Caretakers have to take a look at what nutritional environment and what activity environment their children are in, and begin to make that change in a supportive loving way. Dr. Hassink warns that making family wide dramatic changes are difficult to sustain. However, small changes can be meaningful. The child, remember, doesn't do food shopping, the child doesn't do food preparing and the child watches what you do as a parent. If all you did was encourage water drinking between meals, take a family walk, change some of your tried and true recipes to lower fat recipes.
Small things done day after day are really effective.
There are many more opportunities to make poor choices now than there ever were. Dr. Sandra Hassink is Director of the Pediatric Weight Management Clinic at du Pont Hospital for Children. She explains why it is important for growing children not to skip meals. If you don't eat breakfast and you don't eat lunch, as many teenagers do. They first of all are trying to go through their school day pretty hungry, and then coming home- no surprise starving.