Better Food for Kids Your Essential Guide to Nutrition for All Children from Age 2 to 6 The Hospital for Sick Children

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Nutritional Advice in Brief Here, in no particular order, we offer our top 10 recommendations for parents of young children. Each provides references for additional information within the book. Whenever possible, serve your child homemade rather than prepared or convenience foods. Commercially prepared foods can add excess calories (including many derived from fat) and salt to the diet. They can also displace fresh foods such as vegetables and fruits (see pages 13 to 15). Limit your child's intake of juice (see, page 16). For quenching thirst, water should be the main beverage of choice. Encourage consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables by having a constant supply readily available. Eat meals with your children whenever possible (see pages 27 to 30). This time spent together as a family has many benefits, including the opportunity to demonstrate to your children your commitment to healthy eating practices which, in turn, will influence theirs. Make sure you are knowledgeable about food and nutrition, and its overall effect on health and well-being (see pages 11 and 35 to 56). Share your knowledge of nutrition with your children (see page 31). Use games or arts and crafts to teach kids about all the good things in the food they eat. Make sure that iron-rich foods are part of your child's diet (see pages 49 to 51). Iron deficiency can have serious consequences on the health of young children. Don't rely on vitamin supplements as a substitute for a healthy, balanced diet (see page 21). Enjoy an active lifestyle together as a family (see pages 31 to 32). Exercise, along with healthy foods, can help decrease the incidence of obesity in children (see pages 100 to 103) -- and adults! Variety is the spice of life -- and essential to healthy and enjoyable eating. Experiment with new foods and try new recipes (starting with those in this book!). --