Parents, check out these “bite-sized” tips from our trusted healthcare providers on how to encourage children to eat healthier, move more, reduce screen time, and sleep more.
Alexandria Kalina, MD, FAAP
Pediatrician
Tips for Managing Childhood Obesity
Model a healthy lifestyle
Teach your children how to create a healthy lifestyle by showing them. For example: eat salads, take walks, read books, be social and engage in fun discussions, S-L-O-W down and become less busy, laugh, get enough sleep, learn how to manage stress, embrace self-care, and limit phone time. Your family will be inspired to do the same!
Replace processed foods with whole foods
Lacking in nutrients, processed foods are loaded with fat, sodium, preservatives, and artificial ingredients. You can recognize them with a long list of ingredients – most that you cannot pronounce. Instead buy fresh foods found along the perimeter of the grocery store: dairy, eggs, fresh meat, fruits, and vegetables.
Keep offering new foods
Be persistent. If your child does not like a new food at first, don’t give up! It can take some kids up to 50 tries to develop a taste and acceptance.
Amanda Leino, MD
Family Medicine Physician
Keep active by having fun
Run around outside, ride bike together, have a dance party in the living room. Making moving part of play makes it easier, and less of a chore.
Always have healthy snacks available
Keep a bowl of fruit sitting out on the table so it is easy to grab (apples, bananas, clementines, pears). Keep cut up veggies (cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, celery, carrots, bell peppers) and cheese sticks in the fridge. Keep a drawer stocked with healthy snacks like applesauce, raisins, and nuts.
Promote positive body image
When talking to your kids, put less focus on their weight and more focus on what their body can do. Tell them how strong they are and how much energy they have when they eat healthy, stay active, and get enough sleep.
Jake Traxler, MD
Family Medicine Physician
Be active as a family
Doing things outside as a family and being physically active as a family are excellent ways to teach children to incorporate regular movement into their daily lives. They are likely to enjoy activities done together, especially when started young.
Put new food on their plate – even if they don’t eat it
My wife, who is an Occupational Therapist, encourages parents and kids to put a little bit of everything on their plate. They aren’t required to eat it all, but by having the foods on their plate that they might not like gets them more comfortable with those foods. They can start by touching it, licking it, playing with it, putting it in their mouth, and spitting it out (politely, of course!). The more exposure kids have to new foods and to a variety of foods, the more likely they will be to be willing to eat a healthy, balanced diet as they grow up.
Kristine Knudten, MD
Chief Medical Officer
Be a good role model
Your children will do what they see you do. They will be more likely to pick up healthy eating and exercise habits when they see you doing those things regularly. If you eat chips and drink pop regularly, your kids will too. Set the example by eating well-balanced meals with vegetables, fruits, whole grains, a variety of protein, dairy, and healthy fats.
Nina Appleby, DO
Family Medicine Physician
Involve your kids in the meal planning and preparation process
This will get them excited about healthy foods. Offer them a few healthy choices and give them a role in helping prepare that food. When they take pride in their ability to prepare a certain food, they are more likely to eat it, and will want to make it again in the future.
Mackenzie Lobitz, MD
Family Medicine Physician
Schedule time to move as a family
Prioritize physical activity by scheduling times during the week set aside to exercise. Find fun activities that everyone can do together – riding bike, walking trails, playing pickleball, or even video games like “Just Dance”.
Prepare veggies and fruits as part of every meal
After you set this routine, your kids will expect it, and even ask for fruits and veggies.
Celebrate healthy movement
Set daily or weekly goals and celebrate when their goals are achieved. For example, they could wear a fitness tracker on their wrist to track the number of steps they walk in a day.
Janet Mason, MSW, LICSW
Mental Health Social Worker
Make screen time a reward for desirable behavior
For example, brushing teeth before school could earn 10 minutes of screen time, reading before bed could earn 20 minutes, completing homework on time could earn 30 minutes. Limit earned screen time to up to one hour a day for small children (ages 0-6), and up to two hours a day for older children. Also, it’s important to have screen-free times where everyone in the family / household puts away their devices, such as during meals and at bedtimes.
