A healthy diet and proper feeding practices can help greatly in assisting the development of your child in all sorts of ways. This includes assisting in making sure they have a sturdy and healthy set of teeth to use for eating food and giving them a charismatic smile. On top of this, a good diet is an essential part of growth for every child’s physical health. As they grow your kid(s) may have certain eating habits they develop, we want you to know which ones are good for them and which ones to make sure they should break off.
Giving Your Child A Balanced Diet
Foods to eat (Based off the U.S. Department of Agriculture):
- Fantastic Fruits and Veggies: Loading up on fruits and vegetables should be an important part of your kid’s diet. Fresh fruits and veggies are always best to eat when possible.
- Delicious Dairy: Dairy can be a wonderful source of protein, calcium, and other essential nutrients for your child and their development. Look into getting low-fat or fat-free products. Limit unhealthy dairies such as ice-cream, certain cheeses, and sugar-filled yogurt. These foods have high saturated fat and cholesterol content which can increase the risk for heart disease.
- Good Grains: When giving your child grains be sure to try to focus on giving them whole grains in at least half of their diet. Refined grains remove many B vitamins, dietary fiber, and iron. You want your child to have these nutrients in their system to help grow and develop.
- Powerful Protein: Protein is the building block of muscles, bones, and various organs of the body, it is an essential nutrient for growth in children. 2-3 servings of lean protein a day for children is a good amount to try to reach. Try to vary the proteins you serve. Foods such as skinless chicken, lean beef, and some fish/seafood all are great choices when looking to include protein in a meal.
Avoid too much Sugar!
While some sugar is okay and needed, always check for the added sugar in foods and make sure not too much of it is contained in meals. Not only can sugar be a big contributor to poor health, but it is also an infamous benefactor to the decay of teeth. We know your kid probably loves fast food and sweets. Most of us do. But just like we shouldn’t eat an excessive amount, it is even more integral that your child does so they can develop to their maximum potential.
* Some “sugar-free” foods can be just as bad or even worse than their sugar counterparts, watch out for sucralose in diet sodas and other artificial sweeteners if you do not need to use them in place of sugar. While seemingly healthy, a majority of juices are normally filled with sugar and can’t live up to the nutrients you can get from the real thing. Energy and sports drinks are also usually very high in sugar content as well. Regular water is the best thing your child can drink, if they insist on drinking something else look into products with little to no sugar and no artificial sugar content.
What Else to Watch Out for
Sticky and Chewy foods: Foods that are eaten with peanut butter, honey, syrup, etc. and chewy foods like raisins, granola bars, and candy should be given in low doses. These foods all have a tendency to stick to your teeth, making it harder for your child’s saliva to wash away all the yucky food particles. Make sure you get them to brush their teeth right after eating if you decide to give them any of these foods.
Fruits with high concentrated sugar: Watch out for bananas, oranges, raisins, grapes, cherries, pomegranates, among other fruits that have high concentrated sugar contents. All of these are healthy in moderation, but many people will eat much over the recommended serving so be careful when dealing with nature’s delicious delights!
Too Much Snacking: Frequency over quantity. In terms of your child’s dental health it is important to note how many times they are snacking and to only allow them to snack in limited time frames throughout the day. Your body uses the time between eating different meals as a way for saliva to wash away food particles left over.
Conclusion
Making sure your child gets the proper food groups in their daily eating routine is very important for them as they bloom into adolescence. Starting the important eating habits laid out in this article early can help establish a healthy lifestyle regime with healthy teeth, a bright smile, and overall great physical health. If you have any extra questions or tips you want to know, ask your pediatric dentist or you can ask us if you don’t have one!
