Honey, Let's Stop Killing the Kids!

A few weeks ago, I told you about Felicia Stoler, RD, host of the TLC series “Honey, We’re Killing the Kids!” I asked you for questions you wanted answered, and she has delivered the goods. Read on to see if your Q was picked, and what the expert mom has to say about it!

Charlotte asked about healthy snacks to keep for the kidlets while zooming around town. She specifically ordered the celeb nutritionist to not suggest granola bars.

Felicia says: "Snacks in individual serving sizes generally last longer because the packaging delays decomposition from exposure to air. Granola bars actually are good snacks, as are dried fruit, nuts and 100-calorie snack packs. Many granola bars have nuts, whole grains, and some have dried fruit so it’s proper label reading that is important. (Avoid the sugary cereal bars, which are not the same thing.) Pretzels last for a while, as do many whole grain crackers. Sugar alone in food is not an issue—it’s total calories (and sugar is better than fried food anyway). Of course, fresh fruits are always great because they’re so nutritious, so keep a tasty Florida tangerine around since they’re so easy to peel."

Sonn, Alyssa and Workout Mommy wanted to get the beef on protein requirements.

Felicia says: "Protein is important for growing bodies, as it helps to create muscle tissue. However, children do not need as much as adults (and many adults overconsume protein). Amino acids are the building blocks of protein and are found in grains, vegetables, dairy and obviously eggs, meat, seafood, nuts, beans, etc. With kids, it’s often about texture and how it’s served. Some kids prefer the texture of a cold-cut sliced meat (like turkey or chicken) vs. the fresh breast meat we may make at home. Try different textures and get creative—you can 'hide' protein in sauces and stews (if your kids will eat it)."

Sonn was mildly freaked about her little girls, 5 and 2, somehow subsisting "for days on, like, 3 tablespoons of food and a glass of milk. How long can a preschooler survive on a carrot and three bites of rice, anyway?"

Felicia says: "The younger child is probably following her older sister’s picky habits. It is important to nip this in the bud and try to establish mealtime rituals that encourage trying new foods. Children will eat when they are hungry. Without having more information, this can be tough. Are you allowing your kids to snack on junk between meals? Don’t turn meal time into fight time—know that kids' taste habits and preferences are always changing."

MizFit oiled up her keyboard and typed out a message about omega 3's for little fishes.

Felicia says: "Be careful about isolating nutrients and supplementation. I always say food first, then add 'smart supplementation' to make up for what a daily intake may lack. The omega fatty acids are now being added to the food supply in pasta, eggs, cereals, etc., but the natural food form is also fine (i.e. flax seeds). Kids’ taste preferences change, so a child who doesn’t like fish now may like it a year from now. Keep trying. I cannot speak to the labeling information for Coromega and why this is for kids 4 and up. However, I can say that many labels for supplements will err on the side of caution because research is seldom done on children and pregnant women."

Greta's a sneaky little blogger and slipped in a question about "what Ms. Stoler thinks of the Deceptively Simple and Sneaky Chef cookbook ideas of hiding 'good' food in 'bad' food."

Felicia says: "These books are kitschy. I do think they are fun (and a lot of work), however, it is important for kids to learn to like the taste of the real thing vs. hiding it in something seemingly sweet. We have nurtured generations of kids driven towards sweet flavors, e.g. beverages, foods and snacks. We can modify our desires for salty and sweet foods by cutting back. If you include your kids in the cooking process, they may be more likely to try new foods! Remember, kids will not necessarily like bitter-tasting foods—they don’t have sophisticated palates like adults."

And my personal favorite comes from Dara, who asked the very Weighting Game-esque question, "How do you encourage kids to make healthy choices, without having it turn into 'Mom thinks I'm fat so she's serving me salad?'"

Felicia says: "The key here is to lead by example—period. Keep the junk out of the house or limit it. Keep artificial sweeteners and fats (olestra) away from kids. Have fresh fruits washed and ready to eat. Keep Florida’s tasty oranges or tangerines in a bowl on the counter where the kids can see it. Or save cut-up oranges/grapes in the refrigerator, bananas on a hook, melon that is already cut, etc. Serve fruits to your kids as a snack after school or after dinner. Serve veggies with lunch and dinner! Have your kids keep a chart of their fruit and vegetable consumption. Are they getting at least 5 servings a day total?

Also, let’s not forget exercise and physical activity (soooo important), limiting technology time to no more than 2 hrs/day."

P.S. New from the American Academy of Pediatrics: DO PARENTS HELP OR HURT THEIR OVERWEIGHT CHILDREN?
Obesity among children is a growing public health concern, given the physical and psychological consequences associated with excess body weight. In a new study, researchers determined that parents need to talk less and do more when it comes to weight-related matters. Parents who recognized that their teenage children were overweight did not do “healthy things” at home to help their children with healthy weight management, such as having more fruits and vegetables available. Rather, the only behavior that they did more frequently was to encourage their children to diet, which was not helpful to weight management over a five-year period (Leslie: "Uh-doiii!"). In fact, it predicted poorer weight outcomes (i.e., increased weight gain), particularly in girls. Study authors suggest placing less emphasis on getting parents of overweight children to correctly classify their children as overweight and more emphasis on helping all parents provide a healthy home environment, which is supportive of healthy eating and physical activity, for their children.

