Do things slowly
If your family regularly consumes high-fat food products, fast foods, and sugary desserts, don’t remove all of them from your meals at once. Consider eliminating one type of food at a time to avoid frustration. Experts say that doing things slowly increases your chances of success.
One of the possible reasons why a preschooler is overeating is that they are hungry; this hunger could come from consuming empty-calorie foods that do not meet their nutritional needs.
Try finding healthy alternatives to their less-nutritional foods. For instance, instead of giving them candies for desserts, offer them cut-up grapes.
Set mealtime schedules and stick to them
Preschoolers may still be young, but they are old enough to follow simple rules. If you tell them that your family will have regular mealtimes (and snack times) from now on, they’ll most likely listen, especially when they see that everyone in the family is following the schedule.
If your child wants to eat all the time, setting mealtime schedules also help regulate their appetite. You’ll help them realize that they have already eaten earlier, so there’s no need to eat now; after all, they’ll eat again later.
Use kiddie-sized plates
Remember that your preschooler’s portions are smaller than yours, so consider using kiddie-sized plates and glasses for them. You can also use the plate portion guidelines from the Pinggang Pinoy by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI):
- The serving of vegetables should be as much as the serving of carbohydrates.
- When combined, vegetables and carbohydrates must cover more than half of your child’s plate.
- The serving of fruits should be as much as the serving of proteins; these two food groups will cover the rest of your child’s plate.
As for examples, you can consider filling up your preschooler’s plate with the following:
Carbohydrates
Comments
Share your thoughts
Be the first to let Hello Doctor know your thoughts!
Join Us or Log In to join the discussion