Commercials, low-placed items on grocery store shelves, social media, and kids’ shows all portray how great it is to eat unhealthy foods. Kids are attracted to the bright colors, sugar content and fun characters that promote fast food, candy and high-carb snacks.
What kids eat significantly impacts their future. Kids grow quickly, and what they’re fed matters to them emotionally, mentally and physically. It seems like a never-ending battle when kids won’t eat the fruits and veggies placed in front of them, and unfortunately, some parents give in to making boxed macaroni and cheese or a frozen pizza in lieu of the healthy dinner they made.
Food marketing targets children, which makes it challenging for parents to get their kids to eat healthily. How can parents possibly compete with frozen nuggets and chips? How can a parent make nutritious meals appealing?
Fortunately, there are ways to get kids to eat better — and it doesn’t have to involve cutting out junk food forever nor blending a handful of spinach into a smoothie. Here are some tips on getting kids to eat healthy.
Model Healthy Eating Habits
Kids look up to their parents for nearly everything. If a child sees their parent reach for the snack cupboard or forgoes vegetables most of the time, they will do the same. Parents have to model healthy eating habits for their children.
Parents should start by exposing their kids to various healthy foods when they can start eating them. Making sure that others in the child’s life are eating well will ensure that the child eats well, too. Additionally, parents can praise their kids when they opt for a healthy snack or meal.
Offer Smarter Snacks
Foods are often made for convenience now. It’s so much easier for a parent to grab the variety pack of chips, pre-packaged fruit snacks and frozen pizza rolls that take a minute to heat up. However, convenience snacks are often unhealthy.
Instead, parents should take the time to cut up fruits and vegetables into manageable sizes for their children. Also, they can purchase whole-grain crackers or pretzels and pre-portion them for their kids to grab. These are much healthier options, and that little bit of preparation on the parent’s end makes it more convenient for the child to choose the more nutritious snack.
Allow the Kids to Cook or Help Prepare a Meal
Parents often keep their children out of the kitchen for safety reasons, which makes sense. However, with knives and glass put away, parents should invite their children into the kitchen to help cook a meal. Kids can directly see what’s going into their meal.
If children are involved in the cooking process or choose the meal, they’ll be more interested in eating it because they helped create it. Parents can even take their kids to the store with them to help choose produce. If the children are old enough, they can help cut up fruits and vegetables.
Make Healthy Food Fun
Kids who won’t eat fruits and vegetables probably don’t see any fun or entertainment in it. Again, food marketing is geared towards kids. Commercials show junk food displayed with bright colors and fun shapes. Fast-food restaurants use color psychology and toys to grab kids’ attention and show them that their food is exciting.
Parents can do the same with healthy foods. Experimenting with dips for vegetables or cutting up produce and cheese in interesting shapes can excite kids to try the foods. Eventually, after eating the healthy food a few times, parents can back away from the fun shapes, and kids will naturally ask for cucumbers, carrots and watermelon.
Give Treats in Moderation
Getting kids to eat healthy doesn’t mean eliminating all junk food or unhealthy options. Moderation is vital in any person’s diet, and kids need to learn that from a young age. If parents completely ban unhealthy foods, it’ll make the kids want it even more. Forbidden foods are appealing.
No one eats perfectly. Offering healthy choices a majority of the time for children is a win. Parents don’t have to beat themselves up for allowing chips, cookies or chocolate every once in a while. Also, parents can offer those treats for special occasions, like birthdays, a trip to the grandparents’ house or on vacations.
A Healthier Childhood
As long as there is a balance between wholesome foods and an unhealthy snack every so often, kids will grow up strong and healthy. The best foods for anyone are fruits, vegetables, whole grains and protein, so make food fun for kids and allow them to be part of the process when making meals.
Commercials, low-placed items on grocery store shelves, social media, and kids’ shows all portray how great it is to eat unhealthy foods. Kids are attracted to the bright colors, sugar content and fun characters that promote fast food, candy and high-carb snacks.
What kids eat significantly impacts their future. Kids grow quickly, and what they’re fed matters to them emotionally, mentally and physically. It seems like a never-ending battle when kids won’t eat the fruits and veggies placed in front of them, and unfortunately, some parents give in to making boxed macaroni and cheese or a frozen pizza in lieu of the healthy dinner they made.
Food marketing targets children, which makes it challenging for parents to get their kids to eat healthily. How can parents possibly compete with frozen nuggets and chips? How can a parent make nutritious meals appealing?
Fortunately, there are ways to get kids to eat better — and it doesn’t have to involve cutting out junk food forever nor blending a handful of spinach into a smoothie. Here are some tips on getting kids to eat healthy.
Model Healthy Eating Habits
Kids look up to their parents for nearly everything. If a child sees their parent reach for the snack cupboard or forgoes vegetables most of the time, they will do the same. Parents have to model healthy eating habits for their children.
Parents should start by exposing their kids to various healthy foods when they can start eating them. Making sure that others in the child’s life are eating well will ensure that the child eats well, too. Additionally, parents can praise their kids when they opt for a healthy snack or meal.
Offer Smarter Snacks
Foods are often made for convenience now. It’s so much easier for a parent to grab the variety pack of chips, pre-packaged fruit snacks and frozen pizza rolls that take a minute to heat up. However, convenience snacks are often unhealthy.
Instead, parents should take the time to cut up fruits and vegetables into manageable sizes for their children. Also, they can purchase whole-grain crackers or pretzels and pre-portion them for their kids to grab. These are much healthier options, and that little bit of preparation on the parent’s end makes it more convenient for the child to choose the more nutritious snack.
Allow the Kids to Cook or Help Prepare a Meal
Parents often keep their children out of the kitchen for safety reasons, which makes sense. However, with knives and glass put away, parents should invite their children into the kitchen to help cook a meal. Kids can directly see what’s going into their meal.
If children are involved in the cooking process or choose the meal, they’ll be more interested in eating it because they helped create it. Parents can even take their kids to the store with them to help choose produce. If the children are old enough, they can help cut up fruits and vegetables.
Make Healthy Food Fun
Kids who won’t eat fruits and vegetables probably don’t see any fun or entertainment in it. Again, food marketing is geared towards kids. Commercials show junk food displayed with bright colors and fun shapes. Fast-food restaurants use color psychology and toys to grab kids’ attention and show them that their food is exciting.
Parents can do the same with healthy foods. Experimenting with dips for vegetables or cutting up produce and cheese in interesting shapes can excite kids to try the foods. Eventually, after eating the healthy food a few times, parents can back away from the fun shapes, and kids will naturally ask for cucumbers, carrots and watermelon.
Give Treats in Moderation
Getting kids to eat healthy doesn’t mean eliminating all junk food or unhealthy options. Moderation is vital in any person’s diet, and kids need to learn that from a young age. If parents completely ban unhealthy foods, it’ll make the kids want it even more. Forbidden foods are appealing.
No one eats perfectly. Offering healthy choices a majority of the time for children is a win. Parents don’t have to beat themselves up for allowing chips, cookies or chocolate every once in a while. Also, parents can offer those treats for special occasions, like birthdays, a trip to the grandparents’ house or on vacations.
A Healthier Childhood
As long as there is a balance between wholesome foods and an unhealthy snack every so often, kids will grow up strong and healthy. The best foods for anyone are fruits, vegetables, whole grains and protein, so make food fun for kids and allow them to be part of the process when making meals.
