Not about nutrition

[marygrace]

I just read a fantastic article by a food sociologist who talks about why it's more important for parents to help their children build good eating habits than worry about minute nutrition details. She seems very much in tune with many of the ideals behind NoS.

http://www.fooducate.com/blog/2010/10/0 ... nutrition/

When it comes to teaching children about eating, the details sometimes get in the way. Kids don’t eat nutrients, they eat food that has flavor, texture, appearance, aroma, temperature… these are the things that matter to them. Parents who ignore this (or who are swayed to look at nutrients instead) are hampered in their efforts to teach their children to eat. Chocolate milk teaches kids an appreciation for chocolate, not for milk. And milk doesn’t taste anything like broccoli. The biggest challenge Americans have is to teach their children to eat more fruits and vegetables. Parents don’t need a nutritionist to tell them that, or to tell them that donuts are not apples.

Parents know what to feed their kids. What they frequently don’t know is how to get their kids to eat the foods that they serve. Nutrition has nothing to offer parents with regard to that.

If you want to teach your kids to eat right you have to move beyond nutrition to focus on behavior, to focus on habits.

Once the basics are in place—once kids are eating more fruits and vegetables than processed foods and more than junk—then you can call the Dietitian and refine their eating. Until then, focusing on nutrition is like focusing on the quality of your car stereo when don’t even own a car.

[wosnes]

Kids don’t eat nutrients

That's one of the things Michael Pollan says -- but not only kids.

Don’t eat the same foods two days in a row or twice in a day. This will get your kids used to the idea that you eat different foods and that idea will lay the foundation for introducing new foods.

I disagree with this, especially if one is eating seasonally. When strawberries are in season, they may appear at every meal. Same with other fruits and vegetables. Actually, it's only possible to have such a wide variety of foods if you're not paying much attention to what's in season (except during the height of the growing season).

Take the pressure off your kids by serving small portions, by never asking your kids to eat more and by never linking eating “well†to getting dessert.

I strongly agree with this. My theory is that if dessert is being offered, it's offered to everyone. I wouldn't deny dessert to any adult because they didn't clean their plate or eat enough broccoli or asparagus or Brussels sprouts. So it shouldn't be denied to children, either.

[Nicest of the Damned]

Take the pressure off your kids by serving small portions, by never asking your kids to eat more and by never linking eating “well†to getting dessert.

I strongly agree with this. My theory is that if dessert is being offered, it's offered to everyone. I wouldn't deny dessert to any adult because they didn't clean their plate or eat enough broccoli or asparagus or Brussels sprouts. So it shouldn't be denied to children, either.

I strongly agree with this, too, for a couple of reasons:

1. You don't want to set your kid up for thinking "I did something good, I deserve something sweet". A lot of us here know all too well why this kind of thinking is dangerous.

2. It reinforces the idea that the vegetables (or whatever) are something to be endured, not enjoyed. They're not, if they're cooked right.

3. It's kind of rude to eat something that someone else likes but can't have, in front of them. That's not really a behavior kids should be learning.

I also agree about the small portions. Or, instead of serving them small portions, allow them to serve themselves. Kids don't need to eat as much as adults. Adults don't need to eat as much as many American adults do. If you eat large portions of food, you get used to having them, and it's hard to get yourself used to smaller portions. I know this firsthand.

And I agree about not asking them to eat more. That trains them to eat when they are not hungry. That's a dangerous habit for someone in today's developed world, where there is so much food available all the time. Most of us No-S'ers know all too well why eating (or continuing to eat) when you're not hungry can be a problem.

I actually agree with the article about not serving the same thing every day, but with one caveat. You can serve things made of the same ingredients every day, but they shouldn't always be prepared in the same way. Preparing foods in a variety of ways gets kids used to eating a variety of foods and trying new foods, and it makes it more likely you'll hit on a way of cooking (say) green beans that your kid likes. Even most adults dislike some preparations of some foods that they might like prepared in other ways- why wouldn't kids? And besides, it's boring to eat the same things every day.

Seasonal food doesn't have to mean the same things prepared the same way every day. There are lots of recipes out there. We're not living in the world where people learn a few recipes from their mothers and just cook those. There are literally tens of thousands of cookbooks available. Kids can eat Indian or Chinese food- what do you think kids in India or China eat? Kids don't have to eat only "kid foods". Most "kid foods" aren't terribly good for you. They'll be healthier if they're encouraged to try and enjoy other things.

Another reason why these ideas are good is that it's not a good idea to make the dinner table into a battlefield for power struggles between parents and kids. That's not the way to teach kids to have a healthy attitude toward food (and that's the goal here, not just getting your kid to eat everything on his/her plate). It also makes family mealtimes unpleasant for everybody there.

