FOOD&DRINK

Anna Britten learns how to tackle the minefield of children’s nutrition.

Here’s another thing to add to that list of ‘Why The Babyboomers Had It So Good’: feeding children was a doddle for them. “But what do you mean?” protests an over-60. “We only had access to two types of potato and a cauldron.” Precisely, oldster. You didn’t have to think about it.

Consider instead the dilemmas facing the average modern family – starting on the pavement outside the front door, shopping list in hand. Easy yet guilt-laden half-hour trip to the massive supermarket or virtuous half-day obstacle course along high street visiting dwindling number of real butchers, bakers etc? Make that choice and on comes a slew more: boring local swede (and local farmer) or yummy Kenyan green beans (and African farmer)? Ordinary pesto for £1.19 or organic for £2.90? Is it OK to get microwave burritos for that night everyone’s going out or is that grievous bodily harm? Don’t forget Tyler’s nut allergy. And how many grapes make up one of your five a day?

Sophie Fox of Bristol-based The Good Cook School (www.thegoodcookschool.co.uk) teaches children and families about healthy eating and agrees today’s parents are so swamped by mixed messages from the food industry that it’s having a detrimental effect. “The basic message of ‘meat and two veg’ that we were brought up on was the model for people to go by. But people don’t have that entrenched in their brains any more, so it’s less instinctive. I used to work with young parents, one of whom had made cauliflower cheese for dinner the night before. I said, ‘That’s great, but what did you have it with?’ And she said: ‘More cauliflower cheese’. So that instinctive understanding of a balanced meal has gone. We are relying on the media, and it’s very, very confusing. Knowledge has been taken away.”

So, what is the one thing we should prioritise over everything else when feeding our children? “More vegetables. The single message I give about the best way to improve your diet is to increase your vegetable intake. People are very protein-based and protein generally means fat. The expectation from parents is that the kids won’t like vegetables. All parents I work with mean well but they are passing on lots of hang-ups and feel like they should ‘force’ their children to eat certain foods. Carrots and cucumber nearly all children tend to like. Chop it up. Get children to help meal plan with you.

“Generally, as a rule, people give children too much food. We know that because children are becoming obese. If you are trying to encourage children to eat well, keep them a little bit hungry and they are more likely to devour what’s on the plate.”

School cook Bridget Carter, of Waycroft Primary School in Stockwood, won Bristol City Council’s Food Champion Award last month for her high-quality school meals. She agrees that parents often underestimate their children’s palates. “Some children don’t know how to sit at a table to eat or use cutlery to eat with before they start school. It’s a lot for them to learn. It’s hard, but you have to be very hard. If children haven’t been educated to eat veg, you start small – with four peas, for example – and work up. They all like salad once they try it.

“We had one little boy – at home he only ever had chocolate and chips and we weren’t offering either. He just sat down and cried for the first few days. Yesterday, though, he ate a full roast dinner and a jacket potato with cheese and salad and he’s happy as can be.”

So there you have it. Keep them hungry, stay firm and, when your resolve wavers, picture your kid, 20 years from now, sitting in a posh restaurant with his/her boss and asking tearfully for chocolate. And if that fails – call in the professionals.
 

Copyright Anna Britten 2011

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