Tips & Tricks To Get Your Kids To Eat Healthy

It is never too soon to start teaching kids healthy eating habits. Of course the best way to teach and reinforce healthy eating habits is to lead by example, but sometimes it can be hard to break our own habits and that is part of what encourages us as parents to get our children off on the right foot. Knowing what is really healthy for our kids and finding creative and unique ways to help them learn to make the best decisions on their own is the second best way to try to teach our kids to eat healthy.

All parents know by now that poor eating habits can lead to a multitude of health or emotional problems as our children grow up, so how then can we start our kids off on the right track. The easiest part is to educate them. When you sit down to dinner with your toddler and you are eating carrots, casually mention how good they are for your eyesight or how the blueberries in your cereal have antioxidants that can help your heart. Kids pick up on what we say and the sooner we start saying it, the better the chance it sticks. Not to mention that someday when it comes up in your kid’s science class, they will be ahead of the game!

Any parent of a toddler knows that they can be finicky eaters, but we can take steps to keep that from happening or to at least make the pickiest eaters pick from healthy foods. It can also be hard to get older children to try new foods. Here are a few creative tips for how to introduce healthy foods into your children’s diet and give them more healthy food options to choose from.

• When stopping for fast food (because we all know we will) give your toddler a choice between only the healthier side dishes to go along with their chicken nuggets.
• Check out the labels on any juices or pre-packaged foods that you give your kids. Many have sugars that you don’t realize they have. If you can cut down on the amount of unnecessary sugar your children taste early on, you may be able to get them so use to natural flavors and sugars that things with added sugar seem too sweet to them.
• Push the water and milk as a drink choice. Not only is it healthier, but it can actually make it easier for your kids, and you, to taste the real flavors in their food.
• Let your child pick out at least one fresh fruit or vegetable that they want when you go grocery shopping and praise them for their choice. This can give your child a sense of pride for making a good decision.
• Buy a new fruit or vegetable that your kids haven’t tried before each time you go to the grocery store. Make it a fun family surprise and be prepared to try it yourself.
• Mix it up a little! Make a small fruit salad with some strawberries, bananas, apples and a few small marshmallows. Tell your kids that they can pick some fruits to mix next time.
• Make it easy on yourself too. Buy a bag of baby carrots or precut some of the fruits and vegetables that you know will keep well so that you or your kids can easily grab healthy snacks when you are in a hurry.

Curb appeal counts for kids too. We’ve all seen that dessert on the food show that made us salivate and kids are no different. If you have one of those really picky eaters that never wants to try new things or who thinks “that looks yucky”, try dressing it up. Put a scoop of yogurt on top of the fruit or arrange the vegetables into a happy face. Offer them foods that have a bright color to them or that look interesting and peek their little curiosity, like star fruit. You may have to think outside the box and get a little creative yourself. Exotic fruits and vegetables can be a good place to start.

Teaching our kids what not to eat or what should be eaten in moderation is just as important as teaching them what they should be eating. Candy and sodas aren’t going to disappear from the planet and it is important to teach your children what the downsides are to these foods, just like you taught them that carrots are good for their eyes. Let your children know that eating too many sweets and other bad foods can make them unhealthy. Put it into terms that they can understand as toddlers like letting them know it can make you more tired and have less energy to play, and then you can elaborate as they get older.

Don’t make these types of foods a taboo or a mystery because that may just add to the excitement of having them when they get older. If you want to keep a jar of candy on your counter top, go ahead. Don’t put it away just because you don’t want your kids to ask for candy all the time. You are the parent and you have the ability to teach them that just because it is there does not mean they have to have it. If you gave them a piece of candy yesterday and they ask again, just suggest that you have some yogurt together today instead. This can remind your kids that they have other options to satisfy that sweet tooth besides candy and help develop good decision making as they grow up.

Children learn the most and retain the most information between birth and age ten. There is no better time to teach a child healthy eating and living habits than at the time when it can be the most influential. Kids can surprise you with the things they remember. Think how good you will feel when your five year old is telling YOU that carrots are good for your eyes!