Every parent wishes their kid was born a healthy eater, but that’s not always reality. Healthy Food habits for kids are inspired, encouraged, and empowered by parents. Around the world, Many children are either dealing with obesity or malnourishment. Children need the right foods at the right time to grow and develop to their full potential. What is good nutrition for kids?
A healthy balance plate with protein, carbs, good fats, fiber and probiotics can give children the necessary nutrition at right age.
Talk About Food
When it comes to talking about nutrition with kids, start by incorporating food talk into everyday conversation, like when grocery shopping or making a snack together. “This may feel unnatural”, However, with practice, it can become a really great way to focus on the benefits of real, whole foods, and how they support our bodies to be healthy and strong.” Here are some color-coded conversation starters:
❤️ “Red foods help you have a strong heart.”
💛 “Yellow foods contain a lot of vitamin A which helps your skin stay healthy.”
💚 “Green foods are good for digestion, which is a fancy word for how your body gets energy from the foods you eat!”
💜 “Purple foods can help you have a strong brain and support heart health!”
Eating together as a family, respecting their hunger and fullness cues, and building a balanced plate are all great first steps.”
Encourage Mindful Eating
Mindfulness is an important part of developing and maintaining a healthy relationship with food—encouraging people to make choices that are both nourishing and satisfying. Mindful eating includes noticing what you’re consuming, as well as how your body feels while you’re eating.
Babies are true mindful eaters. They know when they’re hungry and when they’re full. It’s up to us as caregivers to allow this to continue.” You’re probably wondering how parents can support mindful eating when sitting still isn’t typically a kid’s strong suit? Below are some great suggestions here.
- Create a distraction-free environment. That means no screens. “Regular mealtime should be a screen-free moment,” This is “to allow a person to connect with their bodily cues so they can gauge how much they’ve eaten and if they are feeling full.”
- Encourage kids to use their senses. Yes, it’s sometimes OK for kids to play with their food. “Let your child be a scientist while eating and explore their meal or snack using all 5 senses—seeing, smelling, tasting, touching and hearing what they’re eating!”’
- Allow kids to serve themselves. “Allowing a child to serve themselves is a great moment for a child to practice independence,” Roosevelt tells us. “They’re also learning about serving sizes and how much food is appropriate for their own appetite.”
Avoid force feeding or restricting foods that we feel they’ve had ‘enough’ of or that we feel are ‘less-healthy’.” This supports mindful eating because it encourages kids to be attune with their bodies.
Model Healthy Behaviors
When it comes to supporting kids’ nutrition, like with all healthy habits, parents lead by example. As Roosevelt explains, “When children are exposed to healthy options and see the grown-ups in their life regularly making healthy choices, this can have a positive impact on a child’s nutrition habits.” That means everyone is eating brain-boosting foods at mealtime. Eating together is a key factor in modeling—for infants, toddlers, and older kids. “There are many benefits to eating together as a family or having a child eat with a caregiver” Roosevelt says. These go well beyond promoting positive eating habits as family mealtime promotes healthy communication and can improve children’s self-esteem.
Healthy habits take time, but every conversation or meal is an opportunity for learning and growth. Your dedication to your kids’ nutrition when they are young is laying the foundation for healthy eating habits that can last a lifetime. Today’s picky eaters could be tomorrow’s health-enthusiasts.
Developing good eating habits
Getting children to consume a healthier diet can be tough, but the ten suggestions below should help make it a bit easier. Below are 10 examples.
- Set the example. Children tend to mimic what we do. Make meals a pleasant time and serve a wide variety of healthy foods. Let your children see that you enjoy eating a varied diet, including fruits and vegetables.
- Make food a family affair. Children are more likely to eat meals to which they’ve contributed in some way. This might mean helping make the weekly meal plan, shopping at a farmer’s market, washing vegetables for a salad, or even preparing or cooking some of the meal, depending on your child’s age.
- Substitute healthier choices. Replace regular fries with sweet potatoes or try hummus, salsa, or chutney instead of high-fat sauces. Serve yogurt, fruit, or dark chocolate instead of rich desserts.
- Plant a garden. Home-grown vegetables almost always taste better, and the accomplishment children feel in growing them is highly motivating. Try easy-to-grow vegetables like radishes, carrots, peas, greens, or compact, determinate tomato varieties. Many of these plants can be grown in containers on a patio if space is limited.
- Try the ‘polite bite’ rule. Studies show that many children don’t like a food until they’ve tried it at least 20 times. So, keep serving vegetables and ask your child to take one “polite bite.” This practice respects a child’s preferences while giving them opportunity to try new foods. Still no luck? Many children dislike the texture of steamed vegetables, but they’ll try them raw with a dip, or roasted. Another option is to introduce veggies in a smoothie or sauce.
- Teach healthy attitudes about food. Try to approach food and meals as a joyful part of life; de-emphasize conversations that promote certain foods as healthy and other foods as unhealthy. Instead, serve a variety of delicious foods, including occasional sweets or desserts. Don’t use food as a weapon or bribe. Let your child serve themself, taking just the right portion.
- Bring back the family dinner. Today’s families are feeling the pinch of busy schedules and routines, but there’s something very special about eating a meal at home as a family. Try to have family dinner at least a couple nights a week, or family breakfast on the weekends. Turn off the television and other distractions, and really focus on the food and each other.
- Be thoughtful about snacks. There’s nothing wrong with an afternoon snack, but don’t let it sabotage dinner. Serve snacks at least two hours before a meal. Offer healthy snacks such as cheese and whole-grain crackers, sliced veggies, or a piece of fruit. Provide water instead of juice or milk between meals.
- Learn to love water. Liquids don’t offer the same sense of fullness that solid foods do, so it’s easy to consume a lot of calories through them. Skip juice, soda, and even milk for most meals and offer water instead.
- Respect food preferences. Some researchers theories that picky eating is an evolutionary response going back to a time when overly adventurous young children could actually die from eating poisonous berries or plants. Take picky eating in stride, don’t make a big deal out of it, and don’t use food as a bribe or reward.