Sometimes it can be difficult to establish healthy habits or to break unhealthy behaviors. I recommend these two resources for helping parents utilize challenging moments as relationship builders and skills builders rather than screaming power struggles: The Whole Brain Child Book and The Whole Brain Child Workbook by Daniel J. Siegel, M.D. and Tina Payne Bryson, Ph.D.
Kari Knodel Vettel, MPAS, PA-C
Family Medicine Physician Assistant
Replace screen time with physical activity with family
The more we are on screens, the less we move and the less social we are. Put down your phones, gather your kids, and go outside for some movement together as a family – go for a walk, a bike ride, go swimming, play basketball, or play catch. It’s a great way for you to connect with each other and release stress from the day.
Matthew Patterson, MD, FACS, MBA, MHA
Sleep Specialist
Promote a sleep atmosphere every night
At least 1-2 hours before going to bed, start the process. Put electronics away. Close the window shades. Turn down the bright lights and turn on lamps. Do quieter activities. In the morning, do the opposite. Open the shades. Turn on the lights. This process promotes the sleep/wake cycle. Also, getting regular exercise and eating healthy both positively impact our sleep.
Melissa Trebesch, RD, LD, CDCES
Dietitian and Diabetes Specialist
Limit beverage choices
Offer milk at mealtime and water in between meals. Avoid encouraging chocolate or other flavored milk as this adds unnecessary sugar to milk. Limit or eliminate fruit juice. It is better to eat fruit than to drink fruit juices even if the juice is 100% juice.
Make water easily accessible for your family. Keep a pitcher of water or bottles of water in the fridge at all times, invest in a water dispenser for your kitchen, and pack a cooler of water to take with you when you are on the road.
Always have a bottle filled with water for your child
Encourage your child to take it with them when they leave the house whenever possible.
Eat meals together at the table without distractions
This is an opportunity for parents to have one-on-one time to talk to their kids, ask about their day at daycare or school, discuss what they can do together on the weekend, and be a role model to them by eating vegetables and other healthy foods.
Hands are great portion controllers
Our hands come in “handy” when we are serving food to our children. Look at the size of your child’s hand. Food portions should not be bigger than your child’s fist.
Do not reward behavior with food
Instead, offer praise in the form of uplifting words or let your child help plan a family activity such as going to the swimming pool or visiting the farmer’s market and picking out vegetables for your family to try together.
Healthy Snack Ideas:
- A tortilla topped with 1-2 tbsp. peanut butter and a sliced banana
- Peel a banana, dip in vanilla yogurt, roll in crushed cereal, and place in freezer. This is a great snack when temps are hot outside!
- A cup of low-fat yogurt (vanilla or Greek) topped with half a cup of berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries) and a sprinkle of granola
- Prepare a colorful veggie tray with sliced cucumbers, carrots, grape tomatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, colored bell peppers, and sugar snap peas. Serve with a yogurt dip: mix 1 cup Greek yogurt, 1 tbsp. dill weed, ¼ tsp garlic powder, and pepper to taste.
- 1 mozzarella string cheese and 15 whole grain crackers, such as Wheat Thins or Triscuit Thin Crisps
- Build-your-own trail mix. Allow your child to pick from pretzels, raisins, dried bananas, mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, sunflower seeds, and popcorn, to create their own cup of trail mix.
- Prepare snack kabobs using pretzel sticks. Add fruit such red or green grapes, strawberries, and cheese cubes.
- Put egg salad or tuna salad on whole grain crackers, and top with a black or green olive.
Michael Vesely, MA, LPCC
Mental Health Clinical Counselor
Offer activities to replace screen time
Many of us (providers included) wrestle with this process of limiting screen exposure with our own children (and even ourselves). If you have gotten into the habit of too much screen time, that is ok. It happens. You are human. Our society has changed faster than our brains. Instead of focusing on the failure of how you spent the entire day binge-watching a Netflix show, or allowing your child to play video games for the entire afternoon, start by exploring activities you could do instead – go for a walk, play board games, read, arts and crafts, build a fort, cook/bake, or play outside. It is significantly easier to change a behavior when we have a replacement behavior to use as a substitute.
Need more help?
If you’re concerned your child may be overweight, reach out to their healthcare provider. Their provider can help you develop a plan to create healthy eating habits and to increase physical activity. To schedule an appointment, call 320-864-7816.
