Creating a \”healthy home\” can be easier than you think.
Putting together a nutritionally sound home is the first step to assuring the health of your children. Begin by making the right food choices. This will allow your children to begin an affirmative association with healthy food. Your children will learn what they should and should not be eating by following your lead.
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. Have healthy food in your home. Your kids will eat what is visible to them. Use this to your advantage. For instance, keep apples, oranges, bananas and pears in a bowl on the counter, not a drawer in the fridge. Also limit the empty calorie foods which you keep on hand. Doing this will teach your children how to select a healthier diet.
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. Give you children credit for making healthy choices. Let them know that you are proud of them when they choose healthy foods over junk foods. Positive enforcement is important for your children.
5. Try not to get down on your children for unhealthy choices. If it is not a frequent occurrence, let it slide. Conversely, if your children are always choosing to eat unhealthy foods, then you need to steer their choices in the right direction. Replace candy with dried fruit. Instead of fries, try roasting potato sticks with a little bit of olive oil in the oven. Eventually, your children\’s eating habits will change for the good.
6. Never use food as a reward. This could create weight problems in later life. Instead, reward your children with something physical and fun — perhaps a trip to the park or a quick game of catch.
7. Make sure that you sit down and eat dinner as a family. This should become customary in your home if it is not already. The truth is that children who eat their dinner at the table with their parents not only eat more healthy, but are far less likely to get into trouble as teenagers.
8. Ration food portions for your children in the kitchen. This allows you to place healthy food portions on everyone\’s plate. In time, your children will be able to determine what is a healthy portion size.
9. Give the kids some control. Ask your children to take three bites of all the foods on their plate and give it a grade, such as A, B, C, D, or F. When healthy foods – especially certain vegetables — get high grades, serve them more often. Offer the items your children don\’t like less frequently. This lets your children participate in decision making. After all, dining is a family affair!
10. Consultation with a pediatrician prior to changing your child\’s diet is recommended, if possible. If your child does need to change their weight, then make sure that you consult the proper literary resources to receive the help that you need.
Looking resources to assist in weight loss for kids, then visit Megan Hillard\’s website to find the best advice on weight loss for children, your children.
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