Healthy nutrition in childhood lays the foundation for optimal growth, learning, and well‑being in the years ahead. As children’s bodies and brains develop at a remarkable speed, the foods they eat play a crucial role in fuelling that progress. Yet in a world filled with convenience snacks and busy schedules, helping children build balanced eating habits can feel challenging.

My name is Lynette Rhodes, and I am the founder of Rhodes to Health nutritional therapy practice. I have a BSc honours degree in Nutritional Therapy (along with a secondary school teaching background in English and Psychology), and it is my mission to support individuals and families in achieving optimal health through diet and lifestyle change.

Understanding what children truly need, and how to make nutritious choices appealing, empowers families to support their children’s health in a way that’s both practical and enjoyable.

Key childhood nutrients

So, let’s take a look at some of the key nutrients needed during childhood and what they do…

Protein

Protein is a macronutrient that is vital for growth and development. It plays a role in the development of muscles, tissues, organs and a strong immune system.

Specific amino acids in protein also support cognitive development and learning. Of the 20 amino acids that make up proteins, the body can produce 11. The other 9 must come from our food. Key sources include meat, fish, eggs, dairy, beans and lentils. Protein-rich foods are often packed with other essential vitamins and minerals, including iron, zinc, and B vitamins.  

Healthy fats

Our brains are nearly 60% fat, and omega-3 fatty acids (found in oily fish, walnuts, flaxseed and chia) are particularly associated with healthy brain development and function.  

Although walnuts, flaxseed and chia are good sources of omega-3 fats and hold many health benefits, the body needs to convert them to a longer chain form, which is more beneficial for brain health. Not everyone is good at making this conversion, making oily fish the ideal choice. SMASH is a handy acronym for remembering the best fish for the job: salmon, mackerel, anchovies, sardines and herring. Fish pie or salmon fishcakes are often the winners with younger eaters.

Raising healthy eaters: Nutrients for healthy bones

When it comes to bone health, calcium, vitamin D (which aids calcium absorption) and vitamin K2 (which ensures the calcium we eat gets deposited in the bones, rather than in the soft tissue) are the top trio. Although meat, dairy, eggs and natto are all good sources of vitamin K2, healthy gut bacteria can also produce it!

Plant foods: Eat the rainbow and opt for wholegrains

This brings us on to one of the most valuable things we can do for our children to ensure they’re getting:

• a broad range of vitamins and minerals,
• antioxidants to protect their cells from damage,
• fibre to support their digestion, keep them fuller for longer, and most importantly, promote healthy gut bacteria

The answer is to include as broad a range of colourful fruit and vegetables as possible!

Carbohydrates supply essential energy, but try to choose wholegrains with fibre (eg oats, brown rice, buckwheat, quinoa), rather than refined white flours.

The challenges for parents

The question is, how do you get a ‘discerning’ eater to expand their repertoire? This can be especially tricky if your child has the ‘super-taster’ TAS2R38 gene variation, which means they are born with a greater ability to taste bitter substances and are more likely to avoid them.

Stress and anxiety can also drive appetites towards high-starch and sugary foods, and temporarily offer comfort. As toddlers struggle to develop a sense of autonomy (which extends to feeding themselves and choosing what goes on their plate), pressure from us as parents can cause them to dig their heels in and refuse to eat!

Top tips for developing healthy childhood eating habits

Here are 10 of my top tips to get children more engaged with their food and increase their intake of healthier food options:

1. A simple hack to increase vegetable intake and variety is to take 10-15 vegetables, blend or chop them up small, and freeze them in cubes, using an ice tray. You can then start by adding just 1 cube per day to a soup, stew or sauce your child enjoys,  gradually increasing the number of cubes over time.
2. Ensure a balanced meal is on the plate at the start of the meal: protein, starchy carbohydrate (ideally wholegrains or potatoes, which contain fibre) and vegetables/fruit, along with a small amount of healthy fat (found in nuts, seeds, avocado, olive oil and oily fish, which also counts as protein!).
3. Pin up a tick off checklist of different coloured fruit and vegetables on your fridge – set a weekly family challenge and build slowly.
4. Get your child involved in choosing a recipe and then finding the ingredients at the shops –they could have their own mini trolley. This gives a sense of autonomy and control in making the dish, which may encourage them to try something out of their comfort zone!
5. If you enjoy gardening, involve your child in food sourcing by growing your own vegetables or herbs. They always taste better from your own garden!
6. Read stories together featuring positive messages about healthy foodse.g. Oliver’s vegetables
7. Try new vegetables away from meals (this takes away emotion at mealtimes).
8. Eat together as a family, with you as the parent leading by example. Don’t underestimate your influence as a positive role model in your child’s eating behaviour.
9. Although this is very difficult to do as a parent, try to let your child’s appetite, rather than your desire to feed them, be the governing factor.
10. Finally, don’t give up! Although young children are naturally neophobic, meaning they’re not big fans of unfamiliar foods at first, most do come around with plenty of calm, pressure-free exposure.³  It can take 8-15 tries to accept a new food!

