Doc, Can You Give My Special Needs Child Nutritional Help?

Judy Converse Author of Special-Needs Kids Eat Right: Strategies to Help Kids on the Autism Spectrum Focus, Learn, and Thrive

By Judy Converse, MPH, RD, LD

Many children with autism, Asperger's, ADHD, sensory processing disorders, learning disabilities, or mood/behavior issues have nutrition problems stemming from malabsorption, bowel problems, and/or inadequate diet. These impede learning, growth, behavior, and functioning in all children—not just special needs children. Not surprisingly, when you address the nutrition problems of these kids, the symptoms of their disorder lessen and, in some cases, disappear.

The medical establishment is just now beginning to acknowledge the link between nutrition problems and learning and behavior disorders. Most physicians still regard autism or other learning and developmental diagnoses as brain problems, not whole body problems. They may resist the idea that nutrition supports apply to these conditions, seeing them as static, inflexible afflictions.

My clinical experience with hundreds of special needs children has proven differently.

How to Engage a Reluctant Provider

If your doctor is not onboard with your interest in nutrition supports for your child, you might succeed with a few tactful efforts at bridging the gap. Here are some suggestions.

Filed under ADHD, Autism, Learning Disabilities, Nutrition by More4kids

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A Family Solution to Childhood Obesity

avoiding childhood obesity: the family that exercises together stays thin together

If your child is overweight or obese, it’s not just your child’s problem but your whole family’s. There are many reasons a child develops a weight problem, but genetics and family environment definitely plays a factor. In fact, if a child has one parent who is obese, that child has a 50 percent chance of also being obese; the risk increases to 80 percent if both parents are obese.

How can you help decrease your child’s risk of developing a weight problem? First, you should always consult a doctor to rule out medical issues that might be related to your child’s weight gain. Your doctor can also advise you on improving your family’s eating habits and increasing your physical activity.

The key to helping your child beat obesity is to develop healthier habits for your whole family. Your child will not succeed at losing weight if he is munching carrot sticks while everyone else slurps chocolate milk shakes! In addition, change your habits slowly so that everyone has time to adjust to the new routines. Specific areas to focus on include better eating habits and more physical activity, as the only way to lose weight is to reduce the number of calories eaten and to increase physical activity.

Filed under Exercise, Food, Health, Nutrition by More4kids

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Getting Kids to Eat Their Vegetables - Tips and Recipes

not too happy vegetable eater Make it a New Years resolution for healthier family meals! Here are some tips and recipes to help get kids to eat their veggies

Eating plenty of veggies is important to a healthy diet. However, getting kids to eat vegetables is often difficult. Kids that are growing especially need to get the nutrition that are in vegetables and fruits, and even little toddlers need to get plenty of veggies in their diet. It can definitely be hard to get kids to eat their vegetables. The best time to introduce newer foods is while children are younger. Once they get beyond the age of four, it can be more difficult to introduce new foods. So, if you are trying to make sure that your kids eat a healthy diet and that they get plenty of vegetables, here are some top tips to help and some ideas for adding veggies into other recipes.

Tip #1 - Eat Veggies Yourself - First of all, if you really want your kids to eat their veggies, you are going to have to make sure that you eat some veggies yourself. After all, you'll that your kids aren't going to want to eat something that you are not going to eat. So, when you sit down to dinner, make sure that you don't push away the veggies or your kids are going to do the very same thing. If they see you eating the veggies, they will be more likely to eat the veggies too.

Filed under Food, Health, Nutrition by More4kids

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Breakfast Done Right

umm umm good, delicous blueberry waffles It’s a cliché, but like many clichés, it’s been oft-repeated because it’s true: Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day, especially for kids. During the night, your body uses energy you have stored up during the day to keep your heart beating, your blood flowing, your lungs working, etc. By morning, you need some fuel to get your brains and body started. That fuel comes in the form of blood sugar, also called glucose.

Breakfast offers many specific benefits:

Snacks versus Treats: Encouraging Healthy Habits

toddler enjoying a healthy fruit snack

by Stacey Schifferdecker

Experts estimate that by the year 2010, almost 50 percent of children in North America will be overweight. We know why – kids gain weight for the same reasons adults gain weight: too much food and not enough exercise. And while we are probably all behind the drives to remove junk food and soda vending machines from our schools, are we similarly vigilant about the food in our homes?

Separate Snacks from Treats
A dietician once spoke at my children’s preschool and explained to us the very logical distinction she makes for her children between “snacks” and “treats.”

Filed under Food, Health, Nutrition by More4kids

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Is Your Child a Fussy Eater? Tips For Healthy Eating

Remember when your baby began eating table foods? What joy it was to watch his reaction to each new food. He enjoyed some tastes, and he scrunched up his face at others. But put a food in front of him, and into his mouth it went.

Fast-forward to toddlerhood. Your daring little taster now refuses anything but grilled cheese, chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese (usually the processed boxed kind). And, oh yeah, that grilled cheese had better be cut into triangles!

It may be comforting to know that you are not alone. Parents around the world are tearing their hair out as their little darlings refuse anything remotely nutritious. What can we do as parents without resorting to trying to force food down our kids?

Filed under Food, Nutrition by More4kids

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Teaching Your Child The Value Of Good Nutrition

mom and sons making a healthy meal together Childhood obesity rates here in the U.S. are skyrocketing. Many of the children that become overweight at a young age will develop health issue throughout their lives. How can we help overcome this and try make sure your child grows up healthy? As parents, there are a lot of things we can under consideration with respects to the habits that your child develops. It is important we help to influence those habits. Why? Because the habits our children develop when they are young tend to stick with them throughout their lives, so it’s important to start establishing good guidelines for living as soon as possible. These days, nutrition is one of the most neglected aspects of our style of living. Lets take a look at ways to establish some basic guidelines that can help our children stay healthy with regards to nutrition.