March 6, 2013

Establishing Healthy Eating Habits for children




The most effective way to teach your child healthy eating habits is to set a good example. Making nutritious food a priority in your life, limiting visits to fast-food restaurants, and teaching your child to prepare meals and snacks healthily will help steer your child in the right direction. The following tips offer some suggestions for fostering healthy eating habits.

Getting up for breakfast

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day for both you and your child. Compared with children who don’t eat breakfast, children who do eat breakfast:

  • ·    Do better at maths and reading and have better concentration and behavior.
  • ·         Are more likely to keep their weight under control and have lower blood cholesterol levels. Children who miss breakfast are much more likely to snack on junk food such as biscuits, crisps, and chocolate, before lunch.
  • ·         Are more likely to meet their nutritional needs, with adequate levels of minerals and vitamins.


Mornings are one of the worst times for busy families, but breakfast doesn't have to mean a home-made gourmet meal every day. Here are some suggestions for quick and easy breakfasts that are also nutritious:

  • ·         Cereal with fruit and milk.
  • ·         Toasted bagel with cheese.
  • ·         Fruit and yogurt.
  • ·         Toasted waffle topped with fruit and yogurt.
  • ·         Fruit smoothie (fruit and milk or yoghurt whizzed in a blender).
  • ·         Peanut butter on wholemeal toast.


Cereal can be one of the healthiest of breakfasts, providing slow-burning energy to last your child until lunchtime. It has the added advantage of getting milk into your child too! However, remember that some sweetened cereals are very high in sugar, so stick to the unsweetened (and preferably wholegrain) types. Make sure you set a good example by eating breakfast too – parents are their children’s number one influence as far as diet, exercise, and lifestyle are concerned.


Stocking up on healthy foods

A good way to instill healthy eating habits is to control the supply lines – the foods that you serve for meals and have on hand for snacks. Here are some suggestions:

·         Keep the pantry full of fruit and veg. The best option is fresh fruits and vegetables, but canned and frozen work just as well. With plenty on hand, you can easily work fruits and vegetables into the daily menu, aiming for the goal of at least five servings a day. Having ready-to-eat fruit and veggies, such as chunks of apples or carrot sticks, makes it easy for your child to choose healthy snacks.

·         Stock up on healthy snacks. Good snacks include rice cakes, yogurt, celery smeared with peanut butter, and wholegrain crackers with cheese.

·         Choose wholegrain breads and cereals. These contain more fiber than white bread.

·         Ditch the deep-fat fryer. Limit your child’s fat intake by using healthier cooking methods, such as grilling and steaming, rather than deep-fat frying.

·         Empty the fridge of sugary drinks. Limit fizzy drinks and squash and try to get your child to drink water and milk instead.

·         Invest in a liquidizer or food processor to make smoothies. Let your child help with preparing the ingredients for these healthy shakes. It’s amazing what a wide selection of fruit (and sometimes vegetables) you can get your child to take that way!

Making food interesting

Having a plate of bland, colorless food shoved in front of you does little for your appetite (remember school dinners?). Food needs to be appealing to get your child to eat, so get creative. This doesn't mean concocting cordon bleu recipes in the kitchen. Here are some easy ways to inspire your child’s interest in food:

Variety’s the spice of life. Children who eat a wide assortment of foods increase their chances of meeting their nutritional requirements, so serve foods from all the food groups, with plenty of carbs, dairy products, proteins, fruits, and veg.

Colors are cool. A plate of food with lots of different colors not only looks appetizing but also typically contains a good range of nutrients.

Food can be fun. Whether your child is 7 months or 7 years old, food can be a shared source of enjoyment. Your child should see food as a pleasure rather than a chore, so get her interested by letting her help you prepare meals. Baked potato boats, vegetable hedgehogs, or yoghurt-filled halved peaches with raisin eyes and satsuma-segment smiles are great fun for children to help make, and they’re more likely to eat them, too.

Junk the junk food – but be tactical. As your child gets old enough to be tempted by the lure of junk food, you may find it difficult to avoid being nagged for chicken nuggets or fish fingers. In fact, skinless chicken breast or sliced, boned fillet of fish dipped in egg and breadcrumbs and shallow fried in just a teaspoon of olive oil feels deliciously naughty but is actually very healthy.

Bring out the artist in your hungry child. Let your children loose with pizza bases and dishes of peppers, sweetcorn, cheese, tomatoes, olives, and home-made tomato sauce (just wash their hands well and be prepared to clean up afterwards!). In fact, make-your-own pizza is a wonderful activity for a birthday party, offering children the opportunity to compare notes and eat their own creations.

