Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q) paediatrician Dr Amal Khidir offered parents valuable advice on how to ensure their children eat a healthy, balanced diet at the latest WCM-Q Ask the Expert Event.
In addition to giving a detailed dietary information for children 18 years old and below, Dr Khidir also explained that one of the most valuable gifts a parent can bestow a child is appreciation of good, healthy food and respect for one’s own health. Dr Khidir said that it is crucial to not only teach children which foods are healthy, but also to nurture in them a love of healthy balanced food from a young age.
She said that the trick is to respect autonomy and avoid arguments. The parents also need to adopt a healthy lifestyle. Parents often forget that they are role models to their children. A picky eater, she said, is not born a picky eater.
There are many creative ways parents can avoid or overcome difficulties related to their children’s nutrition. They can do this by introducing children to good, fresh food from an early age, by cooking and eating together as a family, and by explaining to children how a good diet will keep them strong and healthy so that they can play with their friends, take part in sports and generally enjoy childhood free from poor health.’
The Ask the Expert series is part of WCM-Q’s Sahtak Awalan – Your Health First campaign. The interactive presentations are free to attend and feature an interactive Q&A session that allows audience members to ask follow-up questions about the topic.
Dr Khidir explained the benefits of breastfeeding for newborn babies and encouraged mothers who experienced difficulty feeding to seek help from their child’s doctor, obstetrician, midwife or lactation specialist. She then discussed ways to gradually introduce solid foods to babies from the age of six months, before speaking about the differing nutritional needs of children at each stage of development, starting with toddlers and progressing through pre-schoolers, grade-schoolers and teenagers.
In addition to emphasising the benefits of good nutrition, Dr Khidir also warned about the risks posed by diets that include large amounts of fast foods that are very high in calories, sugars and saturated fats – these include becoming overweight or obese and an increased likelihood to develop type-2 diabetes.
Dr Khidir explained that families should be conscious about the availability of fast food, and the influence on children’s diets of other caregivers, such as nannies, day-care teachers and extended family members.
We don’t want to scare parents but we do all need to be aware of the risks associated eating a lot of fast food like burgers, pizza and shawarma, or snacks like chips, cakes, sodas and sweets. In developed countries like Qatar where fast food is easily available and it is quite common for families to have nannies and child-minders, we all need to make sure we know what our children are eating and to instill healthy habits in them.’
Visit the WCM-Q website for more information about Dr Amal Khidir’s advice on child nutrition.
