Children's Healthy Weight
First Name:   Last Name:   WIC ID:     For one module only, please enter the names of your children in the "Comments" box at the bottom of the page.   For those without audio, the following text plays when this module is accessed: Welcome to the "Healthy Weight Module for healthy foods". Please read the material provided. When you are finished, answer the questions and press the "score-quiz-now" button to receive your score. How to Choose Healthier Foods for your Child
	Avoid "extra calories" in your child's diet. Here are some good tips: PAY ATTENTION to the kind of JUICE you are buying for your child. Remember to read the label and to get 100% juice when possible. Be aware of claims such as "extra vitamins" and "natural" on labels. This information does not exclude this juice from being made from highly concentrated sugar water. Be on the safer side, stick with WIC juices - 100% juices! NEVER serve juice in a bottle because this creates bottle dependency, can ruin your child's teeth and loads calories that add up through the day! Serve juice from a cup, after meals. Encourage water in between meals. A child's diet should be based in whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Try to offer at least 5 servings a day of fruits and vegetables. (From the national campaign "5 A DAY".)
WATCH for the amount of JUICE you are giving to your child. The recommendations are: birth to 6 months no juice 6 to 12 months less than 4 oz. a day 1 to 3 years less than 8 oz. a day 3 to 5 years less than 12 oz. a day
	After 2 years of age your child can drink 2%, or 1% - fat milk. The lower the fat, the higher the Calcium. Let your child carry around a sports bottle or cup full of ice water. Avoid salt, mayonnaise, and other fattening seasonings. Go back to the simple home recipe for salad dressing made with green and white onions, red peppers, olive oil, and lime juice. USE fat-free or reduced-fat products as much as possible. Children don't know the difference and if they notice, you can mix the regular product with the reduced-fat or non-fat version until your family is used to the new taste. PLAIN LOW FAT YOGURT is an excellent source of Calcium and is low in fat. Make the meals fun and yes, children can "play with the food". Cut up veggies and fruits in fun shapes. You can use cookie cutters. Children enjoy funny faces and shapes and low fat dip. TRIM OUT! Remove all visible fat from meats and poultry, preferably before cooking. Choose recipes that bake, steam, broil or pan-fry instead of deep-frying foods. Select low-fat cheeses. If you cannot have fresh fruits and veggies, select frozen or canned fruit and vegetables. If you must buy canned goods, select fruits that are packed in extra light or no syrup and veggies that say "no salt or sugar added". Stimulate your child to eat more fiber! Select products that say "made with 100% whole wheat". Buy wild or non-refined rice. Offer plenty of leafy veggies. Learn how to read food labels! They provide you good information about what you are buying. Involve children in preparing meals. Take your children to the farmers market.
First check the portion size. Second, verify the amount of calories this portion will give, then look for products that will give you less than 10 % of total fat, cholesterol , saturated fat and sodium (salt). Look for products that provide more than 10 % of important nutrients such as: fiber, iron, calcium, and protein. When selecting a product, go to the word "ingredients". Did you know that the ingredients are listed in descending order of weight? The first word in the list is the main ingredient. For example, if you are buying an apple juice and the ingredients are listed as: water, sugar, and apple juice, the ingredient that is listed last is that which this juice has least. So, basically this "juice" is made from sugar-water and is not a good choice for you.
QUESTIONS Regarding Your Toddler and Preschooler 1. I should only buy juices that says "100% juice" on the label. True False 2. After 2 years of age my child can drink milk that is lower in fat. True False 3. Children need fluids so I should give as much juice as my child wants. True False 4. My child should eat at least 5 servings of fruits and veggies everyday. True False 5. It's a good idea to read food labels. True False   Comments/ Children's Names Please enter the names of your children in the "Comments" area of one module only. National WIC Learning Center References Back to Top of the Page   Copyright 2006 Teletask, Inc. All rights reserved.   .