Are You Feeding Your Child Too Much?

I recently read a study discovering that by age 5 children tend to eat what is on their plate, regardless of how they feel. Perhaps by this age children have heard "clean your plate" so many times that they just do. Or perhaps because when they are given a portion of food they assume this is how much they should eat. Ideally, a child should never be made to feel that they must eat, especially to please others. To create a healthy eater we must let children eat how much they need to eat to become sated ( a feeling of having enough). We can do this by either allowing children to serve themselves or by giving them very small servings (1-2 tablespoons) of foods. Let the child know that if they are hungry they can ask for more.

Sometimes a child allowed to self serve will serve too much. This may be because it is fun to move food from the serving bowl. If this is the case, feel free to step in and remind the child that we serve ourselves what we plan on eating. Let them know that they can practice serving after dinner, perhaps with a scoop in sand or dirt. Other children serve themselves too much food because they are very hungry and believe they will eat all the food on their plate. This happens often at my home. When we see extra food on a child's plate we remind them to take less next time, and that there will be more available if they need seconds. This is a trial and error process, so be patient.

Restaruants are notorious for serving us too much. "Single" servings are becoming so large, 20 years ago they would have been called extra large or jumbo. A hamburger with cheese plus fries may contain as many as 1600 calories; the total amount of calories needed per day for many women. As both children and adults regularly see these inflated portion sizes, we assume they are normal and eat them. Many studies have shown that the larger the portion the more we eat. We don't stop when we feel sated. People eat more chips from a warehouse store bag of snacks than from a grocery store bag. We even eat larger portions when we have large quantities of the food in the house.

I bring all of this to your attention as large portions make for large children and adults- not tall, but overweight or obese. One of the major changes you can make to help avoid obesity is to serve small portions at home or allow family style serving. When dining out, share entrees. Order 3 entrees and an extra plate for four people. Don't let the restaurant decide how much you need to eat. If you buy at warehouse stores, repackage the foods into smaller containers and put these smaller containers in your kitchen. Store the remainder out of sight. You'll save calories and money too.