3 Biggest Feeding Fables

According to an article in the May 2010 issue of Parenting magazine, With so much conflicting information out there, figuring out what and how to feed your kids these days is confusing. Below, William Sears, M.D., tackles the most confounding kid-food fables.

1. Kids need to eat three square meals. Nope. In fact, eating a few small meals throughout the day is a very healthy way to eat (and that goes for parents too). Plus, it comes naturally to kids, who can't hold as much food in their stomachs at one time as adults. A slow-and-steady schedule of meals and snacks keep their blood-sugar levels, energy, and mood on a more even keel.

2. Sugar is bad. Actually, it really depends on the type. There's a wide spectrum of carbohydrates (the other name for sugar), and those that are complex (veggies, whole grains, legumes) are always recommended. Fruits and dairy products (which contain lactose, another form of sugar) are also good choices. It's the simple sugars like table sugar, and high fructose corn syrup in candy, cookies, soft drinks, and package treats that are responsible for the dreaded crash and burn. These are the ones worth eliminating.

3. Children should eat from each food group every day. The fact is, kid have ever-changing taste preferences. One week they may eat pasta an tomato sauce, while the next they shun it. for peanut-butter crackers. Doesn't matter. As long as their diets balance out over the course of a month, not a day, they'll be on the right track.