They are the apple of my eye! How can I help them to eat healthy?
Our children are most precious to us. These little bodies conquer the world everyday, learning new things, overcoming new challenges and building new solutions. We, as parents, really want to help them and be part of their journey to discover life! How can we give them optimum nutrition to fuel these awesome discoveries?
Healthy eating helps children to have all the necessary nutrients and energy they need to grow.
We as parents also have the task to help our child find a physical activity or sport that our child loves.
This helps your child being strong, fit and it gives his or her confidence a boost! Healthy eating helps them to concentrate and perform better at school, sports and other activities.
Follow these steps to guide them in their journey:
Lead by example
The most important thing you can do to help your child develop healthy habits and to lead a healthy lifestyle, is to be a good role model and to do it yourself. Your children learn their habits from you. Children do what you do… not what you tell them to do!
Make it a family affair!
Try to eat together as a family, preferably around a table, at least once a day. Enjoying meals together can teach your child to make good food choices. But this can be so much more! Teach your child about discipline, teach your children about family time. Listen, respond and share in your child’s day.
Make sure to involve your children in the planning and preparation of meals. Getting them involved is the best way for you to motivate them to eat a greater variety and try new things.
Plan, plan, plan!
If you do not plan ahead for your day and pack healthy meals and snacks, you’ll end up making wrong choices. As a mom, waking up a half hour earlier to pack a good lunch box for your child is the best thing you can do. Give them a healthy breakfast, hand them their healthy lunchbox and there you go! Well done mommy!
Trust your child’s appetite.
Encourage your child to listen to their bodies. Teach them to listen and respond to their signals of hunger and fullness. Offer a variety of healthy food to your child – make sure there is food from at least 3 food groups on his or her plate. Let your child then decide which food and how much food they want to eat. Do not force them to eat all the food on their plate, but encourage them to try at least a bite of everything on their plate.
Make it fun, be active.
Be active everyday. How does this magic happen? Keep it fun and be involved! Physical activity is important for healthy growth and development. Exercise increases your child’s self-esteem and promotes a healthy body weight.
Children under the age of 5 should be active for at least 3 hours a day. This includes any intensity activity. Children from 5 to 11 years should do at least 1 hour of moderate activity each day. Limit your child’s “screen time” to no more than 2 hours a day.
Take home message
Our lifestyles starts in our homes, make sure to lay the right foundation and see your child develop in the most that he/she can be!
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