T.J. Samson | Destination Health | February 2021

Family health Invite your kids into the kitchen Do you want your children to be adventurous eaters? Invite them into the kitchen to help you cook. Kids who help their parents cook are more likely to try all the foods you prepare, even if they don’t embrace them right away. Cooking teaches kids about nutrition and food safety— not to mention mathematics and science. And a child who becomes skilled in the kitchen is less likely to quickly grab processed foods when hungry. Ready to have your kids begin cooking? Here are some tips for enlisting their help. Start with food safety. Be sure your chil- dren know the basics, like: ■ Washing their hands with soap and running water before and after handling food. ■ Keeping work surfaces clean. ■ Keeping raw meat, poultry and fish sepa- rate from other foods. ■ Waiting until food is cooked before tasting. ■ Cooking foods to their proper temperatures. Let them explore with their senses. Kneading dough. Rinsing produce. Tearing lettuce and snapping green beans. These ac- tivities will pique a child’s curiosity about food with senses other than taste. If your child is hesitant to taste a food, invite them to smell it first. Taste it yourself and tell them how good it is. Teach them how to read (and follow) a recipe. Show your kids how to gather ingre- dients and utensils for a recipe. Tell them why it’s important to measure the correct amount of each ingredient for the recipe to work. Emphasize safe kitchen skills. Teach your child how to use kitchen tools the correct way to avoid injuries. They may not be ready to use knives, even with adult supervision, until they are 10 to 12 years old. Show them how to wear oven mitts to protect themselves from burns, and explain why they should turn pan handles inward to avoid bumping into them. Be sure they know how to turn appliances on and off. Cooking with your kids can set them on the path to a lifetime of healthy eating while making fun family memories. Sources: Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics; American Academy of Pediatrics Q&A: Coronavirus and pregnancy Here’s what health experts can tell us about the effect of the coronavirus on preg- nant women and their babies. Q. Do pregnant women have an increased risk for the coronavirus? A. It doesn’t appear that pregnancy and childbirth increase the risk for infection. However, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, pregnant women are at an increased risk for severe complications from COVID-19. Q. If a pregnant woman does get sick, will she pass it on to her baby? A. Researchers have found a few cases where the coronavirus may have passed to a fetus during pregnancy, but this seems to be rare. It’s also possible for babies to get the virus during birth or through close contact with an infected person after birth. Q. What might happen after birth? A. If a woman with COVID-19 gives birth, her newborn should be tested for the virus. But regardless of the results, it is usually still possible for the mom and baby to stay together in the hospital. If the baby doesn’t have the virus, mom and baby should stay 6 feet apart, other than when breastfeeding. Q. How will COVID-19 affect breastfeeding? A. Although the virus may be present in breast milk, it appears to be rare. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends that women with COVID-19 continue to breastfeed. Still, moms who are sick with COVID-19 may want to pump breast milk so that a healthy caregiver can feed it to the baby. A mom who wants to breastfeed despite having COVID-19 needs to: ● Put on a face mask. ● Wash her hands and breast thoroughly before and after touching her baby. ● Clean surfaces after touching them. Q. What happens when mom and baby go home? A. After leaving the hospital, a mom with COVID-19 should stay 6 feet from her newborn until she is clear of infection. She can either continue to pump breast milk or feed the baby herself while using a face mask and maintaining good breast hygiene. Q. How can COVID-19 be avoided? A. If you are pregnant, you should: ● Limit your interaction with others. ● Stay at least 6 feet away from other people in public. ● Wear a cloth face mask in public. ● Cover your coughs and sneezes. ● Clean your hands well and often. ● Clean and disinfect surfaces frequently. ● Try not to touch your eyes, nose or mouth. Additional sources: American Academy of Pediatrics; March of Dimes; UpToDate For help making a birth plan during the COVID-19 pandemic, call our birth center at 270-651-4105 . 6 DESTINATION HEALTH