Parenting Expert

Feeding children with nutritious food and inculcating healthy eating habits in them is the top most priority for almost all parents. However, parents are finding promoting healthy eating with their children a big challenge. Many a times parents have to helplessly watch their child being pulled towards unhealthy eating options, which include their all-time favorite varieties of junk foods, processed foods, eatables and drinks containing high sugar content to enlist a few. No wonder, health experts fear obesity as a new-gen epidemic.

With an intention to serve parents by spreading awareness around the core issues concerning healthy eating, importance of role-modeling in inculcating good food habits and physical fitness in children, Parentune, organized Parenting workshop - on "Right nutrition and diet for your child" - on this Parent's day. This workshop was conducted by Parentune Nutrition+ Wellness expert Mrs.Tanuja Sodhi and Parentune Parenting expert Mrs. Bhavna Awasthy.

Those parents who missed the action may go through this blog to grab their chunk of healthy food for thought ;) I mean some handy tips to make your kids pick healthy food as a choice.

The experts started by sharing the common food issues that parents are grappling vis-a-vis their children (of ages 1 to 12). They referred to various 'Parent Talks' (parent's queries on Parentune's website) about parents' struggle with their kids over healthy eating.

To add some zing to the show, experts called for parent volunteers for two tasks :

Task 1: Role-play - 2 parents were asked to enact the roles of a mom and a 4 year old. The parents wonderfully portrayed the mom and a 4 year old, fussy eater. Mother tries several healthy food options to feed the child but the child shows least interest in eating and does everything to resist food.Parent's reflections - Many parents could identify themselves with the enacted situation and echoed the common concern that meal time is struggle time as kids don't wish to have regular food. They sometimes either resist food all together or many a times fancy the (not so healthy) food items marketed through the media. A parent summed up, "my 2 year old child refuses food at the very sight of it and no reasoning works after that, I just choose to force feed as I can't think of any better option."

Nutrition and Parenting Expert's take - Experts endorsed that urban parents are facing feeding issues with their children so much so that it is causing a lot of stress to parents. In many cases force feeding is adopted to make sure that kids get some nutrition. However, it complicates the problem further as many children associate negative experiences around eating and choose to resist food altogether.

Task 2: Making a diet plan - A group of 4 parents were asked to make a diet plan of a 3 year old child keeping in mind the child's activity level and age. They were provided with a list of food items as options. Parents made a well calculated diet plan which included various healthy food items meeting the nutritional demands decently.

Parents' take - Parents acknowledged that, while they want to feed their children healthy and nutritious food however, it's easier said than done because of various reasons like lack of time, knowledge and creative ideas around healthy feeding.

Nutrition and Parenting Expert's take - Experts explained the nutritive value of each food choice in terms of calories and components like protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals. They elaborated on the core issue of right diet.

Read More

Admission nursery

While we parents are busy coordinating the dates and time lines keeping our patience in check, it may happen sometimes, that we as parents may forget to prepare the child for the nursery admission interviews. Preparing a child for preschool or nursery interaction is important. Realizing that this time is crucial, here are some tips to help your child deal with the preschool and nursery admission interaction.

What is being observed?

In a Admission nursery interaction, a child is usually observed along the following parameters:

•  A child’s ability to follow basic instructions.

•  Interactive skills: A child’s vocabulary and ability to express.

•  A child’s ability to match shapes and sizes.

•  Behavioral Attributes: ease of interaction with the child

What may I do as a parent?

1. The best way to help your child is through creating similar situations. Help your child in understanding that s/he needs to listen carefully and follow instructions.

2. You could begin with simple conversation and gradually extend this activity time by including oral and writing skills.

3. You could initiate the learning process by helping your child observe and then follow it up by a number of questions. You could take the help of educational toys and books but at the same time encourage the child to ask questions and observe in a neutral setting, like when outside, you could ask the child to identity the colors on a hoarding or ask the child on the shape of the traffic lights. This will also make your child’s outing fun-filled.

4. Communication skill and Confidence: Asking open-ended questions may enhance your child’s communication abilities.

5. Allow and encourage your child to stay with trusted adults for a few hours at a time before the interaction, this will help him/her get accustomed to staying with people other than his/her parents.

6. To make the child feel secure and comfortable, it may be a good idea to let the child carry his/her favorite toy or book to the interview. The special item brought from home then becomes the comforting medium and makes the child feel safe in a new setting.

7. If possible, take the child to the school once before the interview day so the child makes some connect with the place and is comfortable on the day of the interview.

8. Making sure that the child has a water bottle, a healthy, light snack and a change of clothes in his/ her backpack might come handy if for some reason the interview gets delayed and then your child is hungry and cranky before the interaction.

