How to encourage healthy eating habits in young children

How to encourage healthy eating habits in young children

Healthy eating behavior in toddlers is perhaps the most vital action that any parent or caretaker can do to promote a child’s health both at the moment and later on in life. Good nutrition behaviors may profoundly impact the development of a child both physically and psychologically, hence promoting long-term healthy eating behavior. However, this may be pretty tough to encourage, particularly in a fast-food-filled and sugary snacks-and-processed foods-dominated world. This article goes deep into some of the most effective ways parents and other caregivers can enforce healthy eating in young children. How to encourage healthy eating habits in young children

Early Introduction to Varied Healthy Foods

Actually, healthy eating starts as early as infancy. The baby is breastfed or formula-fed in the first year of life to provide the necessary nutrition, but when the solid foods are introduced around 6 months old, this is what sets the foundation for future eating. At this time, a variety of nutrient-dense foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins should be offered to develop broad palates.

In the early stages of childhood, introduce fruits and vegetables: Start them with low-pitched pureed vegetables such as pureed sweet potatoes, carrots, or peas, and then introduce fruits, apples, pears, and bananas. The more number of times a child is exposed to something, the higher the chance he may like it someday.

• Limit processed baby foods: As much as possible, feed your baby homemade or less processed baby foods in order to get the best nutrition without added sugar, salt, or preservatives.
• Model behavior: Children are very observant, and they will pick up everything they see. Parents must also be enjoying healthy foods because if the parents enjoy fruits and vegetables, the children will be more than willing to taste them.

Make Healthy Foods Fun and Appealing

Young children are more interested in food that looks fun and exciting. Parents can use this interest to make healthy foods more appealing. The idea is to make meals an enjoyable, playful experience that sparks curiosity and encourages kids to try new things.

• Colorful food: Use a number of colorful fruits and vegetables to prepare colorful food. Colorful fruit salad or a tray of vegetables served with hummus is sure to attract the eye of a child.
• Fun shapes and sizes: Fruit and vegetables may also be cut to interesting shapes or sizes, sandwiched through using cookie cutters. “Food faces” could be made by arranging pieces such as carrot and olive faces using cherry tomatoes or other ingredient variations.
• Interactive meals: Let your child build his own meal with healthy options, for example, build his own wrap or assemble his salad. He feels in charge of his meal choices and, therefore, will find the meal-making process exciting.

Positive Meal Environment

If the dinner atmosphere is loose, stress-free, and enjoyed, then children will like the food and be looking forward to meals, associating dining with positive events. Here’s how to create that kind of dinner atmosphere:

• Avoid making them forced to eat: Some research indicates forcing a child to eat when they do not want to may create a negative feeling towards the respective food. Instead, encourage them to try various foods but do not push or coerce them into eating. It is also a known strategy to use what is called a “no thank you bite” where you should accept at least one small portion before declaring that you do not like it.
• Eat together as a family: It is also a time when healthy eating and positive behavior can be modeled. As various studies suggest, kids who usually eat with their families also make healthy food choices.
• Remove distractions: Turn off the TV, put away phones, and focus on the meal at hand. This will help children pay attention to what they are eating, encourages mindful eating, and provides the opportunity for meaningful conversations.

Encourage Regular, Balanced Meals and Snacks

Children need nutrients to be provided all through the day for them to remain energetic and in good growth. Skipping meals and snacking on foods with lots of sugar or salt would leave them in imbalances in their nutrient. Use a balanced approach with meals at regular intervals and healthy snacks.

• Provide scheduled meals and snacks: Actually, scheduled meals and snacks make it possible to make a routine and avoid eating too much between those big meals. So, three major meals and two to three healthy snacks per day.
• It should comprise of all kinds of food groups: that is fruits and vegetables, whole grains, protein coming from beans, chicken, or fish, and healthy fats coming from avocados and nuts. In this regard, children have to eat something else for each meal, thus increasing the probability of acquiring sufficient levels of their nutrient needs.
• Healthy Snacks: Nutrient-dense snacks rather than empty-calorie snacks. Apples, yogurts, whole-grain crackers with cheese, or even sliced veggies and hummus would be great. Avoid unhealthy snack options, including chips or sweet treats.

Involving Children in Meal Planning and Preparation

One of the best ways to encourage kids to eat healthy foods is by involving them in the process. It has been found that kids are more likely to accept eating what they help prepare, and the experience of planning and making meals together has a propensity of increasing their interest in trying new foods.

• Involve them in grocery shopping: This can be quite fun when you take your child to the grocery store and he can pick fruits and vegetables that look interesting to him. You ask him questions like, “Which fruit do you want to try today?” and spark his curiosity.
• Let them be involved in meal preparation: The extent of what they can do will depend on age but the majority can do very simple things such as washing vegetables, stirring some of the ingredients, or setting the table. Giving responsibility can make them prouder of the meal they are having and, therefore, more likely to eat it.
• Teach cooking skills: It is a great way of boosting their independence and confidence in the kitchen by teaching basic cooking skills to the older children. This also makes them more excited about trying different foods since they helped make them.

Be Patient and Persistent

It is a slow process to teach healthy eating in children, and hence it requires one to be patient and persistent. With time, the taste buds of children change, and they might take several attempts to accept a new food. A child may decline a certain food on its first, second, or even tenth attempt.

• Introduce new foods: Experiments have proven that children may need up to 10-15 presentations of a new food before they accept it. Even if they are rejected, do not lose hope. Just present in different ways or with other foods.
• Be patient with picky eating: Picky eating is normal when a child develops. Do not get frustrated and offer different varieties of good food; encourage your child at his own pace to try more new foods.

Limit Sugary Drinks and Junk Food

While it would be tempting to reward your child with a sugary drink or some junk food, this shouldn’t be done very often because such practices can be detrimental to good eating habits. Excessive sugar and unhealthy fats are associated with childhood obesity and cavities.

• Hydrate with water or milk: Water should be the main fluid that you are providing for your child. Milk is another wonderful beverage since it is full of calcium and vitamin D. But only if you are going to provide juice, let it be a 100 percent fruit juice, and just once a day.
• Limit processed snacks: It’s all right to splurge every so often, but attempt to make processed snacks, sugary cereals, and fast food the exception rather than the rule. Clearly set boundaries around these foods so they do not become a regular part of your child’s diet.

Lead by Example: Model Healthy Eating Behaviors

Children learn by watching the behaviors of the adults around them, particularly their parents. The best way to encourage your child to have healthy eating habits is to practice it yourself.

• Eat a variety of healthy foods: Let your child see you enjoying a range of nutritious foods such as salads, whole grains, and lean proteins. If you enjoy healthy foods, then the child is more likely to enjoy the same.
• Show a positive attitude toward food: Do not use the word “good” or “bad” in describing food. Talk about how it makes your body strong and healthy.

How to encourage healthy eating habits in young children

Healthy eating habits among young children are activities that can only be built over time using sufficient patience and consistency. Parents and caregivers can lay down a lifetime foundation of healthy eating habits by establishing a positive mealtime environment, introducing a wide range of nutrient-dense foods early, involving the children in preparation or cooking meals, and modeling healthy behavior. No doubt there will be some challenges, but the benefit is in having taught the art of good food choice, which runs deep in the child’s life-the influence runs to growth, development, and well-being

Read More: How to improve overall health naturally and effectively

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