Raising Good Kids in Tough Times:

All You Can Eat

Dr. Roger McIntire

Editor's Note: Second in a series about family routines and children's health.

On the whole, American Moms watch the diet of their babies carefully. But once the children have a say, the diet deteriorates because there are many conspiracies to lure your children away from the right food choices. Supermarket displays in the checkout lines, TV, movies and food courts in the mall all do battle with what Mom and Dad want the children to eat.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion tracks the diets of children as they grow. The center's Healthy Eating Index measures the degree to which a person's diet includes daily servings of the five major food groups: grains, vegetables, fruits, milk products, and meats. Proper limits on cholesterol and salt and fat consumption are also taken into account. By age 15, the average score in the fruit category, for example, is only 50 percent of its healthy level in infancy. Also by age 15, only 12 percent of the girls meet the dietary recommendations for milk servings.

Giving in to the "He knows what he needs" parental approach leads to the worst habits. The kids don't know. Across all categories of the Healthy Eating Index, less than 30 percent of children over five maintain a good diet.

Children also don't make good advisors when shopping for food. Food shopping is where Mom or Dad have the most control and influence over the family diet. The choices of pints instead of gallons of ice cream, peas instead of potato chips, and fruit instead of candy can make up a better diet going home.

Americans fed themselves on 3,300 calories a day in 1970. Now we are up to 3,800. The average teenager has added 10 pounds to his (and her) weight. Obesity is now a problem for nearly 20 percent of both children and adults.

So leave the junk food at the market, slow the pace at family meals, TV off, and serve reasonable family portions of the basic food groups. Many families serve one course at a time, salad, main course, small dessert, leaving time for the food to begin to satisfy before more is demanded.

All behaviors, even getting out the donuts or hot snack, have an inconvenience. I wonder how much extra poundage microwaves account for? If it's not convenient or you don't bring it home in the first place, they won't eat it.

So keep the healthy food ready and easy to find. Instead of sugar drinks, keep ice water in the fridge. Instead of salt pretzels and candy, put fruit on the table. The kids will buy other snacks, but at least at home your diet and their's will be better.

Dr. McIntire is the author of Teenagers and Parents: 10 Steps to a Better Relationship and Raising Good Kids in Tough Times. For more information see Parentsuccess.com. For publications, visit the CCBS bookstore.

Dr. Roger McIntire taught child psychology and family counseling at the University of Maryland for 32 years, where he conducted research and did applied work with parents and teachers. He has published several books, for both professionals and parents, appears often on radio and television talk shows, and writes a weekly column, Raising Good Kids in Tough Times, for the Martinsburg (WV) Journal. He received the 2001 Award for Effective Presentation of Behavior Analysis in the Mass Media, from the Association for Behavior Analysis. He is a father and grandfather. You can find out more about his publications at parentsuccess.com.

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