By M. Witham
It's a hard battle when you have picky, little eaters at home. Children are notorious for their odd and potentially non-nutritious eating habits. But as we continue to learn the importance of healthy eating to help prevent disease, illness and obesity, there is more pressure on parents to help their children learn the importance of healthy, nutritious foods. Although it's not always going to work, there are many ways to help encourage healthy eating habits for your kids. The most important thing to remember is patience with your picky, little eaters. Some days you may have to succumb to a cookie to keep the peace at home, but as long as most food choices are nutrient packed, you are on the right track.
Here are 5 tips to help your family, especially your children, make better food choices:
1. Be their role models as parents
It's hard to expect your kids to be making healthy food choices if you, as the parents are not providing an example for them to follow. Parents have a huge influence on their young ones so make sure that they are seeing you eat balanced meals and very limited junk food. By showing your kids a good example, it will make it a lot easier to win the battle on nutritious food. Be excited and show enthusiasm about good foods like fresh fruits and vegetables so your kids will be too.
2. Keep your kitchen stocked with fruits and vegetables
If you haven't already, now is a good time to go through your cupboards and remove all of the temptations of bad food choices. If you only provide fresh fruits and vegetables as snacks then your kids will soon learn to make these choices rather than chips or cookies. For the most part, we are much more likely to make smart food choices if we are not tempted by less healthy options. Eating well is easy when it is available for us, so try to make good foods readily available to your children.
3. Make food fun with games
If you are still struggling to make fruits and veggies fun, try to implement games that will encourage your kids to eat them. You could even make grocery shopping part of the game so that your kids learn how to pick out healthy options. For example, have your kids help you pick out fresh produce in every color of the rainbow. This will be a fun challenge for them and perhaps they will be more likely to try new foods as a result. You know that you have an unbalanced diet when your foods are all white or bland in color. So finding as many colors as you can, you will surely be getting extra nutrients.
4. Try to not to restrict food choices
Sometimes the more parents limit food choices, the more the kids will want to eat them. If you make strict restrictions on things such as candy, you are going to end up with a resistant child. So if your little ones do have a craving for a tasty treat, allow them to enjoy it and they will be less likely to keep asking for it. It's a good idea to explain that such foods are not a really good choice so we can only have them once in a while.
5. Educate your children from a young age
Education is the key to understanding why we should eat a certain way. Kids may not understand why they have to eat so many vegetables so if you can help them to understand the consequences of good and bad food choices, they will grow up with a better understanding. Simply knowing what certain foods do to our bodies can really help us to make the right choices. Especially as your kids begin to try to new foods and flavors, keep them educated on what the benefits of those specific foods are. Or if they are asking for non-nutritious foods, you could also explain what the bad side effects of that food will be.
Once your kids realize that you are not torturing them with food, they will be able to appreciate the gift of health. By making a few shifts in the food that you eat and cook, your kids will start to learn healthy behaviors that will help them in school and their development process. Don't fall victim to the idea that kids hate all healthy foods. Keep trying and you will start to notice more positive patterns. Remember to stay patient and continue to encourage healthy habits and eventually your picky little eaters will drop the picky.
If you live or work in Highland, Fulton, Columbia or the surrounding communities of Maryland and are searching for quality, affordable childcare, Little Builders Learning Center is now accepting applications for all of our MD childcare programs including infant and toddler care as well as our preschool. For more information or to schedule a tour of our facility, please contact our Maryland daycare center today.
It's a hard battle when you have picky, little eaters at home. Children are notorious for their odd and potentially non-nutritious eating habits. But as we continue to learn the importance of healthy eating to help prevent disease, illness and obesity, there is more pressure on parents to help their children learn the importance of healthy, nutritious foods. Although it's not always going to work, there are many ways to help encourage healthy eating habits for your kids. The most important thing to remember is patience with your picky, little eaters. Some days you may have to succumb to a cookie to keep the peace at home, but as long as most food choices are nutrient packed, you are on the right track.
Here are 5 tips to help your family, especially your children, make better food choices:
1. Be their role models as parents
It's hard to expect your kids to be making healthy food choices if you, as the parents are not providing an example for them to follow. Parents have a huge influence on their young ones so make sure that they are seeing you eat balanced meals and very limited junk food. By showing your kids a good example, it will make it a lot easier to win the battle on nutritious food. Be excited and show enthusiasm about good foods like fresh fruits and vegetables so your kids will be too.
2. Keep your kitchen stocked with fruits and vegetables
If you haven't already, now is a good time to go through your cupboards and remove all of the temptations of bad food choices. If you only provide fresh fruits and vegetables as snacks then your kids will soon learn to make these choices rather than chips or cookies. For the most part, we are much more likely to make smart food choices if we are not tempted by less healthy options. Eating well is easy when it is available for us, so try to make good foods readily available to your children.
3. Make food fun with games
If you are still struggling to make fruits and veggies fun, try to implement games that will encourage your kids to eat them. You could even make grocery shopping part of the game so that your kids learn how to pick out healthy options. For example, have your kids help you pick out fresh produce in every color of the rainbow. This will be a fun challenge for them and perhaps they will be more likely to try new foods as a result. You know that you have an unbalanced diet when your foods are all white or bland in color. So finding as many colors as you can, you will surely be getting extra nutrients.
4. Try to not to restrict food choices
Sometimes the more parents limit food choices, the more the kids will want to eat them. If you make strict restrictions on things such as candy, you are going to end up with a resistant child. So if your little ones do have a craving for a tasty treat, allow them to enjoy it and they will be less likely to keep asking for it. It's a good idea to explain that such foods are not a really good choice so we can only have them once in a while.
5. Educate your children from a young age
Education is the key to understanding why we should eat a certain way. Kids may not understand why they have to eat so many vegetables so if you can help them to understand the consequences of good and bad food choices, they will grow up with a better understanding. Simply knowing what certain foods do to our bodies can really help us to make the right choices. Especially as your kids begin to try to new foods and flavors, keep them educated on what the benefits of those specific foods are. Or if they are asking for non-nutritious foods, you could also explain what the bad side effects of that food will be.
Once your kids realize that you are not torturing them with food, they will be able to appreciate the gift of health. By making a few shifts in the food that you eat and cook, your kids will start to learn healthy behaviors that will help them in school and their development process. Don't fall victim to the idea that kids hate all healthy foods. Keep trying and you will start to notice more positive patterns. Remember to stay patient and continue to encourage healthy habits and eventually your picky little eaters will drop the picky.
If you live or work in Highland, Fulton, Columbia or the surrounding communities of Maryland and are searching for quality, affordable childcare, Little Builders Learning Center is now accepting applications for all of our MD childcare programs including infant and toddler care as well as our preschool. For more information or to schedule a tour of our facility, please contact our Maryland daycare center today.
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