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Eating out with children - Part 2/3 - When fast food is on the menu

Eating out with children - Part 2/3 - When fast food is on the menu

There you are. You are in the queue of a fast food restaurant and you are left a few minutes before placing the order. How is your family found it? The possibilities are many: you had it in taste, you're on vacation, on a school trip, you go through a difficult situation, you run out of resources or simply looking for a place to eat quickly and affordably.


In short, you are there.

In theory, you do not go in a fastfood having as main objective to pay attention to his health. However, if you are dedicated to providing the best possible balance to your feed material in children, here are some principles to privilege in these circumstances:

• Avoid presenting a meal of "fast food" as a reward. To foster a healthy relationship with food, no food should be presented as a way to reward yourself. We help our child and to separate emotions from food.




• If there is a special and infrequent output, explain to your child why you chose it to be so.




• Before you go to the restaurant, discuss with your child the importance of finding 5 servings of vegetables and fruit each day in his dishes. Présentez- him what a balanced plate and portions of average for his age. If you are not comfortable with these concepts, occasionally encounter a nutritionist. Encourage your child to look for foods that contain real vegetables and real fruit, grain products whole grain and protein sources low-fat at the expense of sugary drinks, sweets, fried, condiments and sauces. Remind him we do well to listen his hunger and satiety signals, but these are usually disturbed before large amounts food. So it is better to choose smaller portions.

• If your child is old enough to choose, let him the privilege to eat what he wants. See this episode as learning or exercise. Needless to remind you that you will not always be there to choose in his place; it is better to lead immediately to make choices facing the food supply. If you are afraid to disagree with him, discuss his preferences before you find yourself in the restaurant, but keep well in mind that it is better to satisfy a craving than let invade his mind.




• Be consistent to the requests you make for your child. Respect yourself you encourage principles. As a parent and role model for your child, make choices with which you will be in harmony, and assume them.




• After the meal, enjoy eating your hunger company of your family and avoid fingerprints pronounce sentences of guilt. Yes, that's also what healthy eating.

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