by Deborah Hanyon, MPH, RDN, ACE-CHC | Aug 17, 2020 | Food Allergies and Special Diets
One of the dilemmas I’m faced with is that my son will not drink water. As a result, I worry about him being dehydrated. I have tried in the past to force him to drink an ounce or two at a time, in hopes of getting him used to it. However, it has never worked! As he has gotten older and a bit more reasonable about making healthy food choices, I have attempted to explain to him why water is so important. But he is not convinced. As a result of my concerns over dehydration, I have allowed him to drink more juice than the recommended maximum of four ounces per day. (This post contains affiliate links).
He typically drinks about 12 ounces of juice and 8 ounces of milk every day. And THAT IS IT. This is still a lot of juice, but it’s not as much fluid as the recommended amount of 6-8 8-oz cups of water. Plus, it’s not water, it’s juice! As a result, he has issues with dry skin. These issues have been particularly troublesome the past couple of weeks.
So, how to increase fluids in his diet so that he won't be dehydrated?
I know, I know! I’ll make him soup!
Yes, soup is an AWESOME way to increase fluids in your kids’ diets. This is also a great way to increase other nutrients as well. Especially if it is homemade soup. Any vegetable you put into the soup, even if your kids pick it out, will still have “left its mark,” by leaving some of its nutrients in the broth.
Right now, Nathan is having a particularly “dry skin season.” So, I have been busy making different soups the past couple of days to increase his fluid intake. Yesterday, I made pot sticker soup. The day before that I made bean and sausage soup.
I was only able to get him to eat the bean soup once because he doesn’t like to eat beans. I persuaded him by allowing him to add cheese. (Thank goodness he is not allergic to dairy!) He has been willing to eat the pot sticker soup several times, though he initially griped about all the broth.
I will admit that I am not a lover of cooking.
When I’m in the mood, I can produce some delicious recipes, but I’m a bit lazy when it comes to preparing foods. Fortunately, I have Costco to help me. Costco sells frozen foods that tend to be much more wholesome than the average brand. So, we bought some frozen pot stickers at Costco this week, and I made a simple soup with just two ingredients: pot stickers and chicken broth. The beauty of this kind of soup is that you can simply make chicken broth out of a high-quality chicken base, add the pot stickers (I used chicken and veggie), and voila, you’ve got soup!
Even better is if you add carrots, onions, and celery. Now my son was having a bit of a fit over the vegetables being put in, and since my primary goal right now is to get more fluids into his little body, I didn’t add the veggies THIS time. Instead, I served his favorite vegetable, broccoli, on the side.
Speaking of broccoli…
Nathan loves broccoli, and he also likes my homemade cream of broccoli soup. I use a basic pureed soup vegetable recipe from an older Better Homes and Gardens cookbook that I have had since 1989. This cookbook has a section on fresh vegetable soups, with suggestions on which herbs/spices to use based on the type of vegetable. This is an extremely easy recipe.
And so delicious! We have tried the potato, tomato, mushroom, and broccoli, and they are all delicious! You can find my tweaked version of the recipes here.
Plus, it’s inexpensive, doesn’t call for any fancy, costly ingredients, and is not too high in fat.
In case you’re wondering, the reason I like to give Nathan pureed soups is because he has texture issues and oftentimes will reject a multi-texture food.
Soup is a TERRIFIC way to make sure your child gets enough fluids AND veggies in his diet.
So, does your child drink enough water and eat his vegetables? If not, then this is what I recommend helping prevent dehydration:
A vegetable soup is a fantastic way to start feeding his or her body what it needs.
And if there your child has any kid of sensory and texture issues with food, then pureed soup are perfect for this.
Hopefully, most of my readers will be able to find at least one vegetable soup that will match their kid’s preferences. Notice that corn is not on the chart. Corn chowder is another yummy possibility.
Other things you might like:
12 Early Signs of Dehydration
Broccoli Soup and Other Free Veggie Soup Recipes
Broccoli Dot-to-Dot Activity Pack
6 Reasons You Need More Fruit in Your Diet
Healthy Alternatives for Picky Eaters
Also, here's a post I wrote with ten additional healthy soup recipes
by Deborah Hanyon, MPH, RDN, ACE-CHC | Aug 14, 2020 | Homeschooling
How to Make Video Games Fun and Safe for Your Family
Playing video games can be a fantastic way for a family to spend time together, but it’s important to monitor your children's usage if it consumes all their free time. The gaming experience can be healthy and fun, but if your child is left to their own devices they may be subjected to inappropriate material, which is why it’s important to keep an eye on safety settings and time spent in front of the console.
Choosing the best technology
When you’re ready to invest in a gaming console—whether it’s just for yourself, your children, or the whole family—be sure to get a device that’s high quality. For computer gaming, you can find a great monitor for any budget, which will make the gaming experience much more enjoyable. Look for a model that has a widescreen IPS display, high resolution, and a zero-frame design.
Because so many games are played online nowadays, it’s important to have an internet connection that can handle game streaming. Cloud gaming is increasingly more popular and can allow you or your children to engage with other game players all over the world. If you or your kids want to get into multiplayer games, you’ll need a connection that can handle the workload. Fiber optic connections can help minimize buffering and lag-time, making games smoother to play online and much faster to download.
