Do you think parents should teach their kids how to count calories?

leanitup123

I don't. You?

Packerjohn

Depending on the kid, probably should be exposed to the concept of a calorie as a unit of energy around age 8-12. If there is a weight issue can work with the child to learn to use calorie content to make good dietary choices.

GottaBurnEmAll

I have ideas about this, but they are unconventional. I really don't care if other people disagree with how we raised them in this regard.

We wanted our children to be able to tune into their hunger signals, and to that end, never forced meals on them or strictly imposed meal times.

They were exclusively breast fed until they reached for food on the table, and while we had regular meals, they were not obligated to eat them. Healthy food was available to them at all times if their hunger led them into a different meal timing. Unhealthy food was also available, but it was limited and offered in context (they were taught about "sometimes" and "always" foods).

Over time, they've fallen into regular meal timing, but they stop eating when they are full.

I don't know many other kids who willingly turn down cookies or sometimes only eat half and then say they've had enough.

It has worked. They are both at healthy weights. Our daughter is 21, and son is 15 and still growing.

They both have knowledge of energy balance and calories in food, but it's not really an important thing for them. I think it's more important not to mess up the internal hunger signals we all have if it can be avoided. But that's me and a projection of how I wish my own hunger signalling wasn't so messed by the rigidity of my own upbringing that didn't allow for extra hunger during growth spurts or decreased hunger between them. I understand how other people might have a different take on things.

amusedmonkey

Yes, with caveats. They should be educated about calories in an age appropriate way, but I don't think counting should be deliberately enforced. I think the focus should be on making moderation their default nearly decision-free normal, and if small games of calories here and there are part of that every now and then it's okay, as long as they don't associate it with something that defines their self-worth or "being good". It needs to taught as a neutral tool like you would teach reading a map or math, devoid of judgement.

Kids knowing about calories is not a problem, the problem is when they have a parent who behaves in a disordered manner around food and calories. Calories are not the issue here, perceptive kids picking up on the adult's insecurities and applying that to themselves is.

shrcpr

GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »

I have ideas about this, but they are unconventional. I really don't care if other people disagree with how we raised them in this regard.

We wanted our children to be able to tune into their hunger signals, and to that end, never forced meals on them or strictly imposed meal times.

They were exclusively breast fed until they reached for food on the table, and while we had regular meals, they were not obligated to eat them. Healthy food was available to them at all times if their hunger led them into a different meal timing. Unhealthy food was also available, but it was limited and offered in context (they were taught about "sometimes" and "always" foods).

Over time, they've fallen into regular meal timing, but they stop eating when they are full.

I don't know many other kids who willingly turn down cookies or sometimes only eat half and then say they've had enough.

It has worked. They are both at healthy weights. Our daughter is 21, and son is 15 and still growing.

They both have knowledge of energy balance and calories in food, but it's not really an important thing for them. I think it's more important not to mess up the internal hunger signals we all have if it can be avoided. But that's me and a projection of how I wish my own hunger signalling wasn't so messed by the rigidity of my own upbringing that didn't allow for extra hunger during growth spurts or decreased hunger between them. I understand how other people might have a different take on things.

I raised my son the same way. We also did a lot of active things together - sports, snowboarding, hiking, etc. He's now 29, is and has always been a healthy weight. He did gain a bit over the first winter when he moved to Seattle (from sunny San Jose, CA) but worked that out with some extra gym time.

I would think the ideal would be to keep them away from having to count calories but understand that may not always be reasonable, especially with an older child.

sosteach

Kids should be taught to eat healthy and to be active. Counting calories seems like a bit much.

Heather4448

I think nutrition classes should be a mandatory part of health education in middle and high schools. It could be tied in to math/science SOL's. Personally, I would have benefited greatly by receiving a non-judgmental, science based approach to ci/co.

Chef_Barbell

No.

nissarayna

No. If we teach them to make healthy choices more often, they should never need to count calories.

NoLimitFemme

I've taught my kids to eat healthy nutrition meals with a variety of veggies, proteins, and carbs. My youngest is 13 and while I didn't teach her to count calories I did make her aware of serving sizes.

Lounmoun

I think children should be taught that foods have calories and that each person needs a certain amount to fuel their body properly. I think it is worth teaching by the time you have a teen that weight maintenance, gain or loss is down to eating/burning the right number of calories not type of food so they don't feel they are doomed if they eat a cheeseburger or judgy of their classmate for eating one.
I do not think children should focus on calorie counting though unless there is a major problem. If they need to lose or gain significant weight to be at a healthy weight then they and their parent should probably be working together tracking intake and activity level.

