Raising a Healthy Eater

"The secret to feeding a healthy family is to love good food, trust yourself, and share that love and trust with your child. When the joy goes out of eating, nutrition suffers."

- Ellyn Satter

Ellyn Satter is a well known advocate for children's nutrition. She has outlined some very simple rules which help parents raise healthy children. One major concept she is known for is what she calls "Divisions of Responsibility" as they relate to feeding children.

The Division of Responsibility for Infants:

-The parent is responsible for what

-The child is responsible for how much

The Division of Responsibility For Toddlers to Adolescents:
-The parent is responsible for what, when, where

-The child is responsible for how much and whether

Parents' Feeding Jobs:

-Choose and prepare the food

-Provide regular meals and snacks

-Make eating times pleasant

-Show children what they have to learn about food and mealtime behavior

-Not let children graze for food or beverages between meal and snack times

-Let children grow up to get bodies that are right for them

-Trust your child to decide HOW MUCH and WHETHER to eat.

If parents follow these simple guidelines, children:

-Eat the amount they need

-Learn to eat the food their parents eat

-Will grow predictably

-Learn to behave well at the table

"If parents do their jobs with feeding, children will do their jobs with eating."

For More Information on Raising a Healthy Eater, Visit: http://www.ellynsatter.com/

Taken in part from;
http://www.ellynsatter.com/ellyn-satters-division-of-responsibility-in-feeding-i-80.html. 8/25/2010

"The Happiest Baby on the Block" - Book Review

"The Happiest Baby on the Block", by Harvey Karp, M.D., is an easy-to-follow guide for parents of new babies.  Following are a some of the key concepts from Dr. Karp's book.

1. The "Fourth Trimester."  Dr. Karp compares the first three months of life to a fourth trimester during which infants are still very immature neurologically.  Because infants do not have the ability to self-soothe well during the first three months of life, they need adult caretakers to calm and soothe them.

2. "The 5 S's." These five concepts are the ways Dr. Karp suggests that parents create a soothing, womb-like environment for young babies.  The "5 S's" are SWADDLING, SIDE/STOMACH position, SHUSHING SOUNDS, SWINGING and SUCKING. Click here for a more detailed description of each of these techniques.

You may need to use all five of these concepts, or just one or two, depending on your baby's preferences. 

Follow this link for DVD and Book excerpts.

How did you best CALM your FUSSY NEWBORN?

Water Safety

August has been trying to decide what temperature it wants to be, but when it decides to be hot... it is HOT. We know kids are begging to get over to the water park or jump in the pool in the backyard- here are a few ideas to keep them safe in the water.

If you have a pool at home:

• Fences should stand at least 4 feet (130 centimeters) high with no foot or handrails for kids to climb on.
• The slats should be less than 4 inches (110 millimeters) apart so a child can't get through, or if chain link, should have no opening larger than 1¾ inches (50 millimeters).
• Gates should be self-closing and self-latching, and the latch should be out of kids' reach.

If you are going to a water park:

• Teach your kids to follow all rules and directions, such as walking instead of running and always going down the water slide in the right position — feet first and face up. A Coast-Guard approved life jacket is a good idea, too.
• Know which rides are appropriate for your child's age and development. For example, wave pools can quickly go from calm to rough, putting even a good swimmer in over his or her head. Younger children can be intimidated by older kids' splashing and roughhousing.

Regardless of where you are swimming, kids need constant supervision around water — whether the water is in a bathtub, a wading pool, an ornamental fish pond, a swimming pool, a spa, the beach, or a lake. Invest in good safety gear, i.e a life vest, floaties, etc. Young children can drown in less that 2 inches of water. Keep an eye on them constantly, and be smart. Water is a great relief from the heat- just be smart as you cool off.