Overweight Toddlers Don’t Have To Be
Overweight toddlers have been on the rise for years and most of the reasons for undue weight gains can actually be attributed to lack of physical activity, eating unhealthy foods, or genetics.
One of the biggest reasons overweight toddlers don’t get exercise and/or eat unhealthily is because many parents simply don’t take the time to plan, according to many experts. And even some of those who do plan fail to get their toddlers to stick to their healthy diets for several reasons.
Many parents, especially single parents, are overburdoned with work and daily chores, and it leaves them exhausted to the point where, even though they put their kids’ nutrition first on the list, they don’t follow through consistently. I’ve certainly had the same problem with my toddlers at times, but I’ve found in my experience that it takes a little work and a lot of follow-up!
The work:
Make a list of the healthy foods you want to feed your overweight toddler from breakfast to snacks to dinner choices, then buy the items and make a written plan. See this guide at KidsHealth.org to get a gret idea of what to feed your toddler.
The follow-up part:
If your overweight toddler is in someone else’s care, you can control what your toddler eats as long as you remind them and have the food ready, at their disposal on a daily basis. Yes-this takes close monitoring and a lot of communication with the caregiver, but it’s worth it!
If you believe you have a severely overweight toddler because of some type of medical condition (these are extremely rare), you can verify this through your doctor with blood tests and a physical exam.
If you believe your toddler is overweight because of improper eating habits and lack of exercise, you merely need to monitor closely what your toddler eats, introduce only healthy foods, and the weight will come off gradually and naturally. If you think your toddler needs more exercise than he or she is getting, once again, this means work! Do all of the following one day a week: take walks together in your neighborhood (hold their hands and watch out for cars and other vehicles) every other day, visit the mall and walk once a week, take them to the playground on say, a Friday! Play some old disco music on your cable TV station and dance the afternoon or night away on your living room floor. My kids have always loved that last suggestion!
Whatever you do, don’t put your toddler or any child for that matter on an actual weight loss diet by yourself. If it gets to the point where your toddler needs to go on a weight loss diet, let the doctor make that decision and have him or her explain the best options.
Just like myself when I was growing up, my toddlers have appeared slightly overweight at times, then much skinnier at others. But my wife and I have to constantly stay on their backs to eat healthy foods even though we’ll occasionally feed them fast foods as a last resort or a treat!
Once we, as parents really bear down on our kids eating habits, overweight toddlers don’t have to be overweight!