Our patients keep food diaries. Parents can help their pre- and young teens by limiting the rich foods available at home and helping the child plan healthful eating strategies. The nutrition pyramid is founded upon vegetables, fruits and grains. Children who turn up their noses at fresh vegetables should be encouraged to try frozen or even canned, according to Harris. Crafty cooks can weave them into casseroles and sprinkle them on top of low-fat pizzas.
Fruits are important, but they're also a major source of simple sugars.
Many parents say, 'My child would never eat six fruits in a day,' but when you realize that half of a juice box counts as one fruit, three juice boxes puts you at six. Parents can dilute juices, or help the child switch to unsweetened tea or artificially sweetened drinks. Most growing children need after-school snacks. They're doing nothing to nourish a growing body. Facing food choices together can often help bolster a child's knowledge of nutrition and courage of conviction.