It’s no secret that when children find their favorite tastes they’ll quickly develop a preference for these foods, unfortunately most the time these foods aren’t always the best for them, so the problem is often finding a way to make the healthy alternatives more appealing. Despite how good your intentions may be in trying to get your child to eat an apple instead of a candy bar, or convince them that grapes are just as good and tasty as a cookie, success may be a fleeting task. So, what are you supposed to do to try and convince them otherwise and in the process ensure that they maintain a diet that is both nutritious and wholesome?
One thing to constantly keep in mind is how most children are prone to imitating their parents and older siblings; it’s because of this that it is important to help set a good example for all your children so in turn they can see and understand how to behave as they grow up. Essentially, it does nothing to tell your children how to eat whilst you maintain a diet of fast food and soda—lead by example.
Top tips to promote healthy childhood eating
- Eating at Home vs. Eating Out: Eating a home cooked meal is generally a lot healthier than going out to eat; restaurants tend to use large amounts of grease and oil making that dinner that’s very costly even more expensive, but not just to your pocket book, but to your body as well. Plus, eating at home sets a great example to your children about the importance of food, both what they’re putting into their body, but also what they’re using to make meals. Dining out is not a bad thing at all, but it should be reserved to special occasions.
- Family Meals Foster Family Time: Schedules are difficult to constantly maintain and keep track of, but if there is a relative time in which the entire family can come together and eat, this will often times force the body to be hungry at specific times. This is one of many ways to regulate the amount of meals, and snacks which are consumed. Besides, it is a great time for families to come together to discuss familial matters, and bond.
- Variety, Variety, Variety: Keeping a large cache of edible fruits and veggies will often be enough to subdue those mid-meal munchies. If children or even yourself become hungry in between meals, after looking for the sweets and only seeing apples or grapes enough times, you’re both liable to succumb to the deliciousness of a more natural snack, oppose falling victim to the empty calories of chips and soda.
- Get Those Kids Involved: Children enjoy being included and having their thoughts heard, having them help adults grocery shop and plan meals will give everyone an opportunity to sit down and discuss the importance of nutritional value, meal planning, as well as the cost of what goes into what they eat.
- It’s All About Portion Sizes: There was a day when we couldn’t leave the table until our plates were all clean, this shouldn’t be the focus anymore. Don’t insist that your child “clean” there plate, just monitor that they’ve eaten a fair amount; sometimes our eyes are bigger than our stomachs, and sometimes our appetites just aren’t there, the same is of course true with children as well.
The Myth of the Picky Eaters:
Picky eaters aren’t always trying to make our lives difficult, in fact often is the case that it’s just a phase. Children’s palettes are different from an adults, a lot of times what may taste glorious to you may not be the case for a child, at least not yet. There is also the fear of the unknown, when it comes to foreign or new tastes; it’s not that they don’t like the food, it may just be they don’t know exactly how to feel about the new experience. In advertising, to convince consumers to purchase a product repetition is needed, this is also the case with children and food, it could take several times before they openly accept it.
Rather than simply insist your child eat a new food, try the following:
- Offer a new food only when your child is hungry and rested.
- Present only one new food at a time.
- Make it fun: a game, a play-filled experience. Cut the food into unusual shapes.
- Serve new foods with favorite foods to increase acceptance.
- Eat the new food yourself; children love to imitate.
- Have your child help to prepare foods. Often they will be more willing to try something when they helped to make it.
- Limit beverages. Picky eaters often fill up on liquids instead.
- Limit snacks to two per day.