Want to know more about raising healthy eaters?

If you would like further support in healthy eating for you and your family, relevant to your particular dietary choices, lifestyle and circumstances, Rhodes to Health offers a one-off diet MOT, which includes a 1-week family meal plan.

I also provide longer-term support packages for various chronic health conditions across all ages. You can find all the details of my services and how I can help on my website.

Head to the homepage to read the latest articles about parenting, wellbeing and adoption.

“How well do you sleep?” is one of the first things I ask my clients, as often it’s an indicator that life’s stresses and strains are having a not-so-great impact on their lives. That question probably seems somewhat redundant for a parent, particularly of a newborn. “How do you think it is?” (with a wry smile) would be an understandable response.

“Do you find yourself worrying about the future?” (negative forecasting) is another question that’s asked. Again, you’re a parent, who doesn’t worry about their child!

A third: “Do you find yourself replaying a situation that’s happened, over and over, chastising yourself because you think you could have done better?” “Yes!” might be a parent’s response. Parent guilt, fear of failing your child, maybe struggling to provide what you think they may need – all real worries.

So, what’s the tipping point? It’s where it’s less about the day-to-day challenges of being a parent and moves into the realms of anxiety-related issues that are having a negative impact on a parent’s wellbeing.

What is solution-focused hypnotherapy?

It’s important to be clear that there are different types of therapy, and everyone should pursue what feels right for them. Solution-focused hypnotherapy is considered a brain-based therapy. It draws on neuroscience research on how positive thinking, relaxation techniques, and the trance state induced during hypnosis can positively affect brain activity and promote mental well-being.

Solution-focused hypnotherapy helps create positive change by focusing on the desired future and strengths rather than revisiting or dwelling on past problems, using a combination of solution-focused talk therapy techniques and hypnosis.

The thoughts we have create how we feel, and therefore if we are in a regular state of negative thinking, worrying, self-doubt, etc., we are less likely to be producing a more constant flow of our happy hormones. These are neurotransmitters and hormones that play a key role in regulating mood, pleasure, and overall well-being, including serotonin, dopamine, endorphins, and oxytocin. Each plays a pivotal role in creating our happiness.

Solution-focused hypnotherapists use specific questions to guide the person to explore what their subconscious mind already knows they want and need. The hypnosis is really where the magic happens. Hypnosis is simply a state of deep relaxation where the anxious mind is calmed, the conscious mind takes a step back, and the subconscious mind comes to the fore, being open to focused, positive reinforcement, thus creating and strengthening new neural pathways, known as neuroplasticity.

Happy hormones

The brain loves things that release happy hormones. Solution-focused hypnotherapy sessions focus on those small gains, the things that all add up to create positive change. For example, accomplishing a small goal or noticing what’s been good in what could have been a stressful day.

Small wins are like building blocks, and celebrating those wins, even if they seem insignificant, can be a powerful way to build positive habits that lead to the rewiring of the brain for a calmer, happier life. The brain also loves the repetition of positive thinking and suggestion. It’s a key process that helps to build and strengthen those neural pathways; things become habit over time and support emotional regulation.

Solution-focused hypnotherapy encourages and reinforces positive repetition both during the talk therapy and hypnosis elements. Additionally, the brain loves metaphor. We use metaphors numerous times a day; you’ll see how much if you consciously look for them today!

