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Eat Well, Play Better
Feeding Your Child Athlete
By Lisa Marie Metzler
You can probably relate to this scenario: It's 5 p.m. and you're rushing home to make a quick dinner so you can take your child to a softball game. In between making dinner, you and your child run frantically around the house trying to find baseball mitts, bats and hopefully a clean uniform. Time ticks by and before you know it, there's no time to even fix dinner, so you head to the nearest drive-thru so your child can eat on the run before the game starts.
Fast food, however, isn't the dinner of champions – and doesn't provide the desired nutritional elements your young superstar needs to fuel her game.
"Eating the right foods can make a big difference in your child's performance in activities," says Jessica Walker, registered dietitian for Caritas Health Services in Louisville, Ky. "But it is important to focus on a child's intake every day, instead of just the pre-game meals."
Walker says that a balanced diet is most important when it comes to enhancing performance. "Eating foods high in complex carbohydrates, like whole grains, will supply the body with energy," she says. "Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables supplies the body with nutrients to perform body functions, like building muscle and running. Lean meats and low-fat dairy products supply protein and calcium for strong bones and muscles."
Limiting your child's consumption of sweets is always a good rule, too. These are just empty calories and do nothing to benefit your child's growing body. Establishing good eating habits early on may even motivate your child to continue making wise food choices when you're not with him.
"Parents should use the child's interest in athletics and competition to encourage them to stay away from junk food and eat regular, well-balanced meals," says Todd Anckaitis, assistant coach for the Amherst College women's soccer team. However, Anckaitis cautions parents not to be overly zealous in planning a child's nutrition, as this may contribute to eating disorders. "The last thing parents should do is impose an eating regimen or restrictions in an effort to give their child an 'edge' in becoming an athletic success," he says.