Healthy child development requires healthy foods and beverages, regular exercise, and limits on screen time.
Food
Children’s risk of developing obesity, chronic illness, behavior issues and other problems that impact well-being are reduced if they
- gobble up whole grains, fruits and vegetables, lean meats, and low-fat or fat-free dairy,
- consume breast milk (or formula if breast milk isn’t an option!) for the first months or years of life,
- scarf down minimal amounts of fats, sugars, and sodium,
- drink only small amounts of 100% fruit juice if any is drunk at all,
- avoid soda pop completely.
That’s quite a list!
Wait. There’s more.
Exercise and Screen Time
Young children should also get at least 60 minutes of exercise every day for optimal health and well-being.
Remember to limit their screen time to two hours per day for children over two years old and avoid screen time all together for children younger than two years of age.
This is Impossible!
Feeling overwhelmed yet?
Don’t worry. Just do your best.
Be gentle with yourself.
Few are able to follow all of these guidelines all of the time.
Start small.
Then, do more as you’re able.
Recipes
Here are some recipes resources that might help!
There are some other apps and websites out there with similar recipes as well.
As always, if you need a hand getting additional specialized information in this area, let us know!
We’re here to help.