Encouraging healthy eating habits in your child is not an easy task. Persistence and perseverance is the key to reach your goal. Do not worry, you cannot do everything all at once.
Below is a list of some tips to work on:-
1. Serve fruit and/or vegetables at every meal and snack. Your child will probably not eat it the first, second or third time – do not be discouraged. Keep offering very small pea size quantities of that vegetable or fruit until your child actually tastes it. Always give this before giving your child his/her favorite food. It takes time for a child to accept a different texture, taste and decide they actually like this new food. I WOULD INCLUDE THAT STUDIES SHOW IT TAKES 8-13 TIMES BEFORE A CHILD COULD ACTUALLY TASTE A NEW FOOD
2. Don’t be afraid to say no to chocolate, sweets, crisps, sugary drinks etc. especially if your child already had some that day. Your child will probably break down into a tantrum, start crying, yelling and loads more. Be strong and affirmative in your decision!
3. Be careful about portion sizes and allow your child to stop eating when they are full (even if you think they did not eat enough). Giving to much food and insisting that your child finishes all the food given even if they are no longer hungry can lead to unhealthy overeating habits.
4. Encourage children to participate in food preparation and shopping. This will give you the opportunity to teach your child about nutrition and will give your child a sense of accomplishment. Also, children are more willing to try a new food if they helped in preparing it themselves.
5. Do not use food to punish or reward your child. It is not uncommon to hear phrases like “if you finish your vegetables I will give you a dessert”. This send the wrong message to a child that desserts are actually better than vegetables.
6. Plan snacks. Constant snacking may lead to overeating and reduce your child’s appetite at meal times. Try to plan specific snacking time and avoid giving snacks very close to meal times. Make sure to have healthy snacks available! See our next blog for some healthy snack ideas.
7. If your child skips a meal, do not let them “make up for it” with some sweets or crackers. Offer a healthy snack instead for example some fruit or vegetable sticks with cream cheese, and make sure that they eat enough at their next full meal.
8. Be a role model. From a young age children want to copy what adults do. Eat the way you want your child to eat. If you never drink water or eat vegetables you cannot really expect your child to do so!
Do not try to attempt making all these changes at once. it will not work. Change takes time, try to aim at small changes which are constant over time, reinforce these changes and build on them.