropriate and
consistent.

Create a Good Night Routine
"Establishing a bedtime routine at a very early age is key to helping children settle in for a good night's rest," Dr. Cranshaw says. Good bedtime routines include a winding-down period followed by a half-hour and 10-minute warning that bedtime is approaching. Many children like to have some time alone with a parent before closing their eyes. A snug tuck-in provides extra comfort and security.

For parents having trouble establishing healthy sleep patterns in their children, Dr. Cranshaw recommends Sleeping Through the Night by Jodi Mindell, PhD, or Solving Your Child's Sleep Problems by Richard Ferber. Dr. Cranshaw also regularly refers to Guide to Your Child's Sleep, published by the American Academy of Pediatrics. It encourages parents to speak to their pediatricians if they answer "yes" to any of the following questions:

Is your child difficult to wake up most mornings?
Is your child lacking in energy?
Does your child refuse meals because he's too tired to eat?
Does your child have difficulty settling to sleep because she is over-stimulated?
Is your child often irritable or cranky at about the same time every day?
Have teachers reported that your child has trouble staying alert or paying attention in school?
Are your family's nights disturbed because of your child's nighttime wakings?

(Source: American Academy of Pediatrics)
Last updated April 2005