DIETITIAN FOR TEENAGERS AND CHILDREN

Are you feeling confused about what to feed your kids? Feeling as though meal times are a battle field? Not sure how to go about helping your child gain or lose weight? Are you a teenager yourself and want to learn more about good nutrition or begin a vegetarian diet? Then seeing our Dietitian for Teenagers and Children is a really great place to start!

Don’t continue worrying over things you aren’t sure of when you can get expert advice on healthy eating across a range of child development stages. Good nutrition is vitally important for children of all ages to ensure optimal growth and development and to minimise risks of chronic conditions later in life.

It’s also important to note that a child’s requirements for energy, vitamins and minerals changes according to differing developmental stages. As a parent, you are busy enough with daily life to be expected to know the ins and outs of these requirements which is where the support of a qualified nutrition specialist to help you practically understand and apply strategies to family life is so beneficial.

Whatever your child’s needs might be, we work with you and your family to find practical strategies that promote healthy eating and healthy lifestyle for all involved.

How Can a Dietitian for Teenagers and Children Help?

For Children:

First and foremost our Dietitian for Teenagers and Children can help by myth busting ideas such as the following:

  If my child refuses to eat his meal I have to provide another option so they won’t go hungry.
  Food is a good reward to help with problem behaviours.
  My child is overweight, I need to put them on a strict diet.
  My child won’t eat red meat so they are missing out on important nutrients.
  If I simply cut the meat out of my diet, I will be following a healthy vegetarian diet

We also provide education, resources and support in how to encourage healthy eating and behaviours and manage relevant health conditions your child is living with to improve nutritional intake important in meeting requirements of growth and development.

These conditions can include:

  Weight management including poor weight gain.
  Fussy eating and associated challenges.
  Vegetarian/vegan diets.
  Nutrient deficiencies.
  Constipation.
  Difficulties meeting nutritional requirements for development stage (especially considering food allergy/intolerances).

Topics often discussed to assist in managing your child’s nutrition include:

  Tips to influence a healthy relationship with food for your family.
  Weight maintenance as initial goal for overweight children rather than drastic weight loss.
  Healthy relationship with food rather than deprivation due to strict dieting.
  Balanced diet considering likes/dislikes and food allergies/intolerances.
  Importance of breakfast and healthy options.
  Healthy lunch box and snack options.
  ‘Sometimes’ vs ‘everyday’ foods – which to offer more often and which to limit.
  Benefits of involving kids in preparing meals.
  Family activities to encourage exercise and reduce screen watching time.
  Quick easy meals for the time poor busy family.
  How to gauge if your child is growing well and meeting requirements.
  Fortifying current foods to provide additional nutrition .
  Meal timings.
  Tips to address fussy eating and other eating behaviours.
  Label reading and cooking skills.
  Handy resources including printed information and recipes.

For Teenagers:

For teenagers, your body is going through a lot of changes during a relatively short period of time. Changes in body shape can affect self-esteem and confidence and it can be tempting to change our diets in an attempt to look a certain way. Our dietitian can help guide and reassure teenagers about how to develop and maintain a healthy relationship with food and to establish healthy eating habits that will set them up for their long-term health. If you would like support with gaining weight or losing weight during this time, our dietitian can provide you with the education and advice needed to achieve this in a positive and sustainable way. Our dietitian can also provide advice on vegetarian/vegan diets if you are wanting to follow a plant-based diet but aren’t sure where to start or would just like to make sure you are getting all the nutrients your body needs.

Areas our dietitian can help you with:

  Weight management/weight gain
  Vegetarian/vegan diets
  Nutrient deficiencies, e.g. iron deficiency anaemia
  Nutrition for energy and concentration during stressful periods, e.g. exam time
  Nutrition for skin health
  Nutrition for sports and exercise

What’s Involved in Seeing a Dietitian for Teenagers and Children? 

During your initial appointment, our dietitian will have an open and confidential discussion with you around your/ your child’s relevant social, medical and weight background, current medications, recent pathology results, clinical symptoms, usual foods and drinks eaten, timings of meals, eating behaviours and physical activity levels to assess your/your child’s current health situation. This helps our dietitian to understand your/your child’s needs and personal goals to tailor your session.

Our Dietitian will include assessment and tracking of growth status using growth charts and body mass index calculations. Our Dietitian will be able to answer nutrition-related queries and provide explanations of the relationship between conditions and diet so you understand your condition better and why changes may be necessary for your child and family.

You will receive nutrition education to equip you with the skills and confidence to make your own educated choices. Our Dietitian will discuss various nutrition strategies so that you can set achievable and realistic goals with ongoing support and motivation to make changes for the long term.

How Often Will I Need To See A Dietitian for Teenagers and Children? 

After the initial appointment with our Dietitian for Teenagers and Children, follow-up consults will usually be encouraged every 2-4 weeks. This helps to ensure you have been able to implement any negotiated strategies, make any adjustments to the meal plan and provide support and accountability while making changes to your usual diet. Subsequent consultations are then scheduled as often as people find necessary for ongoing support.

*Please note, if your child is below the age of 2 or has Type 1 diabetes or a complex medical history, we recommend consulting a specialist paediatric dietitian.

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