Building a healthy food habit for your kids

When it comes to a child’s ability to make healthy food choices, it all dawns on their parents. Our food habits are partly a reflection of our parents and our environment. There are some few ways which are definitely proven to help your kids build a healthy food habit. These include;

1. Make mealtimes a priority

Sitting down at the table as a family is an important part of establishing healthy eating habits. But it’s more than just eating together. Mealtimes are also a chance to:

1. Monitor their eating habits: it is the parents’ job to monitor what their child eats, while the child is in the best position to decide what to eat. Use this time to watch what and how they eat. See if there is anything you can do to encourage better habits.
2. Set an example for your child: If you prepare and eat healthy foods yourself, your child will eat healthier, too. Avoid obsessive calorie-counting. Your child could adopt the same attitude. This could lead your child to develop body negative associations with food or have poor food habits.

2. Pack healthy lunchbox snacks to sustain energy

It is important to offer healthy lunch box choices. Tips include fresh fruit, crunchy vegetables and a combination of protein, dairy and carbohydrate foods. Packing a healthy lunchbox is a great way to create a mental imprint on kids of the right idea of a healthy food. Some schools have a canteen, and schools need to decide what type of food is made available to children. If less healthy foods are available it is best to choose to pack a lunchbox.

Some Foods to put in a lunch box include:

1. Fresh fruit
2. Crunchy vegetables
3. A meat or protein food such as slices of lean meat, hard boiled egg, peanut butter or nut paste
4. Dairy food such as a cheese stick or slice, grated cheese, milk or yoghurt
5. Starchy food such as bread, a roll, pita or flatbread, fruit bread or crackers

3. Go Food Shopping With Kids to Teach Them Healthy Eating Choices

To show your child healthy eating choices and building good food habit, filling your grocery shopping cart with fresh produce and cutting down on processed foods is the best way to build their habits towards a healthy food.

Tips on how you can help keep the focus on healthy options;

1. Make a List: making a list with your kids is a sure way to ensure that kids learn the habit of decision when it comes to choosing between a healthy food and junk food. Making a list also makes shopping easier.
2. Choosing and Storing Foods: making kids help with the choosing of food at the store can also help them develop the skill of knowing the right food to choose based on its freshness. Kids also learn the proper way to store these food items when they are involved.
3. Make Room for Treats: always make room for a treat or two because totally banning sweet treats can make a child more likely to eat them more when they get the opportunity elsewhere (such as school or a friend’s house). Never use treats as a bribe, it sends the wrong message. Try to steer them toward healthy snacks like nuts and raisins.

4. Cook With your Kids

Cooking with your kids encourages participation in nutrition and healthy eating. Kids of every age can help out in the kitchen. 

Here are tips on how to make your preschoolers involved in Cooking: 

1. They can help unloading food items
2. Help wash food items
3. Help place food item in the blender
4. Measure down spices you would need
5. Help dispose of used item

Older kids can do jobs like

1. Cutting vegetables
2. Stirring foods
3. Adding spices

And evidently kids grow up to make healthier food choices and Cook great meals.

References

6 nutrition tips for healthy, active kids (published by Health 24) https://m.health24.com/Lifestyle/Healthy-you/6-nutrition-tips-for-healthy-active-kids-20160610

How to Build Healthy Eating Habits in Kids by Katherine Lee (published by Very well family) https://www.verywellfamily.com/how-to-build-healthy-eating-habits-in-kids-620670

Nutrition Tips for Kids (published by family doctor) https://familydoctor.org/nutrition-tips-for-kids/amp/

Lunch box tips (published by better health channel) https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/lunch-box-tips#:~:text=Healthy%20lunches%20and%20snacks%20are,helps%20children%20concentrate%20and%20learn.

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