BABY & KIDS

“The overwhelmingly unhealthy food-marketing environment that surrounds young people is a significant contributor to the dramatic increase in childhood obesity… Food marketing increases children’s preferences and requests to parents for advertised products, likely contributes to less healthful diets, and may increase negative, diet-related health outcomes and risks” (Rudd Center).

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “US students receive less than 8 hours of required nutrition education each school year, far below the 40 to 50 hours that are needed to affect behavior change… Nutrition education can be incorporated throughout the school day and in various locations within a school. This provides flexibility allowing schools to use strategies that work with their settings, daily schedule, and resources” (Nutrition Education in US Schools). The CDC recommends four ways to incorporate nutrition education in US schools: in the classroom, combined with scheduled classes or as a separate class; farm-to-school activities; school gardens; or in the school cafeteria (Nutrition Education in US Schools). 

“Avoiding the dangers of the industrial food system by providing only pure and healthy foods for children involves sorting through a complex maze of nutritional advice. It also puts mothers at risk of being perceived as controlling, limiting, pathological… The mothers we interviewed draw on the dominant discourses of healthy eating… in shaping a child’s future health. They describe… trying to adhere to the “rules” of healthy eating, and although all of the mothers in our study distanced themselves from the fast food mother, middle- and upper-middle class mothers were most concerned about distancing themselves from the crazy organic mother. Concerned that their children will become too anxious about food, they work to create positive emotional experiences at mealtimes, or to transform their own cravings for unhealthy snacks into teachable moments. At the same time, these mothers worry about the consequences of not taking a careful approach to foodwork” (MacKendrick).

INFANTS

“The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends, “exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of life” with “continued breastfeeding up to two years of age or beyond.” But Sarah Sobik, a pediatrician at Arkansas Children’s Nutrition Center, says that many new parents have trouble producing enough milk for their infants or don’t have the proper support to help them breastfeed or chest feed. “Breastfeeding is very hard,” she says. “It rarely comes easy to anybody.” And some infants have sensitive stomachs or metabolic illnesses that require a special diet. For all these reasons and more, infant formulas can be a useful solution”(Remmel).

“Whether the formula milk that parents feed to their babies is basic or one that contains extra fatty acids and sugars to make it more like human milk, one of the most important ingredients for formula is added by the parent—water, Sobik says. Dry infant formula needs to be added to purified, sterile water and must be mixed properly. The components of the powder formula are processed so that it forms a fat-in-water emulsion when combined with water, and emulsifiers and stabilizers like lecithins and mono- or diglycerides in the formulation prevent the oil phase from separating out. If the formula is not fully homogenized, an infant won’t be able to digest all the nutrients—undoing all the important work of formulation” (Remmel).

    TODDLERS  

  1. Offer your toddler a variety of fruits, vegetables, grains, protein foods, and dairy or fortified soy alternatives. Avoid foods and beverages with added sugars and choose those with lower sodium.
  2. Have your toddler sit at a table for meals and snacks and not wander around with food in their mouth. Foods such as hot dogs, candy, nuts and seeds, raw carrots, grapes, popcorn, and chunks of peanut butter can be choking risks.
  3. Did you know the only beverages your toddler needs are water, milk, and, if available, breastmilk? Avoid drinks with added sugars like soda, flavored milks, juice drinks, and sports drinks.
  4. Try serving a new food alongside a familiar food in the same meal. It may take up to 8-10 tries for a child to accept a new food.
  5. Help your child learn to wash their hands before eating. Only serve foods that have been cooked properly and avoid serving your toddler unpasteurized (raw) juice or milk (Healthy Eating for Toddlers).

SCHOOL-AGE CHILDREN

A healthy breakfast sets the foundation for the day. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (healthychildren.org), the benefits of breakfast for children may include better memory, better test scores, better attention span and/or decreased irritability, healthier body weights, and improved overall nutrition. They say, “When it comes to getting your children to school, a healthy breakfast is just as important as gym shoes and sharp pencils” (Klemm).

“A suite of federal programs… provide funding and nutritional standards for healthy meals in our nation’s schools. For many students, especially those in families facing food insecurity, a federally subsidized school lunch or breakfast may often be their only healthy meal of the day. It’s critically important for the health, well-being, and academic success of our children that we continue to fund these programs and to set high nutritional standards for them” (Food and Farm Solutions).

TEENAGERS

“Many teens need more of these nutrients:

  • calcium, to build strong bones and teeth. Good sources of calcium are fat-free or low-fat milk, yogurt, and cheese.
  • vitamin D, to keep bones healthy. Good sources of vitamin D include orange juice, whole oranges, tuna, and fat-free or low-fat milk.
  • potassium, to help lower blood pressure. Try a banana, or baked potato with the skin, for a potassium boost.
  • fiber, to help you stay regular and feel full. Good sources of fiber include beans and celery.
  • protein, to power you up and help you grow strong. Peanut butter; eggs; tofu; legumes, such as lentils and peas; and chicken, fish, and low-fat meats are all good sources of protein.
  • iron, to help you grow. Red meat contains a form of iron that your body absorbs best. Spinach, beans, peas, and iron-fortified cereals are also sources of iron. You can help your body absorb the iron from these foods better when you also eat foods with vitamin C, like an orange” (Take Charge of Your Health: A Guide for Teenagers).

References

Food and Farm Solutions. (n.d.). Union of Concerned Scientists. https://www.ucsusa.org/food/solutions
Healthy Eating for Toddlers. (n.d.). USDA My Plate. https://www.myplate.gov/tip-sheet/healthy-eating-toddlers
Klemm, S. (September 15, 2021). Kids Eat Right: Tips to Eat Right at School. American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. https://www.eatright.org/food/nutrition/eat-right-at-school/tips-to-eat-right-at-school
MacKendrick, Norah & Pristavec, Teja. (2019). Between careful and crazy: the emotion work of feeding the family in an industrialized food system. Food, Culture & Society. 22. 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1080/15528014.2019.1620588
Nutrition Education in US Schools. (n.d.). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/nutrition/school_nutrition_education.htm
Remmel, A. (January 3, 2021).  What is infant formula, and how can scientists make it more like human milk? https://cen.acs.org/food/food-ingredients/infant-formula-scientists-make-like/99/i1
Take Charge of Your Health: A Guide for Teenagers. (n.d.). National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/weight-management/take-charge-health-guide-teenagers