Happy MEALS

Almost from the moment our babies arrive in this world, one of our main concerns as parents is whether they are getting enough to eat. But it can be very hard to know if they have had ample food or if you are, in fact, feeding them too much. SIGNS YOU COULD BE GIVING YOUR CHILD TOO MUCH FOOD INCLUDE:

• They have to be coaxed into eating everything you’ve served them. Don’t nag them to finish everything on the plate, instead give them a chance to learn to read the signals from their body and work out when they are full. If you keep on at them to have “just a couple more mouthfuls”, even if they’ve indicated that they’ve had enough, you could be encouraging them to eat when they’re not hungry, and that may lead to problems keeping their weight under control. Remember that it can take a while for the message that their stomach is full to get to their brain.

• Their portion is almost the same size as yours. Most kids don’t need adult-sized portions at least until they are in their teens. As a way of judging how much they should have, use the palm-sized portion rule. That means using their palm as a gauge of serving sizes.

• They don’t want to eat their next meal. They might get through everything you gave them at breakfast or lunch, but are still full and struggle to eat the following meal.

• Their clothes are getting snug. If their clothes still fit length-wise but are tight around the middle, this means their weight is increasing but their height isn’t. This may be due to them consuming more than they need to.

TOP TIPS FOR FEEDING YOUR KIDS:

Smaller children have smaller stomachs that empty more quickly, so they need to eat more often. Serve little meals more frequently.

If they have snacks, try not to give them too close to meal times. This can disrupt their schedule because if they’re still full from the snack, they won’t each much of the meal. Then they’ll be hungry again and need another snack, and this becomes a vicious cycle.

Let older children serve themselves. Chances are they will take just enough food as they know their own appetite.

Don’t ban any particular foods (unless of course they have an allergy). But make sure they know sugary or processed foods are on the “only eat occasionally” list, and vegetables and fruit are on the “eat lots every day” list.