Phrases such as ‘he’s a night owl’, ‘She’s a walking encyclopaedia’, Laughter is the best medicine’, ‘Life’s a rollercoaster’. All metaphors that conjure up deeper meanings by association but aren’t literal. The subconscious mind communicates through imagination and emotion, and metaphors are used within hypnosis, using positive language and associations, providing a safe space for people to explore difficult situations without feeling overwhelmed and therefore creating solutions for their problems.

Solution-focused hypnotherapy and sleep

Finally, let’s talk sleep! REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep is a crucial phase of sleep associated with vivid dreaming and emotional processing. The brain is intensely active, and the processing it undertakes contributes to emotional well-being. Whilst hypnosis isn’t a direct replication of REM sleep, there are some similar benefits.

Hypnosis induces a deep state of relaxation and attention focus, both of which occur in REM sleep. In solution-focused hypnotherapy, this means that it can aid the processing of anxiety-related issues. During both REM sleep and hypnosis, the mind is more open to suggestion, so the positive language patterns used during sessions and within the recording that clients are given to support the therapeutic process can be absorbed, given the focused state of the brain.

So, the three main benefits of solution-focused hypnotherapy for parents are:

• Supporting the improvement of sleep through deep relaxation hypnosis throughout the process.
• Providing the environment and techniques to encourage people to strengthen and build new neural pathways focused on happy hormones as opposed to stress hormones (overload of adrenaline and cortisol) and therefore creating calm and happiness.
• Building positive thinking, positive actions and positive interactions (what we call the ‘3Ps’) through an accumulation of small wins, repetition and use of positive language metaphors within hypnosis

Ultimately, as parents, you have an amazingly rewarding, though often challenging, role and are deserving of feeling calm and happy with the decisions you make and the confidence you have in parenting your children. You’re doing a great job!

To find out about my services at Well Mind Hypnotherapy and how I can help, head to my website or come and say hello on Instagram.

Head to the health and wellbeing section to read more articles about different types of therapies and support for parents.

We all know that seafood is good for our health, but it’s often hard to figure out exactly why. Some people absolutely love the idea of trying new foods, but when it comes to seafood there’s always people who hesitate first. 

It’s not that they particularly don’t like the taste or have even tried it, it’s just that when you look at wild tiger prawns you might not be able to help but envision them swimming around the ocean. Oysters always have a place on a luxury table, but have you ever considered sucking one down? There were plenty of benefits to eating seafood and it’s why it’s one of the most popular foods for people to eat. In this article, we’ve put together some of the reasons why you should try seafood and have more of it in your diet.

Image source: Pexels

It’s all about those Omega threes

You may have heard it a lot, but omega-3 is not just another buzzword. It’s one of the biggest benefits of eating seafood, the Omega threes. Consumption of this particular mineral has been found to help treat inflammation and help eyesight. It’s also a good way to help to treat the symptoms of depression. It’s not going to be a cure, but it’s certainly going to taste good and it’s going to help.

It will help your cholesterol

There are two different types of cholesterol, and LDL which is low density lipids it’s considered bad. Fish like salmon are packed with HDL, or high-density lipids, and these help to break down the LDL and help decrease your risk of cardiovascular illnesses. This is the kind of cholesterol fighting stuff you want to be eating and knowing that it’s going to taste good when you smother it in sweet chili or lemon is just one of the many reasons you should say yes to having more salmon in your diet.

Seafood is a very lean source of protein

Without a healthy source of protein, your muscles are not going to heal properly after injury. When you work out strenuously, you need to be able to recover, and that means you need to have a good amount of protein in your diet. Fish is an excellent source of protein and even the fattiest types of fish are often healthier than some other meats. There is an immense variety of fish out there for you to choose from, and there are so many options to decide which is the best fish that you could eat to suit your individual protein needs.

There are no hormones or antibiotics or filler in fish

There are things in some meats that have been known to cause allergic reactions, and there are links out there to show an increase of antibiotic resistant bacteria. In fish, there are no hormones or filler in the same way that there are some meats, which means you can feel safe to eat this food and enjoy it.

You can prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes

Often associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes is something that you will have for the rest of your life once it develops. Fish like salmon and black card can help those who are at risk of type 2 diabetes to stay healthy. When you consume this kind of fish, you will enjoy lower glucose concentrations, and replacing your red meat in your diet with fish can help to lower that diabetes risk by up to 35%.