Helping Your Children Eat Healthier

Starting to eat healthy at a young age can have benefits for life. Here are some tips to help your children eat healthier and enjoy their food. 

As parents, we all want our children to eat a healthy and balanced diet, but getting them to actually do so can sometimes be a challenge. With the abundance of unhealthy snacks and fast food options available, it can be difficult to convince children to choose nutritious options. However, with some creative thinking and gentle encouragement, it is possible to make healthy eating a lifelong habit for your children. Here are some practical tips to help you start.

Set a good example

Children are highly observant and often model their behaviour after the adults around them. Therefore, it is important to set a good example by eating a healthy and balanced diet yourself. If your children see you enjoying fruits, vegetables, and other nutritious foods, they are more likely to follow suit. Along with this, help them understand the benefits of a well-rounded, healthy diet. They should know why nutrition is so important, and how it fuels our bodies.

Make healthy food fun

One of the easiest ways to get children excited about healthy food is by making it fun. You can do this by using colourful plates and bowls, creating fun shapes with fruits and vegetables, and letting your children help you prepare healthy meals. By making healthy food enjoyable, your children are more likely to choose nutritious options over unhealthy snacks.

Involve children in meal planning

Children are more likely to eat healthy food if they have a say in what they are eating—they need to feel like it’s their decision too, not something that is being enforced. You can involve your children in meal planning by asking them to help you choose recipes or by letting them pick out fruits and vegetables at the grocery store. By involving your children in the meal planning process, they will be more invested in eating healthy food.

Introduce new foods gradually

Introducing new foods can be a challenge for everyone, not just children, so it is important to do so gradually. Don’t completely overhaul the food being prepared at home—start by introducing small amounts of healthier whole foods alongside familiar foods, and gradually increase the amount over time. This can help children become more comfortable with new foods and eventually develop a taste for them. This goes hand-in-hand with respecting their choices—sometimes a food option doesn’t stick, and that should be alright. Each food group has various options within it, so don’t force something that they dislike. 

Limit unhealthy options

While it is important to introduce children to a variety of foods, it is also important to limit unhealthy options. This includes sugary drinks, processed snacks, and fast food. Instead, focus on providing healthy snacks like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and limiting sugary drinks to special occasions.

Be patient and persistent

Changing eating habits takes time and patience. It is important to be persistent and not give up if your children do not immediately take to healthy foods. Keep offering a variety of nutritious options and encourage your children to try new things. Over time, they may develop a taste for healthy foods and develop lifelong healthy eating habits.

At Seva At Home, we produce a wealth of free health information to help individuals and families live healthier, happier lives. This has been produced by independent research carried out by the Seva At Home team. This information is not a replacement for medical advice. Please consult your physician for relevant medical diagnosis and advice.

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