We've noticed our kids put on some extra weight during this pandemic（疫情）. Here are what doctors and specialists say about what to do to get the family back on track.
In the mess of the pandemic, sleep and wakeup times slid later and later for lots of kids, says Dr. Nazrat Mirza, medical director of the pediatric (小儿科）weight management clinic in Washington, D. C. Research has linked regular, adequate sleep to improved mental and physical health in kids. If sleep routines have become a problem in your family, try to move kids' bedtimes back by 15 minutes every two or three nights.
Create more structure around meal times.
It was also the case with some trained experts. "It was sort of this buffet-style experience where they were eating throughout the day," says Stacey Rosenfeld, a specialist in eating disorders, whose kid ended up gaining 20 pounds. While putting kids on a restricted diet can lead to unintended consequences, creating and sticking to set meal and snack. times can help kids control their appetites and develop sensible eating habits, experts say.
Have sympathy for yourself, and model it for your kids.
We've all been through an incredibly stressful and tiring year and a half, and it's not over. And some families have been especially hard hit by this pandemic. "We have to show ourselves little pity and it's not going to happen with a snap of the fingers," says Has sink. Even if your kids didn't gain weight, teach them not to tease others. Eventually, "We want to be building our kids up. We want to be focusing on who they are outside of their bodies," says Rosenfeld.
A. Get bedtimes back on track.
B. Do the same thing with wake-up times, she says.
C. Have sympathy for your kids and your life will be easy.
D. As things calmed down, she decided it was time for a reset.
E. Bedtimes play a vital role in improving the quality of sleep.
F. That sympathy is something we should also foster in our children.
G. All-day-long, unmonitored eating became a habit in many families of the pandemic.
