Parents Need Nutrition Education—You Can Help

Researchers in the health and wellness area are watching children’s eating habits and seeing worrying trends.  While parents are educated early about weaning their babies and introducing first foods, not as much information is available for parents of toddlers and school-age children.

Consequently, we are seeing increases in childhood obesity rates, eating disorders in children under age 12 (boys and girls), food allergies, ADHD, and even picky eating.

Parents want to do the right thing, but daily work and life pressures often limit the amount of time they spend on food selection and meal preparation.  This challenge is compounded by the overwhelming number of choices parents encounter at the grocery store. It is no wonder that some parents feel at a loss about how to provide healthy food for their children—and how to impart healthy eating habits.  

The Journal of the American Heart Association released a study this spring, Caregiver Influences on Eating Behaviors in Young Children. Among its highlights, the researchers show that when parents either restrict or pressure children to eat certain foods—as well intentioned as they may be—it can lead to children being unable to self-regulate their eating habits. That is, neither a reward-based system nor a system without boundaries works in the long run.  Rather, those systems can instill a lack of self-regulation in what, and how much, food a child decides to eat.

The study goes on to suggest thatparents should focus on building a more positive food environment that optimizes healthy food choices.  This is where your brand comes in. 

The JAHA recommends that parents and caregivers introduce new, nutritious foods along with foods the child already knows and likes. Given the lack of direction parents receive about proper nutrition for their children, your brand can be an invaluable resource to parents for identifying and incorporating healthier foods into their children’s diets.

Exactly how should you educate parents?  You can be guided by advice that Jill Castle, childhood nutrition expert, gives parents on how to successfully nourish a child:

1.     Show parents the healthy value that your brand helps give children, especially regarding food and nutrition, feeding, and child development.

2.     Demonstrate how your food brands are flexible and can adapt to children’s’ growth, change in tastes, and new allergies. Parents need to know that they can count on your nutritional benefits through these transitions and in the long term.

3.     Direct your nutrition education in a way that helps keep parents on track, building loyalty and repeat purchase.

One surefire way to get relevant nutrition education and brand information into the hands of parents is through trusted pediatric health professionals. These credentialed professionals are the most trusted source of nutrition guidance. Revolutionizing the way kids eat in America isn’t just about new products and offerings—it’s also about helping parents better understand childhood nutrition and guiding them to make healthy, nutritious choices for their children.