Childhood is a critical period for establishing eating behaviors and habits that last into adulthood. Many families seek ideas on how to improve their eating habits. Making lasting changes takes time, and habits are easier to form when the whole family works together. This guide provides comprehensive strategies for parents and caregivers to cultivate healthy eating habits in their children, promoting lifelong well-being.
The Importance of Healthy Eating for Children
Healthy eating and physical activity are essential for children's growth and development, as well as the prevention of obesity and related health conditions such as type 2 diabetes, asthma, anxiety, and depression. Healthy eating boosts immunity and supports healthy growth, while physical activity can improve academic performance. Furthermore, adequate sleep and limited screen time are crucial for both mental and physical health.
Five Key Strategies for Healthy Eating
Sure, eating well can be hard - family schedules are hectic and grab-and-go convenience food is readily available. But our tips can help make all five strategies part of your busy household.
Have Regular Family Meals
Family meals are a comforting ritual for both parents and kids, providing predictability and a chance for parents to connect with their children. These meals offer an opportunity to introduce new foods and serve as role models for healthy eating. Even teenagers, who may seem resistant, still value their parents' advice and counsel, making mealtime a valuable time to reconnect.
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- What counts as a family meal? Any time you and your family eat together, whether it's takeout or a home-cooked meal. The goal is nutritious food and a time when everyone can be present. This might involve adjusting dinner times to accommodate busy schedules or setting aside time on weekends for brunch.
- Creating a Positive Mealtime Environment: Keep mealtime calm and friendly, avoiding lectures or arguments. Involve kids in meal planning and preparation. Let kids invite a friend to dinner.
Serve a Variety of Healthy Foods and Snacks
Kids, especially younger ones, will eat mostly what's available at home. That's why it's important to control the supply lines - the foods that you serve for meals and have on hand for snacks. Work fruits and vegetables into the daily routine, aiming for the goal of at least five servings a day. Be sure you serve fruit or vegetables at every meal. Make it easy for kids to choose healthy snacks by keeping fruits and vegetables on hand and ready to eat. Other good snacks include low-fat yogurt, peanut butter and celery, or whole-grain crackers and cheese. Serve lean meats and other good sources of protein, such as fish, eggs, beans, and nuts. Choose whole-grain breads and cereals so kids get more fiber. Limit fat intake by avoiding fried foods and choosing healthier cooking methods, such as broiling, grilling, roasting, and steaming. Choose low-fat or nonfat dairy products. Limit fast food and low-nutrient snacks, such as chips and candy. But don't completely ban favorite snacks from your home. Instead, make them "once-in-a-while" foods, so kids don't feel deprived. Limit sugary drinks, such as soda and fruit-flavored drinks. Serve water and low-fat milk instead.
- Smart Snacking: Provide meals and snacks on a regular schedule. Children should eat 3 meals and 2 to 3 snacks each day. Serve snacks that are mini meals.
Be a Role Model by Eating Healthy Yourself
The best way to encourage healthy eating in children is to eat well yourself. Kids will follow the lead of the adults they see every day. By eating fruits and vegetables and not overindulging in the less nutritious stuff, you'll be sending the right message. Another way to be a good role model is to serve appropriate portions and not overeat. Talk about your feelings of fullness, especially with younger children. You might say, "This is delicious, but I'm full, so I'm going to stop eating." Similarly, parents who are always dieting or complaining about their bodies may foster these same negative feelings in their kids. Try to keep a positive approach about food.
- Leading by Example: Studies show that children generally will grow up to eat the way that their parents eat. Predictable meal and snack times, a pleasant atmosphere and a wholesome balanced diet will provide your child with a foundation of good eating habits for her future.
Avoid Battles Over Food
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It's easy for food to become a source of conflict. Well-intentioned parents might find themselves bargaining or bribing kids so they eat the healthy food in front of them. A better strategy is to give kids some control, but to also limit the kind of foods available at home. Kids should decide if they're hungry, what they will eat from the foods served, and when they're full. Parents control which foods are available to their kids, both at mealtime and between meals. Establish a predictable schedule of meals and snacks. It's OK to choose not to eat when both parents and kids know when to expect the next meal or snack. Don't force kids to clean their plates. Doing so teaches kids to override feelings of fullness. Don't bribe or reward kids with food. Avoid using dessert as the prize for eating the meal. Don't use food as a way of showing love. When you want to show love, give kids a hug, some of your time, or praise. Pickiness or refusal to eat often results from inappropriate tactics such as force feeding, bribing and punishing.
Involve Kids in the Process
Most kids will enjoy deciding what to make for dinner. Talk to them about making choices and planning a balanced meal. Some might even want to help shop for ingredients and prepare the meal. At the store, teach kids to check out food labels to begin understanding what to look for. School lunches can be another healthy eating lesson for kids. If you can get kids thinking about what they eat for lunch, you might be able to help them make positive changes. Brainstorm about what kinds of foods they'd like for lunch or go to the grocery store to shop together for healthy, packable foods. There's another important reason why kids should be involved: It can help prepare them to make good decisions on their own about the foods they want to eat.
- Empowering Children: Let your child help with food prep. Have conversations about new foods.
Understanding Nutritional Needs for Kids
Nutrition for kids is based on the same principles as nutrition for adults. Everyone needs the same types of nutrients, such as vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, protein, and fat. The best eating pattern for a child's growth and development considers their age, activity level, and other characteristics. Food packed with nutrients - with no or limited sugar, saturated fat, or salt added to it - is considered nutrient dense.
- Fruits: Encourage your child to eat a variety of fresh, canned, frozen, or dried fruits. Look for canned fruit that says it's light or packed in its own juice. This means it's low in added sugar. Start the day with fruit at breakfast.