[BrightAngel]

I strongly agree with this, too, for a couple of reasons

That was a very Good Post, and I enjoyed it a great deal.

[wosnes]

Take the pressure off your kids by serving small portions, by never asking your kids to eat more and by never linking eating “well†to getting dessert.

I strongly agree with this. My theory is that if dessert is being offered, it's offered to everyone. I wouldn't deny dessert to any adult because they didn't clean their plate or eat enough broccoli or asparagus or Brussels sprouts. So it shouldn't be denied to children, either.

I strongly agree with this, too, for a couple of reasons:

1. You don't want to set your kid up for thinking "I did something good, I deserve something sweet". A lot of us here know all too well why this kind of thinking is dangerous.

2. It reinforces the idea that the vegetables (or whatever) are something to be endured, not enjoyed. They're not, if they're cooked right.

3. It's kind of rude to eat something that someone else likes but can't have, in front of them. That's not really a behavior kids should be learning.

I also agree about the small portions. Or, instead of serving them small portions, allow them to serve themselves. Kids don't need to eat as much as adults. Adults don't need to eat as much as many American adults do. If you eat large portions of food, you get used to having them, and it's hard to get yourself used to smaller portions. I know this firsthand.

And I agree about not asking them to eat more. That trains them to eat when they are not hungry. That's a dangerous habit for someone in today's developed world, where there is so much food available all the time. Most of us No-S'ers know all too well why eating (or continuing to eat) when you're not hungry can be a problem.

I actually agree with the article about not serving the same thing every day, but with one caveat. You can serve things made of the same ingredients every day, but they shouldn't always be prepared in the same way. Preparing foods in a variety of ways gets kids used to eating a variety of foods and trying new foods, and it makes it more likely you'll hit on a way of cooking (say) green beans that your kid likes. Even most adults dislike some preparations of some foods that they might like prepared in other ways- why wouldn't kids? And besides, it's boring to eat the same things every day.

Seasonal food doesn't have to mean the same things prepared the same way every day. There are lots of recipes out there. We're not living in the world where people learn a few recipes from their mothers and just cook those. There are literally tens of thousands of cookbooks available. Kids can eat Indian or Chinese food- what do you think kids in India or China eat? Kids don't have to eat only "kid foods". Most "kid foods" aren't terribly good for you. They'll be healthier if they're encouraged to try and enjoy other things.

Another reason why these ideas are good is that it's not a good idea to make the dinner table into a battlefield for power struggles between parents and kids. That's not the way to teach kids to have a healthy attitude toward food (and that's the goal here, not just getting your kid to eat everything on his/her plate). It also makes family mealtimes unpleasant for everybody there.

One of my pet peeves is the idea that vegetables are good for you, but not good tasting. Granted, some are strong tasting and take time to acquire a taste for -- but vegetables are good. And if they're cooked in such a way to make them taste good -- well, they're tasty!

One thing I've learned in my reading is that people of other cultures not only eat seasonally, but it's unusual for them to eat food from other cultures, especially at home and even in some of the larger cities. There's an American ex-pat living in Italy who blogs and she she says that ethnic food, so, anything not Italian, is extremely hard to find even in some of the larger cities.

I remember seeing a documentary about the food in Israel, particularly Jerusalem. There are many restaurants serving just about any cuisine you can think of -- but cooking these foods at home isn't so

I think the exposure to a variety of cuisines is more common here, probably because we're such a melting pot. I don't think we have to serve kids Indian or Chinese, but we don't have to serve them "kid's food" either. Just what we're eating.

[Nicest of the Damned]

One thing I've learned in my reading is that people of other cultures not only eat seasonally, but it's unusual for them to eat food from other cultures, especially at home and even in some of the larger cities. There's an American ex-pat living in Italy who blogs and she she says that ethnic food, so, anything not Italian, is extremely hard to find even in some of the larger cities.

I remember seeing a documentary about the food in Israel, particularly Jerusalem. There are many restaurants serving just about any cuisine you can think of -- but cooking these foods at home isn't so

I think the exposure to a variety of cuisines is more common here, probably because we're such a melting pot. I don't think we have to serve kids Indian or Chinese, but we don't have to serve them "kid's food" either. Just what we're eating.

Too many parents in the US seem to think that kids can only eat "kid food". They can eat other things. In fact, if they're young enough, they'll want to eat what you're eating, just like they like to imitate other things you do when they play. If you wait till they're older, they won't want to imitate you as much.

And even if you don't cook meals from different cuisines, most cuisines have more than one way to prepare any given vegetable. Expand your culinary horizons a bit. You might find something new that you and your kids like.