The Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010 was just released and in the 95 page report there were very few surprises. For most of us, the primary source of our calories comes from carbohydrates, we do well in eating enough protein, and we eat too much added sugar, salt and solid fat (junk food). I want to know, in whose world is it OK for the top three sources of calories in our kid’s diet to be grained based desserts (cakes, pies, cookies etc), pizza and soda/energy/sports drinks? We all love our children and would do anything for them so how did we get here?
I don’t think it comes as a surprise to many of us that our kids are eating an unhealthy diet. Many of us struggle against peer pressure, fast food establishments located on every corner, hours of advertisements for unhealthy food and beverages, displays at the store for junk food that are at eye level for our kids, school lunches that mimic fast food, huge portions, and just the sheer exhaustion of figuring out how to set limits and bring up healthy eaters.
If you are a parent in today’s world you are instructed to let your child decide if and how much and you provide the what and when. When your child sits down for dinner you are told not to enforce any rules or expectations. You are also advised to not encourage your child to eat, or praise them when they do a good job. This popular recommendation that you often hear at pediatrician and nutritionist offices, puts the control of what to eat and how much of it they will eat into the hands of the very young. If you give a child free reign around food, the majority will run down the road to processed food, junk food and soda. How can you blame them? If our taste buds led the way and we had no “knowledge” as to why we should eat something that doesn’t taste anywhere near as good as candy, soda and chips, than we would also sprint down this path
Have no fear. You and your child(ren) are exactly where you need to be to turn this around. I spent the last three years developing a simple, step by step program for busy families that want to feed their children a healthy diet. At BuildHealthyKids.com you will find tips and tools plus as much information as your time allows to understand and follow one recommendation a month. I took the guidelines set forth by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American Heart Association (AHA) and put them all into 12 easy to follow building blocks.
The focus this month is on choosing healthy fats. Follow me on Face Book and I will keep you updated on the latest nutrition information that affects our kids, plus I will describe simple changes that you can make each week that will make a huge difference in your family’s diet and ultimately their health. Won’t you join me and other families on a year long journey? I promise to not overwhelm, all I will ask is for you to focus on one change a month and by years end your family will be eating a healthy diet and living an active life.
Dr. Debbie Kennedy (Dr. Deb) is a pediatric nutritionist with 23 years of experience in the field. She has worked with both Yale and Columbia Universities, and has developed programs for some of the industry’s luminaries such as Dr. David Katz and Dr. Mehmet Oz. 
Very informative & well written with few surprises indeed & should be a “wake up ” call to all parents >>ask yourself “if you are feeding your children ,or nourishing them?”