Children Regulate Their own Weight -- If You Let Them

I recently came across an article from the Nutritional Insights journal in my files that I had archived a few months ago. I thought that it would definitely be worth revisiting since it has several important eye-opening points to keep in mind. This article sites the insites of a published dietitian, Ellyn Sater, RD, BCD. It is stated that "...parents and children have a shared responsiblity for feeding, although those responsiblities change with the child's age. For infants, the parent decides WHAT the infant should eat and the infat decides HOW MUCH. As time progresses, the toddler decides HOW MUCH and WHETHER to eat and the parent decides WHAT, WHEN, and WHERE to eat. later, an adolescent gradually learns, with his parents' help, to manage independently the WHAT, WHEN, and WHERE of eating. Throughout childhood, parents must offer appropriate support to enable their children to be capable eaters. This involves choosing and preparing food, providing regular meals and sit-down snacks and not allowing grazing in between, making eating a pleasant experience, and accepting the child's size and shape."