We moms can be practically maniacal in our quest for information about parenting. Of the (I’m embarrassed to admit) dozens of books purchased, magazine articles clipped, workshops attended, and documentaries viewed on the subject of parenting since before our first child was even born, I’ve been behind 90 plus percent of it. Wonderful as he is, Mr. Mom’s Kitchen Handbook has not logged much time in the parenting section of our local bookstore.
Next to sleep and discipline, feeding and nutrition rank up there as a top area of concern amongst moms who want to do their very best by their kids. A quick search on Amazon for “parenting and food” turned up nearly 800 titles. This being National Nutrition Month, I thought I’d spend a little time over the next four weeks cutting through the clutter by arming you with my “go to” resources for “Raising Fresh-Food Kids in a French-Fried World” as my tagline says.
Each week I’ll focus on a different aspect of nutrition, starting today with one of the trickiest….issues around feeding: dealing with picky kids, fretting that kids are undernourished, worrying they are overweight, raising kids in the shadow of our own eating issues, establishing healthy eating habits, and on and on.
My longtime, worship-worthy source of information is Ellyn Satter, a registered dietitian and therapist who pioneered what is generally considered the most beneficial approach to feeding kids and helping them develop a positive relationship to food. She’s written some terrific books including Child of Mine: Feeding with Love and Good Sense and Your Child’s Weight: Helping without Harming. She very generous with the information she shares on her website and has been a guide to me and so many others in the field of nutrition education. I love her.
Two recent discoveries are Maryann Jacobson and Jill Castle, both registered dietitians in the process of writing what I’m sure will be a terrific book called Fearless Feeding. Their writing offers a wealth of information on everything from mistakes to avoid when educating kids about nutrition to what to expect with kids and their changing bodies. Love these two, too.
If you have any favorite books, articles, or experts on the subject of feeding kids, please share with the rest of us. Stay tuned for more nutrition hot spots next week.
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