By teaching your children healthy eating habits, and modeling these behaviors in yourself, you can help your children maintain a healthy weight and normal growth. Also, the eating habits your children pick up when they are young will help them maintain a healthy lifestyle when they are adults.
Your child’s health care provider can evaluate your child’s weight, height and let you know if your child needs to lose or gain weight or if any dietary changes need to be made.
Most important things that you have to notice that how much fat and sugar your child eat or drink. You have to manage your child’s diet and promote a healthy weight include serving:
- Whole grain, breads and cereals
- Healthy snacks such as fruit and veggies
- Low-fat or nonfat dairy products
Also, reduce the amount of sugar sweetened drinks and salt in your child’s diet.
Other approaches parents can take to develop healthy eating habits in their children include:
Choose Healthy Food
Make a wide variety of healthful foods available in the house. This practice will help your children learn how to make healthy food choices. Leave the unhealthy choices like chips, soda, and juice. Serve water with meals.
As Often As Possible Eat Meals Together In Family
Try to make mealtimes pleasant with conversation and sharing. If mealtimes are unpleasant, children may try to eat faster to leave the table as soon as possible. Then they may learn to associate eating with stress.
Avoid stressful topics at meal times
Sometimes, parents discuss finances or plan the child’s school schedule during meal times as spending time together is a rarity.
Having said that, avoid stressful or serious discussions during meal times. It kills a child’s appetite.
Try talking about happy things and see him/her wipe the plates clean.
Encourage Your Children To Eat Slowly
Kids can detect hunger and fullness better when they eat slowly. Before offering a second serving, you may ask your child’s to wait at least 15 minutes to see if they are truly still hungry. Also, that second meal should be much smaller than the first. And if possible, load that second meal with more veggies.
Offer water 30 minutes before meal time
Encourage your children to drink more water. Children should have water first thing in the morning, even before milk. Also, they should have water half an hour before meals. These basics help a lot!
Don’t make milk a meal
Many children, who have low appetites, suffer from what can be called the ‘too much milk’ problem. When children have milk as fillers or snacks, it kills their appetite for the next meal. Introduce dairy in other forms like cottage cheese, yoghurt, or cream.
Offer small bites
Small bites of food build metabolism, which in turn, improves appetite. Offer smaller bites of food to your children if you think they have reduced appetite. Slowly, their want for food will increase.
You should continue offering small bites until they start eating on their own and decide on their bite-size themselves.
Compulsory breakfast
Eating a good, healthy breakfast is bound to increase your child’s appetite. A balanced breakfast boosts metabolism after the night ‘fast’ and gets the body working for the day. Ensure that breakfast is a compulsory meal in your household. It’s a tried and tested formula. Apply it in your routine.
Feed every two hours
Children who fuss over food because they’re not too hungry should be offered food every couple of hours. The standard three meals may not be boosting their digestive system enough to make them feel hungry. Regular meals once in two hours will also help. Use it!
Involve Your Children In Food Shopping And Preparing Meals
These activities will give you hints about your children’s food preferences, an opportunity to teach your children about nutrition, In addition, children may be more willing to eat or try foods that they help prepare.
