Our pediatric team can help you develop a recipe for success with your child’s eating habits.
Dealing with a picky eater? Does your child prefer processed chicken nuggets, sodas and other junk food over the homecooked foods you’ve spent hours preparing? It can often feel like a losing battle trying to get your child to eat healthy, right? However, our Newark, DE, pediatricians provide custom nutritional counseling focused on your child’s needs and weight goals.
Here’s how nutritional counseling can help you and your child or teen here in Newark, DE,
- We can pinpoint helpful strategies to eliminate picking eating
- We can find ways to help your child self-regulate to prevent overeating at mealtimes
- We can address issues such as over-snacking or sneaking food
- We can educate both parents and children about healthier eating options that will ensure that your child is satiated and properly nourished
- We can help your child find the right foods to fuel them to improve athletic performance
We will work with you to provide a customized nutritional counseling plan based on factors such as,
- Weight problems
- Picky eating and other problematic eating habits
- Age
- Fitness/activity level
- Lifestyle
- Health problems
- Food allergies or intolerances
Here are some simple things you can do now to improve your child’s diet,
- Remove all soft drinks, sports drinks and juices and swap them out with water. Sugary drinks are the main source of extra calories in kids.
- Swap out refined grains with unrefined or whole grains. Whole grains can help keep kids fuller longer and they can decrease the risk for diabetes and heart disease. Whole grains include brown rice, whole wheat and oatmeal. Avoid white breads, pastas and crackers
- Make sure that your child is eating a healthy, balanced breakfast before heading off to school. Eating breakfast may reduce your child’s risk of being obese and is linked to better school performance and test scores. Healthy breakfast options include whole-grain oatmeal with fruit, scrambled eggs or low-fat yogurt with fruits and nuts.
- Snack time isn’t a time to hand over that bag of chips and cookies. Dessert and junk food should only be offered as a special occasion treat. Healthy snacks that aren’t too time-consuming include hummus and whole-grain crackers or raw veggies, or apple slices with peanut butter.
If you find yourself pulling your hair out at mealtimes, then your child may benefit from nutritional counseling with our Newark, DE, pediatric team. Call Just Kids Pediatrics today at (302) 918-6400 to schedule your child’s next nutritional evaluation.