Food do's and don'ts for tweens and teens

Food do's and don'ts for tweens and teens

During your child's tween and teen years, they are trying to differentiate themselves from you, their parent. But even so, this is a time when what you do really affects what they do, since children learn from their parents' example.

Even when they think they're doing something different, they end up doing what you do. That's why parents who are overweight tend to have overweight children. Some of it is genetics, but some of it is poor dietary choices.

Do: Set the Example

Your child watches everything you do. Therefore, if you really want them to make good choices surrounding food, then you need to also ensure that they see you making good choices. Not only that, you donít want to be seen struggling and having a lot of emotions around food, because that will pass on to them.

Do: Provide Variety

Everyone has different taste buds. What tastes great to you may taste like garbage to your child. Some of this is genetics and some of it is just that your child may take longer to warm up to some foods. The trick is to provide variety. That way if your child hates broccoli it's okay not to eat it, because tomorrow night there will be green beans which they love.

Do: Eat Healthy Snacks

One of the biggest downfalls of humans and diet is snacking. Snacking in and of itself is not bad for you. If you're hungry, you should eat. But, you want to ensure that you have a variety of healthy snacks. The key to a healthy snack is that it is not processed and it is a whole food. If you have a lot of whole food snacks around and no processed food snacks, it's more than likely your child will choose healthy even if theyíre not home, because they will have developed a taste preference for those healthy foods over the processed foods.

Do: Offer Regular Meal Times

Even as your child enters the busy tween and teenage years, they still need to have stability at home. Breakfast, lunch, dinner and healthy snacks need to be offered in reasonable time blocks. While sometimes your child may need to miss dinner for practice or for other activities, you can keep it warm for them until they get home.

Do: Get Them Involved

One way to ensure that your tweens and teens not only understand the importance of a healthy meal but also enjoy it, is to get them involved. Let them plan one meal a week including grocery shopping, budgeting, and preparation. Not only will this make them more likely to appreciate your efforts; it will also teach them what to do as an adult. A lot of healthy kids end up overweight once they leave home due to not learning how to prepare healthy food.

Don't: Criticize, Judge or Threaten

One of the worst things you can do is be negative with your teenager around food. If they have nutritional issues, the whole family should work on it - not just the one child. If they're eating what youíre offering and are still overweight, underweight, or have other problems surrounding food, you'll need to heal the entire house in a positive way.

Don't: Have a "Do what I say" Mentality

Kids don't really fall for this. If you smoke, your child has a much higher chance of smoking. If you eat an entire box of donuts every week, your child likely will too. If you have issues surrounding food, you will pass it on to your children if you aren't careful. The best way to teach children about food is to realize that they're going to do what you do, not what you say.

Don't: Keep Sweet Drinks or Artificial Drinks Around

Teenagers the world over are known to drink a lot of soda. The problem is, it's probably one of the leading causes of obesity. The best thing you can teach is to avoid drinking your calories. Make soda a special occasion drink such as birthdays and holidays, or once a week movie night or game night.

Don't: Stop Them from Preparing Meals

When and if your tween or teen decides they'd like to prepare meals, let them. Guide them regarding budget and healthy food choices, but let them make it themselves. This will help them learn how to fix meals for themselves when they are on their own, which is going to happen sooner than you think.

Don't: Encourage Meal Skipping

One thing that teens do often, especially girls, is to skip meals. The meals they most often skip are breakfast and lunch. The reason is due to time. Often girls are in a big hurry in the morning and the lunch at school isn't very appetizing and it's not very long either. Even if you can only get your child to drink smoothies or eat fruit during these times, ensure that they consume something.

Teenagers are a whole new territory but even teenagers claim in polls that the most influential people in their lives are their parents.

Next time, we'll look at the types of food you should eat or not eat when you have a cold.