Helping kids make healthy food choices

When children are born, they are a blank canvas. Much of what they learn comes from their parents, siblings and the people around them. Getting your kids to make healthier food choices starts very early in their lives.

They will take many cues from you. If you scrunch up your face when you are feeding them their peas and spinach, you can be sure that they will be registering that information. You also need to be vigilant if you have a caregiver that they are on the same nutrition page as you are.

Some children refuse to try new foods and are adamant in their tastes even as small children. Getting them to make healthier food choices is going to be challenging but with the proper attitude on your part, it can be achieved.

First, keep junk food out of your house. If it isn’t a choice between a cookie and a piece of fruit it will be much easier to make healthy food choices a way of life. Potato chips have little nutritional value and way too much salt to be a healthy choice unless you make your own.

Potatoes are nutrition powerhouses. You can start your children choosing yogurt, fresh vegetables and air-popped popcorn over fatty, artificial and salty snacks as soon as they understand what snacking is all about. For older children, having nuts to snack on is an excellent healthy choice.

How you eat yourself, will determine the type of eater you child/children will be. Do you understand the food pyramid? Do you think it is where the pharaohs were buried? If you don’t make healthy good choices your children won’t either.

You can still enjoy fast food. There are plenty of ways to make fast food meals healthy. At Panera Bread for instance, with your sandwich, you have a choice of sliced apple or potato chips.

At home, you can make it a rule that every food that is placed on your child’s plate needs to at least be tasted. Carrots especially make a very healthy snack. If you place a variety of food before your child they will try a variety of foods. If they hate zucchini they may love tomatoes and cucumbers.

Try to offer whole grains over white. Using whole wheat pasta, brown rice and stone ground wheat flour will add lots of extra nutrition to your child’s diet without denying them some of their favorite foods. Little children need fat in their diet so whole milk is the correct choice but as they get older you can switch easily to low-fat milk. Lots of healthy alternatives to the things that kids love to eat are available.

Your child’s diet is in your hands. When it comes to getting kids to make healthy food choices, your job is to offer them healthy choices and help them understand the lifelong benefits of making healthy food choices.

If you concentrate on providing them with healthy food from which to choose, you may find that your own diet will improve as well as your health.