It's Not About Nutrition

Changing the conversation from Nutrition to Habits

How Sweet It Is: Kids Drink Their Sugar

Have you noticed that drinks are getting all the attention lately?  Our love affair with sugar sweetened beverages is thought to be a big part of America’s obesity problem. If you live in the Chicago area you may have read Julie Deardorff’s excellent Chicago Tribune post – “Why kids don’t need sports drinks.”  If you live in the New York area you may know that New York State … [Read more...]

Dessert: How I LOVE Thee

I LOVE dessert, always have. But keeping my affection in check can sometimes be a challenge. That’s why I know how important it is to teach kids to “use” dessert correctly. (Plus, the research backs me up.)  It’s not what you eat that matters. It's how often and why you eat something that counts. This is especially true when you love dessert!  (For more on this idea read It … [Read more...]

The Potato Chip Challenge: How We Decide What Snacks to Give our Kids

If it’s healthier than a potato chip it must be a healthy snack. Sure we know lots more about food, but when it comes right down to it, this simple consideration is how most of us decide what snacks to give our kids.  Skeptical?  If winning the potato chip challenge isn’t the basic rationale for pretzels, crackers, and popcorn, then what is?   We need a different … [Read more...]

Size Matters

Which of the following affects how much your children eat?  Choose one: A)    How filling the meal is. B)    How many calories the meal has. D)    How much food was eaten at the previous meal. D)    How much food you serve. The debate is over: Size Matters The correct answer above is… D! Research shows that HOW … [Read more...]

The 2-More-Bites Tango: How YOU Can Take the Lead

We’ve all done the 2-more-bites-tango.  But why? Researchers conclude that getting young kids to eat more is an overriding priority of most parents (See Two More Bites.)  But why? There’s no evidence that American children are suffering from malnutrition.  On the contrary, as many as 10% of our infants and toddlers are overweight. There is a … [Read more...]

Two More Bites

Two more bites.  We’ve all done it.  Urged our kids to eat more at meal times. In one study of kindergarteners, 85% of parents tried to get their kids to eat more.  In fact, the researchers concluded that an overriding goal of the majority of parents of young children is to get their kids to eat more during meals. Pressuring kids to eat more CAN work, but … [Read more...]

New York Times Gets It Partly Right, Partly Wrong

People should read Eat Your Peas. Or Don’t. Whatever. by Frank Bruni (New York Times 8/30/09). It deals with a crucial topic in an interesting way. But the question he asks, “How much should or can parents control what their children eat?” is the wrong one. 1) It’s immaterial whether parents should control what their children eat because they … [Read more...]

Look Into My Crystal Ball

Want to see the future?  Your kids do.  Not the BIG future – family, fortune, fame – but the immediate future.  What will that strange food taste like? Predictions.  Being able to make them is the key to trying new foods.  It makes sense.  No one wants to try food completely “blind” – without having any idea what it will taste like.  Adults rarely have to because we’re … [Read more...]

Ways to Wean Your Juice-Fiend

You have a juice-fiend on your hands. You wish things were different, but it is hard. It's hard to convince a juice fiend that there are other beverages in the world. Juice is everywhere you go. When you’re out and about and your kids are thirsty, what are the options? Juice, soda, milk and water. And even though you know juice isn’t all it’s cracked up to be (click to … [Read more...]