Eating together

The idea of family mealtimes often conjures up images of battlegrounds – but regular family dinners don’t have to mean tin hats for all. Family meals are a great way to encourage healthy eating habits and offer the chance to introduce your child to new foods and to discover the foods that she likes and dislikes.

Children also like the predictability of family meals. Studies show that compared with children who have few family meals, children who eat regularly with their family are:

  • More likely to eat fruits, vegetables, and grains.
  • Less likely to snack on unhealthy foods.
  • Less likely to smoke, use marijuana, or drink alcohol when they are older.


Sitting in front of the television to eat, even if you’re sitting at a table, means that your child won’t be concentrating fully on her food, and is likely to eat more. So don’t gawp – talk while you eat instead! Whether it’s a takeaway or a home-cooked meal with all the trimmings, strive for nutritious food and a time when the whole family can be there.

Ditching the junk food

If your child’s a junk-food junkie, she’s not alone. You only need to open a newspaper to see that the things our children eat are making them fatter and unhealthier than ever before. Obesity’s on the rise, as are the related problems of diabetes and heart disease.

Junk or convenience food, which includes everything from burgers and chips to biscuits and cakes, is one of the most significant contributory factors towards child health problems. Ditching the junk is easier said than done if it forms your child’s staple diet, but here are a few tips to help you on your way:

  •          Don’t expect to be able to cut out the junk food overnight – it’s easier to make small changes to your child’s diet than to cut out all the food she’s used to in one single stroke.

  •        If your child is old enough, explain to her why eating healthy food is so important. Get her to list all her favorite colors and match them up with fruit or vegetables to get her imagination going.

  •         If she has a favorite superhero or sporting celebrity, let her know that they only eat healthy food. Understanding the connection between eating well and being healthy and strong will inspire her.

Convenience food doesn’t have to be processed. A banana or an avocado needs no preparation – you can’t get more convenient than that!

·      Involve your child when choosing and preparing fresh food – would she prefer beans or peas, for example, with her meal? This involvement gives her a feeling of control over what she eats.

Of course, you can’t stop your child from eating junk food altogether, but if junk foods dominate her diet she could lose out in the health stakes. Children are getting taller and heavier than ever before because they’re consuming more than enough calories. But they’re not getting healthier, as junk food provides plenty of calories but few nutrients. Junk food contributes to a number of modern-day health problems, including tiredness, lack of energy, irritability, mood swings, constipation, loose bowels, weight problems, skin problems, dark shadows under the eyes, frequent infections, and poor concentration.


28 comments:

  1. Howdy! This is my first visit to your blog! We are a collection of volunteers and starting a
    new initiative in a community in the same niche.
    Your blog provided us valuable information to work on.
    You have done a wonderful job!

    Also visit my web page; binary options demo
    my website - best binary options

    ReplyDelete
  2. It's amazing for me to have a site, which is valuable for my know-how. thanks admin

    Here is my weblog: Binary options uk

    ReplyDelete
  3. Why viewers still make use of to read news papers when in
    this technological globe all is existing on net?

    Also visit my web-site ... what is binary options trading
    Also see my web page :: Best Binary Options

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi, I do believe this is an excellent website. I stumbledupon it
    ;) I'm going to return once again since i have book marked it. Money and freedom is the greatest way to change, may you be rich and continue to help other people.

    Feel free to visit my web-site - online trading academy reviews

    ReplyDelete
  5. This is very fascinating, You are an overly professional blogger.

    I've joined your rss feed and look forward to in the hunt for extra of your fantastic post. Additionally, I have shared your website in my social networks

    Also visit my homepage; binary options platform

    ReplyDelete
  6. Heya i am for the first time here. I found this board and I find It really useful & it helped me out a lot.
    I hope to give something back and help others like you aided me.


    Also visit my page; Binary Options Trading Systems

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi there everyone, it's my first visit at this web page, and paragraph is actually fruitful designed for me, keep up posting such posts.

    My blog - options binary

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi there to every body, it's my first pay a visit of this webpage; this webpage carries remarkable and genuinely fine data in support of readers.

    my blog post Binary Options trading strategy

    ReplyDelete
  9. Keep on writing, great job!

    Also visit my blog ... trading Binary options

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi I am so grateful I found your website, I really found you by mistake,
    while I was looking on Aol for something else,
    Anyhow I am here now and would just like to
    say kudos for a fantastic post and a all round entertaining blog (I also love
    the theme/design), I don’t have time to look over it all at
    the minute but I have saved it and also added your RSS feeds,
    so when I have time I will be back to read a great deal more, Please do keep up
    the excellent jo.

