How Can You Encourage Children to Eat Healthily?
Working around that picky eater is never a simple task, especially when the only foods a child seems interested in comes in a box and is full of sugar. Fortunately, it is possible to encourage healthier eating habits for children. It will take a little work, but parents can get children to eat a healthy diet and start reaching for healthy foods rather than processed and unhealthy alternatives.
Start Early:
Offering healthy food choices from the time a baby starts on solid foods is a major key in getting them to eat a healthy diet. Encouraging healthy choices like fruits and vegetables for snacks from a young age will make it easier to keep children on a healthy diet even when they start going to school or seeing sweets advertised on TV.
The earlier a parents starts ensuring children only have healthy food choices, the easier it is to get a child to remain on the diet plan.
Offer Variety:
While most parents know that carrots and apples are good for health, it is also boring when the only choices children have for a snack is one or two foods. Encouraging healthy choices for snacks and meals starts with ensuring a wide variety of choices are available.
Having several fruits and vegetables available for snacks between meals and offering a choice of a few healthy options to the child will make it easier for children to eat healthy foods. Nobody wants to eat the same thing every day and children need to feel a little independence in their food choices to avoid the inevitable unpleasant temper tantrums.
Take Children Shopping:
Children enjoy playing the role of an adult and shopping at the grocery store is an excellent way for parents to teach children about nutrition and healthy food choices. Take the children through the produce section and ask their opinion about different foods they want to try or enjoy.
Add the foods they suggest from the produce section to the cart. This gives them a feeling of independence and helps parents learn more about their children’s personal tastes and interests in healthy foods. If a child likes the taste of a healthy food, he or she is more likely to eat it later.
Make Meals Pleasant:
Eating meals as a family and making it a time for enjoyable conversation and laughter will ensure that it is a stress-free environment. While eating meals as a family, encourage children to eat slowly and enjoy their food. That will prevent the formation of an overeating habit because children will notice that they are full much faster.
Offer Fruits for Desserts:
Instead of cakes, cookies and other junk food items for dessert, parents should cut fresh fruit and top it with homemade whipped cream. Berries are particularly useful as a dessert due to the sweet taste.
Healthy eating for a lifetime starts at home. Parents should always encourage children to eat a healthy diet. The result of starting early is a lifetime of healthy food choices, proper portion sizes and a healthier body.