- Vegetables: Serve a variety of fresh, canned, frozen, or dried vegetables. Choose peas or beans, along with colorful vegetables each week. Start the day with vegetables. Add leftover cooked vegetables to an omelet or breakfast wrap. Serve a healthy snack of raw veggies and hummus. Hummus is a Middle Eastern dip made from blended chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans.
- Grains: Choose whole-grain breads and cereals so kids get more fiber.
- Protein: Serve lean meats and other good sources of protein, such as fish, eggs, beans, and nuts. Add protein to a salad. Grilled chicken or shrimp adds tasty protein to a salad of mixed greens. Serve nuts, seeds, and fatty fish like tuna, salmon, and sardines.
- Dairy: Encourage your child to eat and drink fat-free or low-fat dairy products, such as milk, yogurt, or cheese. The nutrients in dairy are important for all ages. Serve foods like low-fat or fat-free dairy milk or yogurt. Need an alternative? Offer lactose-free dairy milk or yogurt that's low-fat or fat-free.
- Fats: Fat is an important part of a healthy diet.
Limiting Unhealthy Components
- Added Sugar: Naturally occurring sugars, such as those in fruit and milk, aren't added sugars. Examples of added sugars include brown sugar, corn sweetener, corn syrup, and honey. To avoid added sugar, check nutrition labels. Choose cereals with minimal added sugars. Avoid sodas and other drinks with added sugars. Limit juice servings. Sweeten foods with fruit. Mix fruit into plain yogurt, cooked oatmeal, and smoothies to sweeten without adding sugar. Perk up plain water or seltzer water with lemon, lime, or orange slices.
- Saturated Fats: Saturated fats mainly come from animal sources of food, such as red meat, hot dogs, poultry, butter, and other full-fat dairy products. Pizza, sandwiches, burgers, and burritos are a common source of saturated fat. Desserts such as cakes and ice cream are another common source of saturated fat. Limit foods with high amounts of saturated fat, added sugar, and salt can help support healthy eating habits. If these foods are eaten less often, they will truly be treats!
- Salt: Most children in the United States have too much salt in their daily diets. Another name for salt is sodium. Salt can hide in sandwiches, where the sodium in bread, meat, condiments, and toppings adds up. Processed foods, such as pizza, pasta dishes, and soup, often have high amounts of salt. Encourage snacking on fruits and vegetables instead of chips and cookies. Go easy on the salt. Serve fresh foods when possible or low-sodium packaged foods.
Portion Sizes and Meal Frequency
Young kids have small bellies and generally need smaller servings to meet dietary recommendations. Help your child learn to eat the right amount by offering kid-appropriate portions at meal and snack time. Toddlers need a variety of fruits, vegetables, grains, protein, and dairy (or fortified soy alternatives) every day. Preschoolers should eat a variety of fruits, vegetables, grains, protein, and dairy (or fortified soy alternatives) every day. Kids in elementary school are ready to learn more about healthy eating and ways they can take charge of what they eat and drink. But offering a variety of healthy choices is still needed by parents! It’s important to keep in mind that your child might not eat the exact amounts suggested at every meal, or even every day. THAT’S OKAY! Children need to eat meals and snacks. Because their stomachs are so small, children need to have five to six small frequent meals, or three meals a day with two or three snacks between meals. Children should focus on food during meal and snack times. Eating at the table prevents the child from confusing eating with playtime.
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Understanding Children's Eating Behaviors
Only your child knows if he or she is hungry. If it is mealtime and your child chooses not to eat, don't try to make him or her eat. You should not make your child eat. Your child knows how much he or she needs to eat. Children will repeatedly examine foods that they are offered, with or without trying the food items. Eventually, the child may try the food by putting it in his or her mouth and then taking it out again. These actions are normal. Avoid punishing or scolding a child for these behaviors. Children will often eat a lot of food one day and not so much the next day. The foods the child likes also can change not only from day to day, but also from meal to meal. Some days, your child may eat a lot in the morning and not much else for the rest of the day. These habits are usually normal. Children know how much they need to eat and are sensitive to their appetites and appetite changes. Children also grow differently and have individual needs and eating habits. Children often eat the majority of their food early in the day. Dinner may be their smallest meal. In addition, children have different levels of activity on a day-to-day basis. Activity can affect the amount of food the child may eat on that day.
The Power of Repeated Exposure
The single most effective strategy to get kids to eat healthy food is repeated exposure. Pair a new food with familiar flavors. Start small. Get kids involved and make meal time fun! Engaging kids in the meal prep process provides opportunities for little ones to touch, smell, and explore new foods.
Alternative Rewards
Pressure children to eat. Use food as a reward or to soothe emotions. Instead use non-food rewards. Use nonfood items as rewards. Try activity-related rewards, like a family walk, time at the park or swimming pool time. Some children eat because they are bored or dealing with emotions, like being sad or upset.
Beyond Diet: The Importance of Physical Activity and Sleep
Healthy lifestyle behaviors are the building blocks of lifelong well-being for children and teens. Being physically active can help boost students' academic performances. For good mental and physical health, kids also need plenty of sleep and limited screen time. Children and teens need more sleep than adults, and the amount varies by age. Too little sleep is associated with obesity, partly because not getting enough sleep may make us eat more and be less physically active. In young people, too much screen time is associated with poor sleep, weight gain, lower grades in school, and poor mental health. Reducing screen time can help free time for other activities and improve sleep. Cutting back on screen time also limits cues to eat unhealthy food. Limit the time children and teens watch television, play video games, or use a smartphone or tablet. Instead, encourage children and teens to do fun activities with their friends and family members. Children and adolescents need aerobic activity, which is anything that makes their heart beat faster. Children 3 to 5 should be active throughout the day. Children and teens 6 to 17 should be physically active at least 60 minutes each day. Remember that children imitate adults.