Nutrition Services

Registered Dietitians are nutrition professionals that are able to translate the science of nutrition into practical solutions or recommendations for healthy living. At Caribbean Tots to Teens, our dietitian works with parents/caregivers and their children to provide them with evidence-based, up-to-date and consistent dietary counselling. Our Dietitian helps parents/caregivers to manage common conditions in children, such as:

• Constipation
• General Nutrition
• Feeding Difficulties (including Picky Eating)
• Poor weight gain/growth
• Overweight/Obesity
• Nutrient Deficiency (e.g. Iron Deficiency Anemia)

All children/teens and their families are unique. At each one to one session our dietitian will:

• offer an individual nutrition assessment
• tailor advice to meet the individual’s nutritional needs and social circumstances of the child or teen
• make an individual care plan with interventions and review, as necessary

The dietitian will also partner with parents and their children to make a nutrition plan that will work for them at home. Things like the child/teen’s schedule, the foods they like to eat and whether they have siblings with different nutrition needs will also be considered. If a child/teen is working towards a long-term goal — like managing their weight— our dietitian can provide counseling to support changes in your child’s behavior over time. Nutrition Counselling can include helping families to determine the small steps that a child/teen can take to reach their goal and adjusting their nutrition plan, as necessary.

 

The frequency of the nutrition counselling sessions depends on the specific issue that will be addressed. It could range from a single visit about 1 aspect of a child/teen’s nutritional needs to a series of visits over a longer time to set and reach long-term nutrition goals. Nutrition Counselling may be covered by insurance, but families should check with their child/teen’s insurance provider to confirm coverage.

 

 

Cost:  $5,000 per session

Nutrition Education is a term used to describe the reinforcement of basic or essential nutrition-related knowledge. One-on-one sessions, group presentations, workshops, videos and even radio/t.v interviews are just some of the ways that dietitians are able to provide nutrition education. As a result, schools, churches, other groups and organizations can all benefit from nutrition education activities.

 

At Caribbean Tots to Teens, the dietitian meets with parents, caregivers, teachers as well as children/teens to give them information about specific nutrition-related topics. Children get empowered with knowledge and skills to make healthy food and beverage choices during nutrition education sessions at schools. But they also need support from their parents/caregiver and teachers/school administrators to implement the positive behavior changes they learn. Our dietitian recognizes the benefits of communicating with parents, caregivers and teachers about the nutritional needs of children/teens and is therefore motivated to work with them. These benefits include improving both home and school nutrition environments, preventing obesity and related chronic disease, and promoting child health.

 

Some parents aren’t sure how to feed their children, what to offer, how to cook, how to set limits while feeding positively—and this can make raising children with healthy eating habits difficult. Nutrition education allows parents/caregivers to get facts, guidance, tools and resources to help with their various nutrition-related concerns. It also helps new parents helps to build their confidence.

 

Some common nutrition education topics for parents/caregivers include: the Caribbean Food Groups, the Multi-mix Principle, How to Read Food Labels, Making Smarter Shopping Choices, and Healthier Cooking Practices. Since it is important that nutrition education is carried out in a systematic way to help ensure that children, parents/caregivers and teachers are able to internalize the information, a series of nutrition education sessions may be required.

 

Cost:

Contact Caribbean Tots to Teens (The Wellness Centre) by WhatsApp at 876-499-0574 or by email at info@caribtots2teens.com for cost details and to arrange group nutrition education sessions.