10 Easy Ways To Put Your Kids On A Healthy Diet
January 23, 2010 by Megan Hillard
Filed under Weight Loss
Do not think it is a daunting task to make your home healthy
Building a home which is healthy in the nutritional sense is the initial phase to securing the health of your children. You need to set the example by making intelligent food choices. This in turn will teach your children how to eat healthy.
Here are the top 10 tips for getting 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. Praise healthy choices. Give your children a proud smile and tell them how smart they are when they choose healthy foods. Kids thrive on positive reinforcement!
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. Prepare plates in the kitchen. There you can put healthy portions of each item on everyone’s dinner plate. Your children will learn to recognize correct portion sizes. Too often people go for seconds and even thirds just because the food is right there. You might notice that you need less food to feel full!
9. It is okay to give your child a choice in what they like to eat, and what they do not like to eat. However, when they like something healthy, take full advantage. Serve healthy foods which your children enjoy more frequently, and offer them the foods which they dislike less frequently. This gives your children a voice in deciding what they eat.
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.
Learn more about weight loss for kids. Stop by Megan Hillard’s site where you can find out all about weight loss for children and what it can do for your child.
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