Creating a “healthy home” can be easier than you think.
Creating a nutritionally healthy home is one of the most important steps you can take to ensure the health of your kids. To start, make smart food choices, and help your kids develop a positive relationship with healthy food. Your children will learn their food smarts from your example.
The following are ten great tips to get your children to eat healthy food:
1. Never restrict food from your children. Doing so actually increases your children’s risk of developing eating disorders later in life, such as bulimia and anorexia. Also, food restriction tends to hinder growth and development, as well as leading to bing eating later in the day. Bing eating leads to weight gain.
2. Stock you home with healthy choices. Kids tend to eat what is easy for them to access. Take advantage of this fact by keeping fruit in a bowl on the kitchen table, rather than in the refrigerator. Limit the high calorie, high sugar, high fat foods that you keep around. Keeping healthy food choices will educate your children on making the healthy choices when it comes to food.
3. Don’t label foods as “good” or “bad.” Instead, tie foods to the things your child cares about, such as sports, academics and hobbies. Let your child know that lean protein such as turkey and calcium in dairy products give strength to their sports and academic performance, the antioxidants in fruits and vegetables add luster to skin and hair and the carbs in whole grains will give them energy to play.
4. Praise healthy choices. Give your children a proud smile and tell them how smart they are when they choose healthy foods. Kids thrive on positive reinforcement!
5. For time to time children eat unhealthy. After all, they are children. However, if you find that your children are consistently making the unhealthy choice, then you need to intervene. Replace pudding snacks with healthy yogurt. Replace candy with both fresh and dried fruit. Before you know it, your children will desire healthy foods over those filled with empty calories.
6. Refrain from utilizing food as a prize. Such acts usually lead to weight problems for your children later in life. Conversely, you should honor your children by taking them swimming, hiking, skiing, or with a game of catch. So long as it is something which engages them in physical activity.
7. Eat dinner as a family at the dinner table. You should make this a tradition in your home, if it is not already. It has been proven that children who eat dinner at the table with their parents are not only better nourished, but have less of a likelihood to get into trouble later in life.
8. Prepare plates in the kitchen. There you can put healthy portions of each item on everyone’s dinner plate. Your children will learn to recognize correct portion sizes. Too often people go for seconds and even thirds just because the food is right there. You might notice that you need less food to feel full!
9. Allow your children to exercise some decision making. Listen to your children’s food likes and dislikes. This is especially important when it comes to healthy food. When healthy foods are the food of choice for your children, serve these foods to them more often. Conversely, offer foods which your children do not like less often.
10. Try to consult your pediatrician. Always try and talk with your child’s doctor before putting your child on a diet, trying to help your child gain weight, or making any significant changes in the type of foods your child eats. If weight change is recommended, seek the help of proper literature on the subject.
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