Tips for Healthy Eating for Kids

Most families have super busy schedules. This does not allow much time to prepare a fresh home-cooked meal to enjoy each night. Furthermore, you are unable to keep watch of children’s bad food habits. As a result of this, more children are facing weight and health-related issues. Coupled with the abundance of convenience foods available, children are starting off with food issues that will last a lifetime. These lifelong problems can have devastating effects. However, these can be easily preventable with the following tips for healthy eating for kids.

Children often don’t know or understand what nutrition is, so it’s up to you as a parent to set the example. With a little help from this information, you will get the tools you need to make the smartest choices when it comes to your child’s eating.

Why Is It So Important For Kids To Eat Healthily?

Finding a way for your child to adopt nutritious eating habits from a very early age will put them in a great position for their adult life. Not only will providing them with essential nutrients mean that they will thrive and grow healthily, but they will also carry these lessons into their future and be less susceptible to illness and disease. Healthy food also has an effect on child’s behavioral health; it ensures your little ones have stable mood and energy levels, and perform to the best of their ability educationally by having more focus and improved memory.

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Breakfast & Snacks

Knowing where to start is hard, especially if you’ve been stuck in the same bad habits for years. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and should give your child enough energy to play and learn until lunchtime. Instead of high sugar cereals, opt for whole wheat toast with eggs or peanut butter for slow release carbs and protein. Eating protein in the morning will help your children feel fuller longer, and avoid getting the ‘slump’ caused by blood sugar levels plummeting after eating just carbs.

Lunch & Dinner

Making fruit and vegetables more appealing to kids doesn’t have to be as hard as you might think. The first step is to get rid of any salty, fatty or sugary foods. These cravings can be fulfilled with healthier alternatives, such as popcorn instead of chips, or frozen fruit instead of ice cream. Keep fresh options instead of prepackaged goods. In fact, use your imagination to make it more fun. Hiding vegetables under other food doesn’t always work; try mixing or blending to make it less noticeable. If you’re a parent who encourages a clean plate, try a smaller portion size – your child may be full much sooner than you think and may just be eating because you put it in front of them.

While it’s so important to ensure your little ones are making the right choices, you have to look after yourself to make sure you are a healthy parent too. Show them how it’s done and try to focus more on what you should be eating rather than what you shouldn’t, as it’s about nutrition, not deprivation. By following these tips and setting a good example, you can enjoy long and happy lives with your loved ones.

Tips for Picky Eaters

Don’t make mealtime stressful. If a child fears meals because they are forced to “eat everything on the plate,” mealtime will become dreaded and a struggle. Make mealtime a pleasant experience for everyone involved.

Try new foods. Many times children will be intrigued by a new food item on the table and opt to try it for fun. Be willing to try new foods yourself. When children see you eating something different, they will want to try it too.

Institute the rule of “just one bite.” Successful households will have their children try one bite of a new (or even a hated food) with the rule that they don’t have to eat it. Have a napkin and water nearby. Your child can spit the food into the napkin if they absolutely hate it. This prevents the dread associated with chewing and swallowing food that they find offensive. Furthermore, if a child knows the rules of tasting new foods, there is less fight about it.

Dine out in new restaurants occasionally. When traveling, try the local favorites that are different from the normal foods you usually eat. When children see you trying new things they are apt to try them too.

Kids in the Kitchen

Get them involved in food prepping and cooking. Let them pick recipes or experiment with preparing new foods for the family to try. Children who are familiar with the kitchen may begin to experiment with new flavors and food combinations.

Get cookbooks, aprons, and cooking utensils for children to further expand their cooking skills.

Additional Tips for Healthy Eating

Don’t assume that if your child hates cooked carrots or broccoli, they will hate them raw too. Cooking, roasting, and steaming changes the taste of fruits and vegetables.

The same can be said it comes to meats, overdone steak taste much different than a steak that is served medium rare. Try a variety of meats (pork, lamb, beef, chicken, duck, turkey) to find out what your child prefers.

Try the same foods repeatedly. A child that has tasted a particular food before and hated may acquire a taste for that food. Not liking a food today doesn’t mean they will continue to hate it as they get older. Children’s taste buds change. A child who won’t eat pizza at 5, may love it at 17. The same can be said for fruits and vegetables.

Play food games. Purchasing a variety of one item such as fruits, and having taste tests to find their favorite makes the experience fun. Pop several different types of popcorn and have everyone vote on the one they like the best. Try this on a weekly or monthly basis with new food groups each time. ideas to consider: favorite chip, dip, salsa, juice drink, herbs or spices on meat.

Changing your own attitude toward meal preparation and eating will go a long way towards raising healthy and happy children!