Parenting Style and Kids' Weight

This article from last week's New York Times (Jane Brody, "How Parents Mold Their Children's Weight) stresses what an important role parents have to play in shaping their kids' eating behaviors -- and, hence, their weights.

Brody describes the results of a recent study headed by Dr. Khung E. Rhee, a pediatrician at Boston Medical Centre. Rhee found that, when it comes to promoting healthy eating habits (and healthy development in general), the most successful parenting style is an authoritative parenting style. (This is different from authoritarian -- think "boot camp" -- and permissive -- think "anything goes" -- parenting styles.)

As I discuss in my book The Mother of All Parenting Books (U.S. edition) an authoritative parenting style is one in which you work with your child. It involves having a "we're in this together" spirit that is flexible enough to acknowledge the child's needs, but without losing sight of the fact that parents need to make some of the key decisions in a family.

Finding this sensible middle ground at the dinner table isn't always easy, particularly since
kids may be tired and grumpy by the time dinner shows up on the table (combat this problem by ensuring that your kids are getting adequate daytime and night-time sleep), you may find it stressful to try to make a meal at the end of the day (deal with this by trying to make dinners ahead of time or by serving "breakfast" or "lunch" for dinner on occasion -- a healthy but simple meal that can be whipped up in a hurry) your child's appetite may be at its lowest by the end of the day, particularly if he's been filling up on snacks and liquid calories (recognize that kids tend to do most of their eating earlier on in the day, but keep tabs on the number of liquid calories your child is consuming: you don't want your child to receive all of his calories in this form.

Note: For more tips on dealing with behavioral challenges at the dinner table, see my book Mealtime Solutions for Your Baby, Toddler, and Preschooler: The Ultimate No-Worry Approach for Each Age and Stage.

Comments

[Katie]

Since I've given my toddler boys the opportunity to "choose" some of their foods (I show them two different containers of yogurt and tell them to pick one) they are more likely to eat the healthy foods I offer. Since eating is a way for toddlers to try to exert some control I want to give them the chance to make a few decisions from suitable alternatives.