{"id":9339,"date":"2021-06-02T09:36:21","date_gmt":"2021-06-02T13:36:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eatrightpa.org\/?p=9339"},"modified":"2021-10-30T04:23:17","modified_gmt":"2021-10-30T04:23:17","slug":"sweets-treats-for-kids-tips-from-a-registered-dietitian-mom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eatrightpa.org\/blog\/2021\/06\/02\/sweets-treats-for-kids-tips-from-a-registered-dietitian-mom\/","title":{"rendered":"Sweets & Treats for Kids: Tips from a Registered Dietitian Mom"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Rabiya Bower, MHSc, RD, LDN<\/h3>\n

\"\"As a mom and a registered dietitian, you may think my kid only eats \u201chealthy\u201d food. While our family does enjoy a variety of foods, my number one concern is ensuring she has a healthy relationship with food, and understands \u201call foods fit!\u201d We focus on lots of fruits and vegetables, but also have room for things like pizza, ice cream, and candy. With summer right around the corner, I\u2019m gearing up for a more relaxed schedule. Plus, between the snack shack at softball games and the pool snack bar, my kiddo has a lot of opportunities to indulge. As a registered dietitian and a mom, here\u2019s how I handle the deluge of sweets.<\/p>\n

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What is sDOR?<\/h2>\n

Our family uses Ellyn Satter\u2019s Division of Responsibility (sDOR) in Feeding. In a nutshell, sDOR is the idea that caregivers are responsible for what<\/strong>, when<\/strong>, and where <\/strong>children eat, while children get to choose how much<\/strong> and whether<\/strong> to eat what you provide. sDOR works no matter how old your child is! We\u2019ve implanted this method since our daughter was born and feeding her has been a joy. She loves a variety of foods (including sweets) and we don\u2019t face meal or snack time battles.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

How Does the Division of Responsibility Work?<\/h2>\n

Here\u2019s how sDOR works for my family: at any meal time, there are a variety of foods to choose from. Usually, I serve a starch, like pasta or rice; a lean protein, like chicken or fish; and one to two veggies. As the caregiver, I have already determined what is available, when it will be served, and where we are eating.<\/p>\n

My daughter gets to choose which foods she wants and how much. We don\u2019t argue about what she is choosing to eat or how much \u2013 that is in her control. Her appetite changes from day to day, and the amount she ea\"\"ts at any meal or snack reflects that. Because I determined what foods are available, I\u2019m confident she\u2019s getting good nutrition to grow!<\/p>\n

One weekend, during a growth spurt, she ate five eggs in a row for breakfast \u2013 you read that right \u2013 FIVE! My husband cooked up one egg at a time, and she kept eating and asking for more. The next day, she had five pieces of toast! It felt like she grew five inches overnight. By using sDOR, I was able to provide her with nutrient rich food \u2013 eggs and toast \u2013 and she determined how much she ate. Was five eggs a lot to eat in one sitting?? Definitely! But she was hungry!! And I know her nutrient needs were balanced out by a variety of other foods she ate that day and overall, that week. (She\u2019s never eaten five eggs in a row again.) I often think of the alternative \u2013 what if I had stopped her from eating? She would have been hungry (and whiny!) all day.<\/p>\n

How We Enjoy Dessert & Treats<\/h2>\n

Treats, of course, are different \u2013 we don\u2019t encourage her to have five servings of dessert in one sitting. Instead, our family works together to think about our day and determine where we want a sweet. We do include something indulgent every day, whether that\u2019s ice cream with dinner or a homemade baked good as an after school snack. While foods like fruits and vegetables are offered in unlimited amounts, our daughter knows everyone gets one serving of dessert.<\/p>\n

\"\"This works because my daughter doesn\u2019t feel deprived \u2013 she knows she\u2019s allowed to have something sweet most days and doesn\u2019t obsess or overindulge at birthday parties or other celebrations. Because she knows she\u2019s in charge of eating how much of any food she wants, she\u2019ll often leave some dessert on her plate whenever she\u2019s full. Some days, she does choose to lead with the sweet, and some days, she refuses it all together! Overall, I know her diet is balanced and nutritious, and I know she\u2019s developing a healthy relationship with food.<\/p>\n

Interested in learning more about Ellyn Satter\u2019s Division of Responsibility? Check out her website here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Wish something like this existed for adults? You\u2019re in luck! Intuitive Eating is all about learning your body\u2019s hunger and fullness cues, and listening to them (and much more). More information on Intuitive Eating can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Young<\/p>\n

Bio:<\/strong> Rabiya Bower is the program coordinator for the MS in Nutrition & Dietetic Practice Program at Thomas Jefferson University. She\u2019s worked for The GIANT Company, The Food Trust, Manor College, and WIC. She won the Pennsylvania Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Outstanding Preceptor Award for 2020 and is one of four dietitians selected for the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics Diversity & Inclusion Leaders Program. Rabiya is the Scholarship & Awards Chair for PAND AME 2021, and the Public Policy Coordinator for PhillyAND. She also volunteers with the mentor program for Diversify Dietetics.<\/p>\n

In her free time, she loves have spontaneous dance parties in the kitchen with her daughter, test new fusion recipes, and review children and young adult books with strong Black and brown lead characters. You can check out what she\u2019s cooking @rabiyabowerrd<\/a> and see her book reviews @beti.books<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Rabiya Bower, MHSc, RD, LDN As a mom and a registered dietitian, you may think my kid only eats \u201chealthy\u201d food. While our family does enjoy a variety of foods, my number one concern is ensuring she has a healthy relationship with food, and understands \u201call foods fit!\u201d We focus on lots of fruits […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":10803,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[267],"tags":[292,261,16,230,293,294],"class_list":["post-9339","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-267","tag-division-of-responsibility","tag-intuitive-eating","tag-kids-eat-right","tag-kids-nutrition","tag-parenting","tag-sdor"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eatrightpa.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9339","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eatrightpa.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eatrightpa.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eatrightpa.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eatrightpa.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9339"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.eatrightpa.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9339\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10804,"href":"https:\/\/www.eatrightpa.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9339\/revisions\/10804"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eatrightpa.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10803"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eatrightpa.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9339"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eatrightpa.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9339"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eatrightpa.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9339"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}