How to Make Your Child Eat Healthy -

We all have a bad habit of eating too much unhealthy food. I think everyone is guilty of binging on salty fast food products for a few times in our life. The good thing is, as adults, we can consciously manage our eating habits.

But when you are a parent, it becomes a different story. You don’t want your kiddos munching on junk food and fast food every day, right? You don’t want your children devouring a whole tub of chocolate spread in one sitting too. And you want them to drink plenty of water, not soda!

The Many Ways

There are many ways to address this problem. Most children find their food boring that’s why they are not fond of eating them. Some other kids are just plain picky eaters. Some kids don’t find a good model.

Eye Candy

Children, especially toddlers, are curious beings and would be interested in their food if it is presented in different ways. Mixing colors is a great and easy way to start. Fruits and vegetables are colorful enough to catch their attention! These can make a great snack.

If you are having a problem with an unfinished glass of milk, using a milk frother can liven up a boring drink and potentially solve this issue!

Picky Eaters

Toddlers are notoriously picky eaters. This is not a unique problem for you! You are alongside a massive army of parents battling with picky eaters.

This problem usually goes away on its own after the age of five years old. Young children are generally inclined to eat sweet and high-calorie food because they are growing fast. As long as they are within the desired weight and height according to their age, this should not be a problem.

But in extreme cases, some children would not have anything that is “yucky” to them. Worse, everything that is vegetable and everything that is green is “yucky” for them!

So, should you eliminate greens from their diet to keep up with their recommended caloric intake? Don’t give up with the broccoli just yet! There are other ways to present veggies to your kids. Try a different way to cook it. Mix it in a stew. A thick yummy stew can potentially make Brussel sprouts awesome!

Modeling Habits

Toddlers and kids develop their habits according to their experiences and examples. In this premise, the parents have a significant influence over what they can experience and. When it comes to setting standards, parents have the upper hand to lead children by example.

Many parents prepare a separate dish for the picky eater. This gesture out of love is actually tolerating the picky eating habit! Why not include the toddler to eat what the family is eating for dinner? This can refine the palate of your young one.

For parents not practicing healthy eating habits, it would be difficult your child to develop it. If he or she sees healthy eating from no one, then there would be no one to copy it from! Maybe you want to consider rebooting your pantry.

Try eliminating your bag of unhealthy chips. You too can learn a good amount of experience in booting up your kitchen. Instead of canned goods, try the healthy fresh alternative. If your kids see your eating habits, you can expect them to copy you in the long run.

Our Mistake

As parents, we are often worried about how much nutrition our children are getting. We tend to take control and become dinner enforcer at times. At some point, eating may become a traumatic experience. This is something we want to avoid.

There are times that we take desserts hostage so that they could finish their plates. This practice might leave kids to the conclusion that desserts are way better than their dinner. This may lead to unhealthy eating practices in the future.

Out of desperation, we might even succumb to bribing them with a toy or something so that they could fill their stomach. This may be useful in the present but not a great idea in the long run.

Time might come that you may fall victim to this scheme. It is fairly easy for toddlers to learn that not finishing their plate can bring them a good reward.

Last Words

Healthy eating habit is something that we want our children to learn at the early stage of life. We might not have practiced it as early as we imagine our kids to do, but we have embraced this as health-conscious adults.

One of the greatest ways to influence the young ones to choose to eat healthy is to become a practitioner of healthy eating habits. Combine this with education, and you got a kid enjoying a good eating habit.