Slimpossible007

no

ninerbuff

My kid knows what a calorie is. What I have been teaching her is portion control.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

deputy_randolph

I think it depends on the kid, age, intent, and family history of eating disorders.

I taught 5th grade and have an 8&6 year old. There should be more education on nutrition. I know elementary school kids the very basics in p.e.

I count my calories, but don't monitor my kids' or directly taught them to count calories. Obviously, I model the behavior. I have my 3rd pl competition in August, so right now it is important for me to be getting enough calories.

My son (almost 9) doesn't count calories, but understands the concept of calories in/calories out. He is the kind of kid that will likely eventually log his meals. He is meticulous, organized, and is super interested in nutrition. He already plans when and what he will have for his daily sweet treat. He'll turn down a treat if he has already planned to have something else later on. The kid has some serious self-control (without being restrictive).

He's already expressed an interesting in powerlifting too (plays rugby and does taekwondo). If he started counting calories in highschool with the intent of fueling his body for sports performance, I wouldn't be concerned.

I would be more concerned about calorie counting for a teen who expressed more concern about appearance vs. performance.

macchiatto

My boys are 8 and just finished 2nd grade. They learned about calories and the My Plate type concepts in school a year or two ago and started reading nutrition labels (usually during breakfast with cereal boxes or snacks when they're helping themselves) on their own in 1st grade.

What we tend to talk about at home: No foods are off-limits but being mindful of wanting to fuel our body well with healthy foods and then fitting in treats, but they don't make up the bulk of what we eat.

Diabetes also runs big-time in my family so I've gotten them in the habit of balancing carbs with protein and fat. One of them definitely tends to get hangry if his blood sugar dips so being in the habit of eating to keep it stable seems to help.

Their appetites definitely ebb and flow with growth spurts. We don't force them to finish anything; their calorie intake can vary quite a bit from day to day but based on their growth patterns and healthy BMIs, their intake overall seems to be about right.

amyteacake

I think they should be introduced to healthy alternatives and activity at an early age but calories may be too much. Some kids might become obsessed with counting calories and develop eating disorders. It all depends on the child, but,personally, if I had children I would introduce them to healthy alternatives and activity at an early age more than I would calories.

SusanMFindlay

nissarayna wrote: »

No. If we teach them to make healthy choices more often, they should never need to count calories.

That's nice in theory, but some people don't get the normal "you're full" signals due to hormonal issues. In those cases, you can teach them to reach for healthy choices more often but assuming you're including more calorie dense healthy choices (e.g. nuts and nut butters) they may still have difficulty maintaining a healthy weight.

For kids (i.e. not yet teenagers), focus on making healthy choices and enjoying physical activity. The concept of "sometimes foods". Food as fuel to give them energy and make them grow strong.

But I think that most teenagers would benefit from having a general knowledge of what calories are and why they matter. I also think that teenagers who struggle to maintain a healthy weight would benefit from learning the basics of calorie counting - using maintenance calories for a healthy weight as their goal (i.e. not aiming for big deficits), maintaining a reasonable activity level (not sedentary unless medical reasons force it) and understanding that the average is what matters and that high days and low days are to be expected. I honestly wish I would have learned all of this as a teenager rather than discovering it in my mid thirties.

I'm using the child/teenager divide as a rough guide to be clear that I'm not supporting 5 year olds counting calories. Some 12 year olds are more mature than some 15 year olds. So, the parent would judge their kid's maturity level and how much detail they could handle. And if the teenager has no trouble maintaining a healthy weight intuitively, I would not suggest they start calorie counting (outside of a context like a "track your calories for a week" assignment in a health class).

ForecasterJason

I think there's a lot parents can do with teaching kids the importance of a nutritious diet. I think it is beneficial for kids to have some idea of calories and foods that are low/high in them, but I don't think meticulous calorie counting is necessary for most kids.

amyinthetardis1231

I was a serious dancer in high school and college. I heard a lot about needing to lose weight (from my teacher, not my parents--I was in a healthy weight range for my height but not ballerina skinny) but nothing about how to do it healthily. I had no idea how many calories you needed to fuel 3+ hours of intensive dance classes a day so I tried cutting to an absurdly low calorie level. Fortunately I wasn't dedicated enough, crazy as that sounds, to develop a full blown eating disorder but I had no idea how to eat for weight loss until much later. I knew my mom was always dieting but never knew how that worked except that she skipped meals sometimes. Some basic education about calories and how much a young athlete needs would have been good information to have, at least in high school. Prior to puberty, I think just teaching nutrition fundamentals and listening to hunger cues while promoting fun activity is usually sufficient. I have a 2 yr old now and we offer food at fairly regular mealtimes but we don't make her clean her plate.

