Page 200 - Nutrition Counseling and Education Skills: A Guide for Professionals

Figure 9-1 ■ Shopping drives food choices.

Another strategy to address a fickle preschool-aged eater is to let the child determine the quantity and
frequency of his or her eating patterns. Nutrition professionals may want to encourage young children to be
accountable for their dietary habits and allow them to decide how much and how often they should eat.
However, this method must be approached with caution because children may be unable to make informed or
logical decisions. Counselors should also provide nutrition learning activities for the child. Recommended
strategies for teaching nutrition to young children include action stories, songs, videotapes, tasting parties,
visiting vegetable and fruit gardens, puzzles, art projects, and field trips.

Nutrition assessment with a diet history, when needed, may take longer to accomplish at these ages. As
preschool-age children tend to be fickle, it may be difficult to determine the quantity or frequency of
particular food consumption. To address this challenge, nutrition professionals may recommend a consecutive
daily food record or journal that lists the type and amount of food consumed by the child. To make this
activity fun for the child, you may suggest that older preschool-age children draw pictures of what they eat or
caregivers can take pictures of meals on their mobile phones to share at subsequent counseling visits.

CASE ANALYSIS 2

Which education and counseling strategies would you consider using when working with Chelsea and her
family?

School-Age Children, Age 6 to 12 Years

School-age children, defined as ages 6 to 12 years, begin to have increasing control over their food choices.

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