habits for their children. The mere existence of peer pressure, television commercials, and other forms of advertisements can make educating kids about health and nutrition seem impossible. For this reason, the best local and international schools in Manila incessantly assist parents in educating and promoting healthy eating and choices habits among their young ones.
When you want your child to grow healthy and strong, there are specific nutrients, which your kid must consume on a regular basis, which are:
- Good Sources of Protein
- Vegetables and Fruits
- Healthy Fats
However, being knowledgeable about these healthy food sources is not enough to make your kids eat right. This is why we’ve come up with an effective guide that you can follow to make your kids eat and love healthy foods.
Teach Healthy Eating Habits Early
Educating your child at an early age will definitely help you in instilling the right mindset to choose and eat healthy as they grow overtime. Use meal and snack times as learning moments to help your child make wise food choices. By doing this, you are aiding your kid to have healthy eating habits that will greatly affect their overall wellness as they mature.
Get Them Involved
When you involve your kids in planning meals, grocery shopping, and preparing food, they will feel invested and devoted in the process. Additionally, when you involve your children in the process of planning and preparing the food – whether they may be a toddler or a teenager – they will certainly help you in making food choices that they will appreciate. You can always ask their honest opinions and suggestions about what food they like to consume, which will help you make decisions in terms of meals to cook and how to integrate healthy ingredients to these meals. Lastly, when you practice this habit constantly, you get them interested in healthy cooking and eating for themselves in the future.
Avoid Placing Restrictions on Food
Restricting your child from certain foods will give kids the negative impression that may proliferate the risk of your child in developing eating disorders like anorexia or bulimia in the long process. This will also create a negative effect on your child’s growth and development. Instead of telling your kids what not to eat, start with positive reinforcement on the nutritious alternatives they could eat.
In its place, do your best to talk with them about all the healthy and nutritional food options available in the market. By doing this, you are encouraging your child to choose fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, and low-fat dairy over heavily processed and low quality junk foods.
Keep Healthy Foods at Hand
As a parent and their guardian, you should know that children would most likely eat the food that is easily available. For this reason, you must always keep healthy and nutritional food at hand. Having a fruit bowl, carrot sticks, whole grain crackers, light popcorn, raisins, and water bottles on your counter are the best things that you can do to encourage them to eat healthy. Remember that your child can only choose food that you stock in your house. Make it a point to stock healthy food at your house and rest assured that your kid will eat better.
Be a Role Model
If you want to make your kids eat healthy, then they should see you eating healthy first. Always remember that your children’s food preferences are based on the selections that you both like and dislike. When your child sees you order, cook, and eat healthy foods such as a fresh salad or fresh fruits rather than a low-quality burger and fries will definitely encourage him/her to do the same. Remember, your child looks up to you and many times pick up your habits. Start with yourself, and everything will follow.
Praise Healthy Choices
When your child picks healthy food constantly, give him/her a proud smile and praise him/her for the wise choice he/she has made. By doing this on a regular basis, the chances of your child to pick and eat healthy food will surely increase. Through positive reinforcement and support, your child will associate the positive emotions to the choices they make.
Avoid Nagging About Unhealthy Choices
On some days, your child will most likely pick unhealthy food over the healthy ones. When this happens, avoid nagging them about their selection. Instead, redirect them by suggesting or recommending a healthier option. For instance, instead of regular potato chips and dip, you can always offer them baked tortilla chips and salsa. Or instead of buying and consuming French fries from fast food chains, suggest roasting cut up potatoes in the oven. It is not about restriction but about moderation. Avoid negative comments, and instead correct them lovingly and in a supportive manner.
Making your kids eat healthy food may be a struggle at first. However, when you dedicate your time and effort in teaching them constantly about their benefits, it will help them develop healthy eating habits. Additionally, never give up on offering them these kinds of food selections. Remember that your child will surely eat healthy when you continuously offer these foods to them. The time will come that they’ll learn to eat well on their own, which is the key to great health in the long run.