Charlene_1985

Calories are food budgets in my opinion. Sadly, many individuals have little working knowledge on personal finance and healthy weight management. I absolutely think children should have a basic understand of the balance of calories in vs calories out just like they should be taught basic income and expenditures. But I also live by a calorie budget daily and a financial budget monthly.

nvmomketo

I sort of count sugar and, to a lesser extent, carbs. I think pointing out that 4g of sugar is a teaspoon of sugar helps them visualize what is too much.

We don't count calories because their appetite changes so much with their growth. Some weeks they eat twice as much as other times.

xmichaelyx

No, but you should teach them to eat sensibly.

Obese child = abusive parent.

cturner1967

SusanMFindlay wrote: »

That's nice in theory, but some people don't get the normal "you're full" signals due to hormonal issues.

Yes, great in theory. Thank you Susan for your comment.

xmichaelyx wrote: »

Obese child = abusive parent.

I hope that you remove your comment. It is incredibly hurtful and insensitive.

Does anyone here actually have children with weight-related health issues? I do. I have a child who grows twice as fast as other children and who is carrying +40 lbs too much at 10 years old. We are desperately trying to get to the bottom of it. She is starving all the time and eats healthier than all of her peers. We have been to doctors and are working with a personal trainer to try to get a calorie deficit.

FreyasRebirth

Yes, children should know how to count calories. It is math, essentially just like teaching them how to shop (calories by weight, price by weight). However, knowing how to do something isn't a synonym with actually doing it.

Colt1835

I think teenagers should be taught how to log the food that they eat and how to add calories or subtract them in a healthy way if they get too thin or fat. Why wait until they are adults and obese to say "oh yeah, you should totally try counting your calories. Sorry guess I should have brought that up a little sooner"? I wouldn't constantly have my kids counting calories because they are kids who should play and not get stressed out, but they will be adults one day who may need to know how to properly log their food to avoid becoming obese, so surely I will teach them how to do it before I release them into the wild.

My job as a parent is to love my children and help them become adults. If I purposefully keep helpful information from them then I have failed. I was obese my entire childhood and just recently hit a healthy weight. I wish some one would have taught me more about the importance of CICO.

cturner1967

Colt1835 wrote: »

...Why wait until they are adults and obese to say "oh yeah, you should totally try counting your calories. Sorry guess I should have brought that up a little sooner"? ... I wish some one would have taught me more about the importance of CICO.

Thank you Colt1835! It's a vicious cycle to start them on when they are just children. And of course, once they are obese and ignorant - society judges and looks down on them. TRAP.

StealthHealth

Since a calorie is a unit of measurement just like a centimeter, or a gram then your children will be taught this in school as part of their science education.

In the UK this is taught before pupils have a chance to drop specialised science education (basic science education is mandatory). The use of calories in context to diet is taught in food technology, prior to the pupils having the option to drop that subject.

So, in the UK at least, whether you like it of not, kids are taught about calories.

Television and online adverts often mention the calories of a certain food so children are exposed to that concept on a daily/weekly/monthly basis.

So, for me personally, since all that miss/information is already out there I think it makes sense, as and when the subject crops up, to have a conversation with your kids about calories, foods, activities, balanced diets, and whatever else crops up along the way.

Chef_Barbell

cturner1967 wrote: »

Colt1835 wrote: »

...Why wait until they are adults and obese to say "oh yeah, you should totally try counting your calories. Sorry guess I should have brought that up a little sooner"? ... I wish some one would have taught me more about the importance of CICO.

Thank you Colt1835! It's a vicious cycle to start them on when they are just children. And of course, once they are obese and ignorant - society judges and looks down on them. TRAP.

You can know all about calories and still wind up obese.

ladyhusker39

Yes, parents should teach their kids how to count calories. Just like they should teach their kids about proper nutrition and to be physically active. I don't think it should be mandatory that they weigh and log everything they eat, or to pump iron at the gym but it's an incredibly important and useful concept to understand and incorporate into their life. It's also important to be age appropriate as with anything we teach them.

Colt1835

Chef_Barbell wrote: »

cturner1967 wrote: »

Colt1835 wrote: »

...Why wait until they are adults and obese to say "oh yeah, you should totally try counting your calories. Sorry guess I should have brought that up a little sooner"? ... I wish some one would have taught me more about the importance of CICO.

Thank you Colt1835! It's a vicious cycle to start them on when they are just children. And of course, once they are obese and ignorant - society judges and looks down on them. TRAP.

You can know all about calories and still wind up obese.

Sure you can, but why limit information that might prevent that? You can know all about road safety and still get hit by a buss; should we not teach kids to look both ways before crossing the street?

It's simple math. They are required to do more complicated math in school. They can handle it.

finny11122

Not count calories but teach them about healthy food .