Position Statement of the Polish Academy of Sciences’ Committee of Human Nutrition Science on the Principles for the Nutrition of Preschool Children (4–6 Years of Age) and Early School-Age Children (7–9 Years of Age)

Pressure/coercion

Verbally pressuring the child to eat a specific type of product, specific amount of product, or to eat within a specific time.

Specification of portions size and forcing the child to eat a specific portion

Encouraging to eat “one more mouthful”

Playing games leading to unconscious eating

Offering reward in the form of attractive (liked) food for eating unattractive (not liked) food, e.g. dessert for eating vegetables

Offering non-food reward for eating unattractive (not liked) food, e.g. watching a cartoon for eating vegetables

Overriding self-feeding attempts in favour of feeding the child

Conditions/restriction

Decisive and rigorous restriction of access to unhealthy foods.

Offering dessert only after the child eats the rest of the meal

Strict prohibition of eating highly processed foods even though they are overtly available in the household

Strict differentiation between “healthy” and “un- healthy” foods

Rewarding with meals as a form of emotion regulation

Eating as means to regulate emotions.

Offering favourite goods, e.g. sweets, in return for good behaviour

Offering food to calm the child, keep it quiet

Praising the child for desired eating behaviour, e.g. eating the entire portion

Lack of eating rules

Lack of clear rules on where and when the child eats. Lack of specific rules on the quality of consumed foods.

Variable and inconsistent meal frequency and location

Young child is not included in family meals

Child eats different food to the rest of the family

No limits on range of foods from which the child can choose

No structured eating conditions – eating when wandering around, e.g. during play, watching cartoons

Distractions when eating, e.g., watching TV, access to toys

Restriction of diversity

Feeding the child only with the foods and meals accepted and liked by the child.

Offering new food only once and not reoffering it, if the child does not like it

Disguising new products and meals, manipulating the composition of meals

Insisting/pressure on the child to eat foods that the child does not like

Replacing products that are not liked with accepted ones

Reward for eating not accepted food (instead of tasting)

Force feeding

2–3 slices of wheat-rye bread (3 x 35 g)

1–2 wholemeal bread rolls

1 wholegrain bread roll (50 g)

½-¾ glass of cooked pasta

½ glass of cooked groats, e.g. buckwheat groats, barley groats, rice, cereal

yellow vegetables, e.g. ½ glass of French beans or corn

orange vegetables, e.g. ½ glass of grated carrot

white vegetables, e.g. ½ glass of cut cabbage, 5 white asparagus, 5–6 cauliflower florets

red vegetables, e.g. 1 tomato, ½ red pepper

green vegetables, e.g. a handful of rocket, spinach, 2–3 iceberg lettuce leaves, fresh or pickled cucumber

1 medium apple

1 medium banana

1 pear

5-6 plums

7-8 strawberries

1 mandarin orange

½ glass of raspberries, currants or blueberries

1 teaspoon of lentil paste

1 teaspoon of sunflower seeds

2 walnuts without shell

4 almonds

1 glass of milk

½-1 cup of yoghurt/kefir/buttermilk

2–3 tablespoons of cottage cheese

a slice of rennet cheese

a slice of baked pork loin, tenderloin

½ slice of lean ham

1 small poultry meatball

1 tablespoon of goulash, e.g. of veal

1 fish fillet (e.g. cod, salmon, blue grenadier)

1 egg

1 teaspoon of butter

1 teaspoon of cream

1 teaspoon of olive oil

1 teaspoon rapeseed oil