Your Child's Nutrition: The Power of Parents

Mom has plenty on her plate these days, including the high-ranking job as senior manager of her children's nutrition.

In most families, "mom buys the food that's in the house. Mom puts food on the table. Mom has the pivotal role in what the kids eat," says Marilyn Tanner-Blasier, RD, LD, a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association.

Dads influence their child's nutrition, too, and it's not just what's cooking in the kitchen. Both parents set the pattern for the family's lifestyle. If mom and dad are oatmeal-and-biking types, their kids likely are, too. If parents are more the chips-and-TV type, that's where you'll find the kids.

Your Child's Nutrition: You're the Role Model

In one large survey of kids under age 12, mom and dad ranked highest as their children's nutrition role models -- the persons the kids most wanted to be like, reports Tanner-Blasier. Nearly 70% of children reported they were likely to talk with mom or dad about nutrition and their body size.

That survey -- conducted by the American Dietetic Association Foundation -- also picked up on the families' activity levels. Kids were more likely to eat a meal or watch TV with a parent, rather than playing outside.

"If mom and dad spent most of their time sitting around watching TV, leading an inactive lifestyle, kids did the same," says Tanner-Blasier, who is also a pediatric dietitian at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Trouble is, "many parents don't really think of themselves as role models," says Ron Kleinman, MD, associate chief of pediatrics at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

"Parents expect their kids to do things, like exercise, that they themselves don't do," he tells WebMD. "You can't lie on the couch watching TV, snacking on potato chips -- yet tell your child to go outside and get some exercise. It just doesn't work that way."

How to Model Good Nutrition for Your Child

Any parent can be a good role model for children's nutrition. "Even if you're overweight and having trouble losing it, it's still possible to role model a healthy lifestyle for your child," Kleinman tells WebMD. Try these tips at home:

• Buy fruits and vegetables rather than snacks. "Studies show that if parents emphasize how important these are in the diet, children will eat them more often -- compared to parents who are more about relaxed it," says Kleinman. "You don't want to be rigid about it, but you must insist."
• Pass along the basics of portion control. Kids also must learn to stop eating -- what nutritionists call portion control. "In our culture, we tend to lose sight of the feeling of fullness," Kleinman explains. "The 'clean your plate' club overrides the natural cues a child has to stop eating when they are full. It prompts them to eat when there is no reason to eat."

That's how the habit of "constant grazing" is born, says Kleinman. "That's why you see kids sipping a soda while they're walking down the street. They just don't think about stopping."

• Value family mealtimes. Family mealtimes -- without the TV -- help teach children valuable lessons, says Kleinman. "Families who eat together tend to eat healthier. They learn portion control, since there's only so much food put out for everybody. It also reinforces time limits on eating."
• Track TV time. Difficult as it may be, limiting TV time is absolutely a must, Kleinman says. "You should be outside with your kids, walking or running, modeling what a healthy lifestyle is all about -- or your kids will not take it seriously."

Studies show that when parents make the effort be model good nutrition for their children, it really does work. One study focused on 114 overweight families, with kids aged 6-12 years old. Like their parents, the kids were overweight. As parents took measures to get into shape, so did their overweight kids. In fact, both parents and kids had similar positive results in weight loss over the five-year study period.

What were parents doing right? They were keeping close track of foods they ate, limiting high-calorie foods, following a food reference guide, having nightly family meetings, and praising each other -- generally being healthy role models for their kids.