http://media.soundmedicine.org/segments/032314_6.mp3
Dina Rose, Ph.D., joins "Sound Medicine" to discuss establishing healthy eating habits for children. According to Dr. Rose, parents should focus less on nutrition and instead help children develop healthy eating patterns and behaviors. Dina's Top Ten Tips: Translating Nutrition into Behavior 1.)Taste preferences are more nurture than nature. 2.)Don’t serve marginal foods or use questionable strategies to get nutrients into your kids. It’ll ruin both their short- and long-term eating habits. 3.)Never ask children to eat new foods. Ask them to taste a pea-sized sample and describe what they’ve tasted instead. 4.)Commit to The Rotation Rule: Don’t serve the same item two days in a row and deliberately rotate through different tastes and textures. 5.)Serve a fruit and/or a vegetable at every meal and every snack—every darned day. And be satisfied with one Happy Bite. 6.)Stop pressuring your kids to eat and start serving smaller portions. 7.)Improve the quality of your kids’ snacks. It will improve how your kids eat and it will change YOUR life. 8.)Talk to your kids about eating behavior more than you talk to them about nutrition. See the world of food and eating through your kids’ eyes. 9.)Clearly delineate eating and non-eating times. Don’t let your toddler eat on demand. 10.)It’s just as important to teach your kids why, when and how much to eat as it is teach them what to eat. Don’t feed your kids when they’re bored, sad or lonely (or because you need to buy some quiet time).