For Families

You may need to present your child with a new food 15-20 times before he or she learns to eat it! If you find that you are struggle to get your children to try new foods, especially fruits and vegetables, don’t give up!  Remember, kids should eat at least 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables every day.  In addition, you should give your kids fruits and vegetables to eat rather than juices or other drinks because these beverages are often sweetened and add extra sugar and calories to your children’s diets.  For more information about what your kids should be eating and drinking, click on the links below!

• Healthy Kids’ Snacks
• May I have some juice, please?
• Feeding Toddlers & Preschoolers

If you said yes, you are not different than most parents! Screen time isn’t bad, but too much screen time is not good. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children under 18 months avoid the use of screens other than video-chatting, children 2-5 years old should limit their screen time to 1 hour or less a day, and children 6 years or older should have consistent limits on their use of screens.  As a parent, you should be co-viewing media with your children to ensure they are viewing high-quality programs.  Additionally, parents should consider designating certain times of the day as screen-free, such as during meals, or having screen-free rooms, such as bedrooms.  It may be helpful to consider developing a family media plan for all family members to follow.  A media plan can help you set limits for your children’s screen time and keep you accountable for modeling appropriate screen-time behaviors.  For more information about screen time and tips to start your own media plan, check out the links below!

• Screen Time and the Very Young
• Television Tunnel Vision
• Family media plan: https://www.healthychildren.org/English/media/Pages/default.aspx