Kids require all the nutrients for optimal growth and physical development. Therefore they need to eat a balanced nutrition diet during their formative years. Healthy eating habits prevent children from many chronic diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, etc. And promote the development of strong bones and teeth. A healthy meal boosts your child’s memory and improves the brain’s health. On the other hand, unhealthy fast food and snacks can negatively impact your child and make him/her more prone to common bacteria and viruses.
Physicians always advise vitamins and iron supplements for kids who do tantrum in eating healthy food. It promotes their normal growth and development and prevents them from falling prey to many diseases. Infusing healthy eating habits in kids is not an easy task, but by adding little creativity in your cooking and serving style, you can encourage them to eat healthier.
Tips To Inculcate Healthy Eating Habits In Your Child:
- Offer Choices Rather Than Specific Meals
Do not stick to a particular type of food; it can reduce the child’s interest in eating. Make a variety of cuisines from the healthy food items available in your kitchen. Try to give such foods to the kids close to their natural form possible because they contain a lot of nutrients. Avoid processed foods like chips, artificial juices, soda, etc. Eating different types of food makes your child’s food interesting and tasty.
- Involve Your Kids While Cooking
One of the best ways to lay the foundation of healthy eating habits in your child is by taking their help in cooking. It will allow you to teach your kid about nutrition as well as the kitchen hazards. Children lovingly eat the food they help to prepare.
- Be Their Role Model
If you are thinking that you will be sitting holding a packet of chips and convincing the child to eat vegetables, it will not be easy. To captivate your child towards healthy food, you also have to eat healthy food with him.
- Make Healthy Snacks
Keep copious amounts of fruits, vegetables, and beverages in your refrigerator, so that you can make healthy and tasty snacks for your kids whenever they feel hunger. Don’t stick to specific recipes; try to make something unique and appetizing with the available items.
- Cook More At Home
Some people often order food from restaurants or eating points. But takeout meals are not healthy and contain large amounts of unhealthy fats and sugar, which is not good for your child’s health. So, it would be much better to cook at home as much as possible. You do not always have to cook royal cuisines; you can make simple food because it’s more healthy.
- Limit The Portion Sizes
Do not try to feed your child over the limit; in lieu of this, limit the portion sizes and feed the child in small intervals.
Foods To Encourage
Here is a list of food that you should encourage your child to eat.
- Vegetables
Vegetables are an abundant source of vital nutrients and provide sufficient energy and immunity to your child to fight against the vulnerable disease. However, it is important to note that frozen vegetables contain a large amount of sodium content, so you should avoid them.
- Fruits
Fruits also have many health benefits and contain a good amount of vitamin C and potassium, required by the kid’s body to fight against infectious disease and keep blood pressure normal.
- Dairy Products
During formative years a child’s bones and teeth develop, which requires a lot of calcium. And dairy products such as milk, cheese, butter, curd are the main source of calcium. So, your child needs to eat them in good amounts.
- Whole Grains
Whole grain is a better fiber source, vitamin B, iron, folate, potassium, magnesium. There it’s vital to encourage your child for whole-grain bread and pasta instead of refined grain products. They prompt healthy digestion by adding bulk to your child’s stool and reduces the constipation problem to a great extent. The kids who consume whole-grain products do not need to take iron supplements.
- Protein Rich Food
Proteins are basic building blocks of the body and are responsible for repairing tissues of every part of the body, such as muscles, hair, nails, skin, etc. Therefore children need to eat enough protein-rich food to be healthy. Some of the examples of protein-rich food are beans, eggs, nuts, and soy products.
In Final Words:
To sum up, apart from the above-mentioned tips, there are several other ways to instill healthy eating habits in the child. No matter how it is done, the main thing is that your child should eat a healthy diet so that he/she can get all the essential nutrients.