9. Just before you step into the school, take a moment to reassure your child that you are there to have fun and see a great school and nothing more. You love your precious little one no matter what is the outcome of the interaction.

10. An important point for parents to note while you prepare your child for the interaction is that you need to be extremely patient and not evoke a fear in the child about the interaction.

Preparing a child is perhaps the most important stage in the admissions process and also a great opportunity as a parent to prepare your child right in the formative years.

Read More

Bone Health in Children

Osteoporosis, a disease which used to be associated with old age is affecting more and more children now. Utmost care for your child’s bone health should be given during his/her formative childhood years. This will go a long way to build a strong framework of bones benefiting the child in later years. If the dietary intake of calcium/vitamin D by children and adolescents is below the recommended levels of adequate intake, the children will be unable to develop their optimal bone mass, which can put them at the risk of osteoporosis.

What exactly is Osteoporosis?

Osteoporosis is sometimes referred as a paediatric disease with geriatric (old age) consequences. Osteoporosis is a condition where the density of the bones decreases resulting in brittle and fragile bones which make them prone to fractures. Your child’s bones mature gradually as they grow, with childhood and early adulthood being the prime periods for bone development. Whatever bone mass your child has attained in childhood and adolescence is a very important determinant for his/her lifelong skeletal health.

What are the main fallouts of undernourished bones?

It’s alarming to know about the increase in incidences of fractures in otherwise healthy children, reflects the unhealthy changes in lifestyle in the past few decades.

1.  Low bone density

2.  Brittle Bones/ Fractures

3.  Avoidance of dairy products/calcium deficiency leads to individual vertebrae becoming out of shape resulting in hunch back appearance.

4.  A distorted and damaged spine is painful, disabling and disfiguring.

5.  The distorted bones can compress other organs like the lung and abdomen leading to breathing problems.

How can we Boost Bone Health?

1. Calcium Rich Diet

Milk is rich in calcium and it is an easy way to get the required calcium your child would need. But for those of you whose child is not open to milk there are other sources of calcium too. Whatever the case it’s always better to understand from your paediatrician the recommended calcium intake for your child per day at various stages of his growth.

1.  Apart from milk, dairy products such as yoghurt and cheese are a great source of Calcium.

2.  Include plenty of Green Leafy vegetables, Fresh Green Peas, Broccoli, Beans and legumes in the diet

3.  Tofu (The calcium content of tofu varies, depending on how it's processed so please check the nutrition label.)

4.  Replace soft drinks and colas with milk/dairy based smoothies/milkshakes as this will contribute to a significant amount of calcium intake.

5.  Almonds are a rich source of phosphorus , Calcium and vitamin –E contributing to strong bones and teeth. {20 – 25 almonds( approximately one ounce) contain as much calcium as ¼ cup of milk}

6.  Check for Calcium fortified breakfast cereals, fruit juices and soya milk.

2. Vitamin D – The Sunshine Vitamin

Sometime ago a popular children’s health drink TV commercial highlighted the importance of Vitamin D for better bone health in children. It sent out a message how Vitamin D is helpful for the absorption of the calcium in the milk you give your child. According to the latest research ,vitamin D deficiency can not only cause rickets (a disease that can lead to bone deformity and fractures), it can also keep a child from reaching her genetically programmed height and peak bone mass.
Sources

1.  Your child’s skin can make vitamin D from the ultra-violet light in sunlight. So exposure to sunlight even for a short while as ten minutes without applying sunscreen is useful.

2.  Dietary sources such as certain fatty fish and egg yolks have abundant Vitamin –D.

3.  Vitamin D fortified cereals and dairy products

4.  You could consult your paediatrician to prescribe necessary Vitamin D supplements if you are unsure about your child’s adequate intake of vitamin D.

3. Bone Building Physical Activities

Any kind of physical exercise is great for your child but the best ones for their bones are activities like walking, running, hiking, dancing, tennis, basketball and gymnastics. Children who tend to play outside will also have higher vitamin D levels. Any physical workout or activity for one hour everyday will not only help your child in keeping fit but will also help in strengthening his/her bones.

4. Discourage carbonated drinks

Studies have showed that regular/ excessive intake of carbonated drinks is directly associated with lower bone mineral density.We need to encourage our children to have soya milk / milk and juices fortified with calcium and vitamins.

Prevention of osteoporosis begins in childhood. A healthy lifestyle and nutritious diet can be vital in promoting your child’s healthy bone health. Proper care in your child’s bone health will reap him rich rewards of strong bones later in life.

Parentune is a best parenting websites in India from where you can obtain many such information or tips that how parents can maintain a better relationship with their child and nourish them with a specialist guidance.

Read More