The challenge most parents face is getting their children to eat healthily. The issue of healthy eating is always a struggle or fight between parent and child, and oftentimes both parties are upset and frustrated.
The easiest way to get kids to eat healthily is to start them early. Children form their eating habits before the age of ten. As a parent, focus on those formative years and shape their eating habits early on. Always serve healthy food at home and pack healthy lunches and snacks for your kids. If you’re at someone else’s house, be polite by eating their food, but teach your kids to identify healthier options and encourage them to make choices about those options. While they are very young, give them no choice and they probably won’t mind at all.
Another easy way to get kids to eat healthy is to get them interested in healthy foods. Do this by having a number of healthy choices in your home. If you have many different types of foods but they are all healthy, you don’t have to worry about your kids making the wrong choices.
Also, introduce new foods often, such as tofu, various fruits, and vegetables. Eating a new fruit or vegetable regularly once a week should be enough to spark your children’s interest in the food groups. Play with your kids and have fun with colorful fruits. You can make fruit men with your kids and make them interested in many fruits!
It’s important to remember to be a role model for your children. You can impose all these rules, but if you don’t follow them yourself, your children will see that one day they won’t have to follow them either. When they are young, children want to be like their parents. If you show them that you eat healthy and you enjoy it, they’ll want to do the same. Even if your kids aren’t around, choose the healthier option. It will be good exercise for you and good for your health too!
Remember to be consistent as you devote yourself to the quest for healthy eating. ALWAYS eat healthy and choose the healthy option. When you go to restaurants, choose the healthy option for your kids and teach them how to choose the healthy options. Being consistent is the key to children always eating healthy. If you eat healthy at home but let your kids eat unhealthy food when they’re not home, they’re likely to develop tastes for foods they shouldn’t be eating. So be consistent and it will pay off!
Finally, talk to your children. Get them to understand why you choose and eat the foods you have at home and in restaurants. If your children are older than 10, hold a family reunion and talk about how you can all eat healthier foods. If you hadn’t started healthy eating habits early, make it a family business and work as a team. Learn how to slowly but surely minimize your fast food, junk food and microwaveable food. Even if you didn’t start when you were young, healthy eating is always within reach for you and your kids.
Thanks to Audrey Cornwell
