This is a short TV interview segment (YouTube) from San Diego Living titled "Deanna Minich on Kids and Food" featuring host (Speaker A) and nutritionist Dr. Deanna Minich. They discuss how common parental messages (using food as a reward, forcing children to finish their plate, prohibiting play at the table, banning laughter) can harm children's relationship with food and contribute to adult health problems; Minich suggests alternatives such as spending time together, praise and hugs, encouraging children's hunger cues, playful mealtime activities (games, creative vegetable names), and offers her book (with a giveaway). The show references sandiego6.com for more information.
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Alright. From, you know, all the fair food to talking about food, getting your kids to eat theirs can be a phenomenal challenge sometimes. And as frustrating as it can be as parents, we have to be careful about the messages we give to our kids to create a lifelong healthy relationship with food. Nutritionist Dr. Deanna Minick joins us. And it's a tricky path.
It is tricky. And I think that this is really important for us to talk about because so many kids are dealing with adult diseases now. They're getting type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure. One in three kids are considered to be obese or overweight. So we really need to look at what we're saying to our kids and.
These things that parents are saying or that we heard as kids, they seem innocent. I mean, I was reading the list of the no no's and I think I grew up with every one of these. Like, you know, one of us was sad in our family, maybe our parents would go, oh well, we'll go get ice cream. And then. Now research has shown that using food as a reward can really set up an unhealthy dynamic.
Exactly. That translates on into adult life. And then when I'm working with people now as adults and trying to lo we look at some of those messages and how powerful they really are.
Right. So instead of saying, you know, let's go for ice cream. Deanna, what are some of the other options that you tell parents would be better alternatives?
Well, instead of filling a reward with a food, what you can do is simply spend time together with the kids. So plan for a movie night with the family or a picnic over the weekend. Or if they've done something good, what about just showering them with praise or giving them a big hug? It doesn't always have to be filled in with food.
I like that. So time together, maybe, you know, a movie, the park, spending time.
Yes.
Okay. A big one that I heard quite a bit was, you know, finish everything on your plate. Well, you're saying, no, no, no, that's not something that you know is going to be productive in the long run.
No, because what it does is it sets that child up for overeating. If they think that the target is the plate, then that plate becomes a moving target wherever they're at. So if they're at a restaurant, imagine they have a larger plate. They're going to be forced to eat everything on that plate. They're going to feel have to please their parents. And so later on they're going to be programmed to overeat Right.
And that makes complete sense because, you know, with nutrition, we hear everything in moderation and portion control. But if you get that message about finishing everything on your plate, that completely contradicts that.
Yes. And we're not encouraging the kids then to look at their own hunger cues. So I think it's really important to dialogue with our children when they're eating. You know, how hungry are you? Let them determine how much to eat while we determine what they eat.
Okay. No playing with your food. That's a big one. I think a lot of us heard that one.
Definitely. And that really takes the joy and the creativity out of eating. And so these are the kids that really don't want to come to the dinner table because it's not a fun experience. And they don't want to cook later on because they don't even want to be near food because they don't see it as fun. And we know that kids are all about fun. And when we lose that sense of fun, then eating just becomes functional.
When we're adults, you want to keep that fun connection with food.
You do.
And.
And there are healthy ways to do that at the dinner table. So you can play games that the whole family can get engaged in. Like, for example, what's in this casserole? Let's see if you can name all the things that are in it. Or let's think of fun names for vegetables, like Enchanted Forest for broccoli or Wheels on a Bus for carrots.
Oh, my nephew calls them trees for broccoli.
There you go. All right.
No laughing at the table. That one. What kind of dynamic does that set up? I guess also against the fun patrol.
Yes. It's not about fun. And then it becomes much more serious than we really want it to be. And laughter is just great medicine for the soul. We need to laugh, to release, to relax. And one mother told me that she even has her kids singing at the dinner table because it helps them with eating. So whatever helps your kids to digest their food, be in the moment, I think is really important.
Deanna Minick, thank you so much for coming on today. And we do have some giveaways today. Your book, we're offering that on our Raffle page at 11am and you know what? That's got such good tips in it. And trying to maintain that fun connection with food and family, I think that you said that can create a lifelong, healthy relationship with food, which is what a lot of us are lacking in adulthood today.
Exactly. And in the book, I address play, creativity, all these aspects and how we can get more of those things in our lives.
Thank you. Pleasure to have you here today. More information, of course. Log on to our website, sandiego6.com and still ahead, how to save your eyes from. From computer burnout. And our friends from Bigeluchis Vigilucci's, I should say back with a luscious lamb dish that'll make your mouth water. San Diego Living, just getting started.
