Is your child eating healthy and eating adequate amount of food? Let us take a look at the 10 ways to make children eat more and eat healthy.All parents want their children to eat healthy and eat adequate amount of food every day. Kids have their own fuss and likings which normally change very frequently. These habits make parents and especially moms anxious about their child’s health and overall growth and development. Here are some ways with which you can help your child eat more and make nutritious choices while having any meal.
1. Create a Positive Environment
Create an environment where everyone in the family opts for healthy foods. In this way your child will have healthy nutritional alternatives in front of her. Children automatically follow what they see their parents doing. So, be a role model, eat healthy, bring in healthy foods at home and try to add variety in preparation and serving.
2. Set Good Examples
A supportive environment and positive relationship of the entire family with healthy food will make your child enjoy nutritious food. Leading your child by example is the ideal way to help her proceed in the same direction. From time immemorial kids have been modelling eating habits of their parents. So, even if you do not like some of the healthy foods, you must include it in your diet for the sake of the good health of your child and family.
3. Avoid Restricting Any Food
Children as well as adults like eating junk food. Although, junk food is unhealthy, restricting it completely from the diet of children is not a good idea. Along with providing nutritious diet, allow your children to eat junk food once in a while. But make sure that eating junk does not become an everyday habit.
4. Keep Healthy Food Within the Reach of Your Children
Generally, when children are hungry, they eat whatever is served to them and whatever is available at home at that time. So, if you want your child to eat fresh fruits, keep the fruits in a bowl ready during the snack time. The bowl of fresh fruits will surely appeal your child and she will definitely have them on her own.
5. Praise Healthy Choices
Children get encouraged when they are praised. So, the next time you see your child snacking on an apple, praise her so that she knows that choosing apple as a snack is appreciated.
6. Avoid Negative Tagging and Nagging
If your child wishes to have oily or fried foods every day, try to divert her attention. Instead of labelling oily and fried foods as bad, try to tell her the importance of eating healthy foods. Introduce some healthy yet tasty food stuffs that can be replaced with oily and fried foods. Oily and fried foods can be given occasionally.
7. Offer Variety
Variety is the spice of life, especially when it comes to food. If you offer your child same taste and form of food, she will definitely get bored. Add variety to taste as well as presentation of food. Everyone in your family will start enjoying the food.
8. Let Your Child Have the Pick
Let your child decide what she wants to have in her meals but make sure that you give her healthy options. Your child will definitely feel happy if she is allowed to choose what she wants to eat. Make sure that the unhealthy food items are out of her sight when she is allowed to make a choice.
9. Involve your Kids
Involving your kids while shopping and also when cooking and serving will encourage your child to start liking the foods. Let your child explore with foods and cooking. Make sure you are there and your child is under proper supervision.
10. Sneak in Healthy Foods
Keep trying all the above points. They will work. Have patience. In the mean time you can sneak in vegetables in the diet of the child in some way or the other. Prepare foods in different way so that your child eats happily.
When it comes to making food choices, children usually cannot differentiate between good and bad. So, you should not get disheartened or anxious if your child does not opt for healthy food. Keep trying and educate your child about the positive aspects of eating healthy. Prepare meals at home and support your new healthy lifestyle with varieties.
How to make children finish their meals? What are the ways to boost the appetite of children? How to encourage healthy eating habits in children? Discuss here.