Best games for family play
For some families, video games have replaced board games for spending quality time together. There are plenty of exciting games out there for families to play together; look for games that allow you to compete against one another, or collaborate to solve a problem together, or ones that are enjoyable simply for their aesthetic value.
Video games are also an excellent replacement for watching TV. Rather than having everyone zone out in front of a TV show, video games can provide your family an opportunity to play together in a way that appeals to each family member.
Tips to manage heavy usage
While games can be a great outlet for kids, it’s important to keep an eye on their usage. Kids who play too many video games can become withdrawn and antisocial—even if they say they’re playing with friends online.
To help manage heavy video game usage, set boundaries for what time of day they can play and for how long. Help them understand that game playing is a luxury, and not something they should do every time they’re bored.
If your kid has been spending too much time playing video games, encourage them to get exercise, whether it’s helping them to sign up for team sports at school or simply bringing them to the park to throw the frisbee around.
Safety settings for devices and consoles
With many games being played online, it’s crucial to monitor your kids’ activity and instill healthy online habits. Check the ratings on games they choose to play. And consider playing it yourself to see if the content is age appropriate.
Some games have built-in parental controls such as blocking in-game purchases, access to the internet, and location tracking. There are even games that allow you to control who your child can play with. It’s also a good idea to help your child understand how to be anonymous online. Unfortunately, playing online video games can leave your child vulnerable to dangerous individuals; be sure to keep your child’s personal information private when playing with anonymous gamers.
Video games can provide a wonderful opportunity for your family to spend time together. So, it’s important to find a monitor that can make game-playing more enjoyable. Invest in a fast internet connection so you can download games quickly and play online without long buffering or lag-times. And while gaming can be fun and healthy for everyone in your family, it’s important to monitor your kids’ video game usage. It is also important to take advantage of parental controls to keep your kids safe while playing online.
Alyssa Strickland created millennial-parents.com for all the new parents on the block. Alyssa believes the old adage that it takes a village to raise a child, but she also thinks it takes a village to raise a parent! Millennial-Parents is that village. Today’s parents can be more connected than ever, and she hopes her site will enrich those connections. On Millennial-Parents, she shares tips and advice she learns through experience and from other young parents in three key areas — Education, Relationships, and Community.
Homeschooling Dietitian Resources
Dinosaurs and Fossils Activity Pack and Jeopardy Game
Vitamin Cheat Sheets for Teaching about Nutrition
Meal Planning for Kids Curriculum
Byron's Games Stationary Kit for Kids
Healthy Alternatives for Picky Eaters
by Deborah Hanyon, MPH, RDN, ACE-CHC | Aug 8, 2020 | Food Allergies and Special Diets
12 Early Signs of Dehydration
How to Tell Whether Your Child or you are Dehydrated
(Post may contain affiliate links).
Dehydration occurs when you use or lose more fluids than you take in. One of the most obvious early signs of dehydration is thirst. However, thirst is not something you can count on to tell you that you are dehydrated. One of the reasons why thirst is not dependable is that certain individuals do not experience thirst until they have already been dehydrated for awhile.
Most people think dehydration is more of a problem during the summer. It's true that summer is a high-risk month for dehydration because of sweating. However, during cooler months of the year, dehydration can be a problem as well. This is because people don't get as thirsty when the weather is cold. Also, during cold weather there is less moisture in the air. Young children and older adults are the most at-risk for dehydration. But anyone can become dehydrated.
And children do not always drink enough liquids. For example, when my son, Nathan, was younger, I tried to follow the typical advice of limiting juice because, “If he gets thirsty enough, he'll drink water.” I was hoping he would start drinking water.
Wrong. IT NEVER HAPPENED.
To this day, I can hardly get him to drink more than one or two swigs of water. So, how do I know when he is dehydrated? Another of the early signs of dehydration is dry, scaly skin. When my son gets dry, scaly skin, I know it's time to make him soup, because this is one of the ways I can be sure he is getting enough fluids.
It's also a great way to increase vegetable intake in his diet.
So, how can you tell if your child or other loved one is dehydrated?
Below are 12 early signs of dehydration.
Infant or young child
Dry mouth and tongue
No tears when crying
No wet diapers for three hours
Sunken eyes, cheeks
Sunken soft spot on top of skull
Listlessness or irritability
Adult
Extreme thirst
Less frequent urination
Dark-colored urine
Fatigue
Dizziness
Confusion
When to see a doctor
Call your family doctor if you or a loved one:
Has had diarrhea for 24 hours or more
Is irritable or disoriented and much sleepier or less active than usual
Can't keep down fluids
Has bloody or black stool
So to help prevent dehydration in the winter, I highly recommend giving your family more soups. Remember, “soup is good food!”
Click Here for delicious, easy, kid-friendly, and healthy vegetable soup recipes.
Other Articles by Homeschooling Dietitian Mom
Why a Zinc Deficiency May be Contributing to Your Child's Pickiness
10 Persons at Risk for Magnesium Deficiency
Source: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dehydration/symptoms-causes/syc-20354086
