How to Encourage Healthy Eating Habits

There are many simple ways that you can encourage your children to have healthy eating habits. It starts with keeping all the good foods in sight and readily available, and can lead to such interactive things as helping to prepare meals and planting a garden.

Everywhere we go we see the phrase ‘eat right’. Sounds great but how exactly do you get your kids to start eating right? Most of us have a good idea of what some of the healthy foods are: fruits, vegetables and whole grains and what the unhealthy foods are: processed foods, sugary snacks, regular soda. Even if you shop smart it’s another thing to get your kids to eat it. If it’s not in a shiny package, a pretty color or makes funny noises when they chew they may say “no thank you.”

One of the simplest ways to get your kids to eat healthier is to be the gatekeeper and don’t bring the unhealthy options into your house in the first place.

When you do purchase the occasional treat,  do yourself and your kids a favor and think like a supermarket. Once in a while foods on the higher shelves, sometimes foods on the middle shelves and almost anytime foods on low shelves. When stocking a healthy, kid friendly pantry, that eye level is where the cartons of yogurt, snack packs of carrots, and apples go. Remember that eye level for them will be on the low on the shelves where they are most accessible. Also, arrange your home so the not so healthy-high calorie foods are out of sight and the healthier foods are in full view on the countertops or in a favorite drawer. That way the once in a while foods are not something your kids will be seeing every day. Always remember – everything in moderation. Sometimes a little treat is absolutely fine.

More often than not, you’ll want your kids to have a healthy snack but wholesome foods can take a longer time to prepare. In order to make sure that you don’t simply grab what’s available, take some time after your shopping trip or in the evening after dinner and cut up, wash and store your veggies so they become a take and go healthy snack. When doing this, keep an eye on portion sizes! This is a source of stress for many parents. A child’s portion is not the same as a large adult portion. Your children don’t need to eat the same amount as a hungry adult-although sometimes they seem as if they can eat twice as much. 

If you have a picky eater, a simple way to take the mystery out of food is to have your kids help out in the kitchen. When they help you prepare and cook a nutritious family meal they will be more willing to be try what they have helped to make. It’s also a good way to give mom or dad a hand in the kitchen.

Another way to encourage healthy eating is to plant a garden. This will help your kids learn about where food comes from and can give them some control as to what comes into the kitchen. This will not only help to educate them about where certain foods come from, but it will also teach them responsible since a garden will require regular attention. When the vegetables are ripe, let them pick what they have grown. Planting and cultivating a garden with your children is a fun and educational way to encourage healthy eating.
 
Encouraging healthy eating habits in your kids can be both fun and educational. The best part is that they will develop good habits that will last the rest of their lives.