The rules for a healthy, balanced diet are the same for children as everyone else, although they often require a more nutrient ‘dense’ combination of foods because of their smaller stomachs.
For the same reason, you might find they’re happier to have four or five smaller snacks throughout the day rather than the traditional breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Try and get them to experiment with as wide a variety of foods as possible as early as you can. Apparently we need to taste a food up to ten times before we will consider ourselves to like it so don’t give up at the first attempt!
Teenagers
Nutrient and energy requirements are at their highest during this period of rapid change in the body.
Again, the normal rules for a healthy balanced diet apply, although there are a number of differences between nutrient requirements of teenage boys and girls.
In particular, girls will need more iron with onset of menstruation while boys need more energy and protein to feed their greater growth spurts and more calcium to help with increased bone mass.
In addition, making sure teens take the time to eat proper meals is important so that they are getting a wide variety of foods and therefore important nutrients. Try to include fruit and vegetables at mealtimes and plan snacks to ensure they have plenty of healthier options and aren’t constantly grazing on high fat and calorie options. Treats are fine in moderation – just make sure they aren’t being substituted for balanced meals. You might also want to serve extra portions of oily fish as well. Up to four servings per week for boys and two for girls – slightly above the one portion a week recommendation for adults.
And of course, a good breakfast of cereal, toast or a bagel can stop them getting hungry throughout the morning, help maintain their concentration levels and stay more alert.
School Dinners
New nutritional guidelines for school lunches have been in force since September 2006, aiming to guarantee a healthy, balanced meal for every child who has them.
If you’re providing a packed lunch instead, you can make sure your teenager still gets the right amount of everything that’s good for them by giving them sandwiches made with brown or wholemeal bread, healthy fillings like tuna or chicken salad (choose lower fat spreads or dressings) and replacing fizzy drinks with bottled water and chocolate bars with fruit. If you’re worried out about keeping the lunch cool try freezing a yoghurt pot and using it as a cooling block – by lunch time the yoghurt will be about just the right temperature to enjoy!
For more ideas on healthy packed lunches, visit www.eatwell.gov.uk
Body weight
We’ve all heard about the growing teenage obesity problem. But if your child is overweight, it’s not a good idea to put them on a diet at such a vital stage of their physical development.
Instead, you should try to get them to ‘grow into’ their weight by encouraging physical exercise and getting them to eat a healthy, balanced diet rich in fruit and vegetables.
On the other side of the coin, there are body image issues - more common in girls but not exclusive to them - that can lead to eating disorders like anorexia.
Look out for the signs if you think your child may be susceptible. But in general, try not to make eating habits and body image an issue at home. Just concentrate on making mealtimes a relaxed, healthy family affair and ensuring they are being active every day – children and teens should be active for about 60 minutes each day.
For further advice and information, visit. http://www.eatwell.gov.uk/agesandstages/teens/.
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