by Christine Wood, MD
With so much to do, busy families are finding it harder to spend quality time around meals. Often meals involve picking something up and rushing through a meal, or family members eating at different times or even eating in the car. There is a lot of evidence that family meals are important in the overall health of children and teens. A study from the Journal of Adolescent Health, found that frequent family meals lowered the risk in teens of smoking, drinking, drugs, disordered eating and depression. In addition, they ate healthier and had better grades.
In addition, parents can find challenges with different issues around their children’s eating habits, like picky eaters or kids who seem to eat too little or too much, or kids who tend to make more unhealthy choices. Information about nutrition abounds and parents are often stressed about what to feed their family. Dr. Christine Wood, pediatrician at Coast Pediatrics Carmel Valley has written a book called, “How to Get Kids to Eat Great & Love It!” and has experience consulting with many families about nutrition – everything from weight issues, eating disorders, and picky eaters. She has a new book that will be launching this year and you have the opportunity to learn from her about addressing the many challenges and avoiding many pitfalls when it comes to feeding your family. Here are three opportunities to learn from her on this topic in the coming weeks!
- Wednesday, January 27th at 12 noon PST: Come join her and New Mommy Media at the Google Hangouts. You can submit questions ahead of time and the information will be posted after the event. The webpage is: http://www.newmommymedia.com/hangout/mindful-eating-dinner-table/
- Thursday, February 4th from 7-9 PM: A 2 hour workshop to help you address your challenges around family eating at her office at Coast Pediatrics, Carmel Valley. You will receive a FREE copy of her book. Register at: http://www.kidseatgreat.com/shop/workshops/
- Podcast releasing the week of February 8th on iTunes: Join her for a podcast with Dr. Jay Warren of Healthy Births, Happy Babies: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/healthy-births-happy-babies/id1033754889
Our very own Dr. Christine (“Chris”) Wood grew up in Michigan and went to medical school in her home state at the University of Michigan (Go Blue!). She did her pediatric residency, serving as Chief Resident, at Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles. Chris has a special interest in nutrition for children and teens. She is the author of the book How to Get Kids to Eat Great & Love It, and her articles and interviews have been published in Newsweek, Parenting, Parents, Baby Talk, and Redbook, among others. Her website, www.KidsEatGreat.com offers tips from her book. She is a frequent speaker at medical conferences, schools, preschools and community events, on topics such as eating disorders, obesity, school wellness policies and the impact of environmental toxins on health.