Comments

Thanks so much for arranging this, Leslie!

I dont have kids but i still found this interesting.

mainly how to encourage kids to eat healthily without messing with their selfesteem.body image which is my number one fear for when i do have children.

well, that and having to clean up their vomit, cause, gross.

Hahaha! I'm totally agreeing with Kelly on this one!

Ooooo, Kelly and Gena you totally hit the nail on the head with that one! I periodically check with my husband to make sure that's one of his duties he'll be doing for me when we have kids (and they're still a couple years away)...so he has to clean up vomit and step on bugs, oh, and take the trash out. :)

In my personal experience, just because your husband says he'll be on vomit duty now, it doesn't mean that he'll actually delivery once your toddler wakes up in the middle of the night and is spraying puke like the kid from the Exorcist. I would get it in writing...

Hmmm...does anyone else think Felicia might be getting cut a nice check from the Florida Citrus Growers after this interview?

Great questions and answers! I don't have kids myself and wouldn't have the first clue how to deal with these issues.

But I know from your previous post that if they're female children, you must feed them yogurt. Women are required to like yogurt, it's the law, so better get your girls started young.

my .02? get an ENORMOUS DOG before you have kids!
my daughter doesnt produce anything NEARLY as icky as our 140+ pound bullmastiff!

problem solved :)

ROFLMAO! Ok...it took me two reads to get the sneaky blogger comment. I'm sitting here thinking, "why was I sneaky?"

It's been a looooooong day.

Thanks for the tips, Felicia! I liked your ideas except for the nuts- they're still choking hazards for my little guys! As are any dried fruit larger than a raisin:) Also, I have never met a "100 calorie snack pack" that was actually good nutrition - did you have a particular kind you were recommending?

And Trish? BEST comment of the day! hear, hear!

@Em - I was thinking the exact same thing...

You asked awesome questions ladies!

Truthfully, I'm a little disappointed with the answers she gave. IMO it didn't seem like she was really listening to the questions.

You nailed it Fitarella. I was also very surprised to hear a nutritionist say "sugar doesn't really matter." I mean, I get that a treat now and then is fine & I shouldn't be the sugar nazi but to say sugar in children's food doesn't matter? Weird.

I'm sitting here trying to picture me attempting to peel a tangerine while driving down the freeway with two screaming hungry kids in the back seat :) But after reading all the answers I DO have the strongest urge to go eat a grapefruit! Or an orange. Maybe a pomelo. Anything they can grow in FL, baby!

I really liked a lot of the answers. I hadn't considered the texture angle and will definitely try it with my kids.

However I am surprised and disappointed with some other answers. Citrus, dried fruits, even nuts for small children? Huge choking and allergen risks and most moms know total no-no's. For older kids maybe. The sugar comment also had me scratching my head. Ditto the comments about my toddler / preschool snacking - I even went and looked it up and the AAP, medline, and nutrition.gov all say kids that age NEED healthy snacks between meals. And, I think I was misunderstood - my crew eat a wide variety of healthy food (and no junk,) just not a lot of it. Very typical for the age!

Thank you!

Sonn - I totally hear you about toddlers and their feast/famine approach to food. My kiddos are the exact same way. My ped. told me it is normal and as long as they are eating balanced over the course of 1 or 2 WEEKS then to not worry about it:) I don't think any toddler gets all their RDAs in one day...

LOL about driving whilst peeling!!

Hi all,
Felicia replied to me after reading some of the comments here and I wanted to share some of her feelings with you:

"I wanted to contact you about the posting on your blog site… I take all comments very seriously… I think some of your bloggers missed the point that I was answering questions in a manner to help parents w/kids of all ages (esp. when asked about snacks for kids & choking hazards… no ages were specified). It is often difficult to answer questions when all the details are not included & I do my best to be thorough (not your doing, but based upon the inputs).

I think some of the gals missed the point that all foods can fit – there really is nothing wrong w/100 cal snack packs… or sugar/carbohydrates/etc.

I’m a realistic RD - not one that preaches from my unrealistic ivory tower… and snacking is fine & encouraged..."

".I always use evidence-based research in my messaging & find it funny how amongst themselves, people will continue to perpetuate the myths that I try so hard to dispel & clarify...
I have two very healthy children – 7 & 10, who are normal weight, very active & appreciate that their mother is giving them the foundation for a healthier outcome than we had J

Just wanted to share my thoughts with you.
All the best,

F
Dr. Felicia D. Stoler, DCN, MS, RD, FACSM

Nutritionist & Exercise Physiologist
Host of TLC's show "Honey We're Killing the Kids"

Past President/Media/PR NJ Dietetic Association