The real challenge lies in knowing how to change, not what to change

A few good strategies can make a big difference.

Image by Freepik

What people eat and feed their children is driven by many invisible factors. Most of us broadly know which foods aren’t doing us any favours, but we eat them anyway and probably allow our kids more than we’d ever allow ourselves. Even as a Registered Nutritionist I have just thrown a sugar fest of a birthday party for my 7-year-old – chocolate overload, lollies and Smarties in the party bags, Colin the caterpillar – the works. What’s more, I totally over-catered so we have loads left whispering to us all cheekily from the cupboards.

If you look at any kids’ menu, you’d be hard pushed to spot a well-balanced meal. Even in gastropubs or proper restaurants, burger and chips reign supreme without so much as a token vegetable. At Halloween they get enough sweets to open a shop, and Easter eggs go on sale the minute the Christmas selection boxes are taken off the shelves.

Most parents I know, and those I provide nutrition support for, work hard in the face of this food culture to get some decent food into their kids. But the environment is stacked against us. 

Attempts to estimate the average child’s diet are bleak. UK toddlers, 7-year-olds and teens consume 47%, 59% and 66% respectively of their energy intake from ultra processed foods (UPFs) [1]. Not all foods classed as UPF are nutritionally problematic, but a lot of them are brilliantly engineered to override our body’s inbuilt appetite control, simply to sell more product.

It seems obvious that we should start our kids off on a healthy path at the beginning of their lives. But how about when you didn’t start at the very beginning, like me? Or when you have kids with strong opinions and clear taste preferences, and more than enough to worry about anyway?

Just because I now know about nutrition, doesn’t suddenly make me a parent who is excellent at well… parenting. Setting boundaries with my strong-willed children, and gently teaching them about actions and consequences is something I sorely need a Master’s degree to learn. But I wanted to share 5 tips I recommend if you don’t have kids who just say, “sure mum, you’re right, chickpeas do have a wonderful balance of protein and fibre, much better than this Mr Whippy ice cream”.

1.    It’s a process. Slow progress is still progress!

Whilst I would love my children to have a wonderfully balanced, nutritious, whole food diet overnight, that’s not going to happen without my kids seeing me as a major villain and resenting healthy food. Go slowly but keep moving forward, often changes go under the radar if you build up slowly.

2.    Forget perfection, make better choices with intentional compromise.

In the spirit of slow and steady, intentionally nudge healthier choices by adding whole foods along side less healthy foods. For example, whilst I’d love to bin all these packets of Haribo that kids seem to magnetically attract, I give them a few of the sweets on a plate of other healthier foods. That way I know they’re still getting important nutrients. Not perfect, but better.

3.    Focus what is directly in your control, it’s a percentages game.

Remember that the ill effects of a poor diet are ‘dose-dependent’, meaning the more you have the greater the risk of harm. I tend to operate an 80:20 rule in most things in life - try and do the ‘right thing’ 80% of the time, otherwise its all too exhausting.

Control what food you buy and have in the house so you’re not relying on willpower or your threshold for resisting nagging. Then if junk foods are too hard to police at social events, your children are still eating a better ratio of healthy to unhealthy foods. It’s also helpful to feed your child at home before a social event like a party, so they aren’t ravenous when they turn up!

4.    Be intentional about increasing fruit and vegetables but forget about convention.

A major nutritional shortfall in many children is fruit and vegetables, which offer fibre, vitamins, minerals and other important compounds like polyphenols. But you must accept your child’s starting point to make progress.

If your child will only eat strawberries and cucumber, then serve that on their dinner plate. Strawberries with roast chicken may not win a Michelin star, but it’s a start. Add another vegetable or fruit to the plate alongside comfortable favourites, and one time soon they might just surprise you!

Also, don’t be afraid to blend vegetables smooth in sauces, or blend berries into milkshakes - it’s not cheating. Your child’s gut microbes will thank you.

5.    We eat with our eyes, so use that to your advantage.

At times we all wonder whether we are raising pampered little princes and princesses. If you are trying to make some dietary changes that are challenging for your child, then I’m afraid I suggest a little more pampering to make the food or drink a little more visually appealing.

Putting food on cocktail sticks or skewers, wrapping a neat piece of baking paper around the bottom of a wrap that includes a ‘challenging’ ingredient, serving foods in little ramekins… Ideas like these help the child feel interested and excited about the food.

For example, when trying to acclimatise my children to drink plain water, I serve it with ice and a slice and a straw. When first introducing curries into their world, I served them with a mango lassi (essentially an Indian mango milkshake). It’s an initial effort that can really pay off and you can reduce the effort when acceptance has been established.

If you’d like to discuss your child’s nutrition with me, get in touch using the contact details at www.cathlinbeaumont.com

References

[1] Conway, R.E., Heuchan, G.N., Heggie, L. et al. Ultra-processed food intake in toddlerhood and mid-childhood in the UK: cross sectional and longitudinal perspectives. Eur J Nutr63, 3149–3160 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-024-03496-7