    Here is my website ... binary options trading

    ReplyDelete
  11. Definitely believe that that you stated. Your favorite reason appeared to be on the
    web the simplest thing to have in mind of.
    I say to you, I definitely get annoyed at the same time
    as other folks think about concerns that they just don't recognize about. You controlled to hit the nail upon the top as neatly as defined out the entire thing with no need side effect , people can take a signal. Will probably be again to get more. Thank you

    My web site: forex tips

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hi there it's me, I am also visiting this site regularly, this site is genuinely nice and the visitors are truly sharing fastidious thoughts.

    My blog post: trade binary options

    ReplyDelete
  13. Your mode of explaining everything in this post is genuinely good,
    every one can effortlessly be aware of it, Thanks a lot.


    Feel free to surf to my website binary options reviews

    ReplyDelete
  14. Pretty section of content. I just stumbled upon your blog and in
    accession capital to assert that I get actually enjoyed account your blog posts.

    Any way I will be subscribing to your augment and even I achievement you access consistently quickly.


    Also visit my homepage best binary options broker

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hey there! I know this is kinda off topic nevertheless
    I'd figured I'd ask. Would you be interested in trading links or
    maybe guest authoring a blog post or vice-versa?
    My blog addresses a lot of the same topics as yours and I feel we
    could greatly benefit from each other. If you happen to be interested feel free
    to send me an e-mail. I look forward to hearing from you!
    Superb blog by the way!

    my site ... best forex trading system

    ReplyDelete
  16. I blog often and I truly thank you for your content. This article has really peaked
    my interest. I am going to take a note of your website and keep checking for new details
    about once per week. I subscribed to your RSS feed as well.


    Feel free to surf to my blog post - binary options trading platform

    ReplyDelete
  17. Thank you for the good writeup. It in reality was a leisure account it.

    Look complex to more brought agreeable from you!
    By the way, how can we communicate?

    Here is my blog ... binary options reviews

    ReplyDelete
  18. What's up to every one, the contents existing at this website are actually amazing for people experience, well, keep up the nice work fellows.

    Here is my web blog ... binary options trading systems

    ReplyDelete
  19. Great post. I used to be checking constantly this blog and I am impressed!
    Very helpful info particularly the last part :) I maintain such info much.
    I used to be looking for this particular info
    for a long time. Thank you and good luck.

    Feel free to surf to my blog; the binary options

    ReplyDelete
  20. Keep on writing, great job!

    Here is my web page :: binary options australia

    ReplyDelete
  21. I'm not sure where you are getting your information, but great topic. I needs to spend some time learning more or understanding more. Thanks for fantastic information I was looking for this info for my mission.

    Review my web page; binary options

    ReplyDelete
  22. Hey! Someone in my Facebook group shared this site with us so I came to give it a look.
    I'm definitely enjoying the information. I'm book-marking and will be tweeting this to my followers!
    Excellent blog and great design and style.

    Also visit my web-site: binary options systems

    ReplyDelete
  23. Hi! I know this is kinda off topic but I was wondering if
    you knew where I could find a captcha plugin for my comment form?

    I'm using the same blog platform as yours and I'm having problems finding one?

    Thanks a lot!

    Review my webpage Binary options Systems

    ReplyDelete
  24. An impressiѵe shаrе! Ӏ've just forwarded this onto a co-worker who was doing a little research on this. And he actually ordered me lunch simply because I stumbled upon it for him... lol. So let me reword this.... Thank YOU for the meal!! But yeah, thanks for spending time to talk about this topic here on your internet site.

    Take a look at my homepage: options trading

    ReplyDelete
  25. I pay a visit day-to-day some websites and websites to read articles
    or reviews, however this webpage provides feature based posts.


    Feel free to surf to my web blog :: traderush

    ReplyDelete
  26. You are so interesting! I don't think I have read through a single thing like this before. So great to find another person with a few genuine thoughts on this subject matter. Seriously.. thank you for starting this up. This web site is something that is needed on the web, someone with some originality!

    my web-site - binary options trading

    ReplyDelete
  27. Hi there would you mind letting me know which webhost you're using? I've loaded your
    blog in 3 different browsers and I must say this blog loads a lot quicker then most.
    Can you recommend a good internet hosting provider at a reasonable price?
    Thanks a lot, I appreciate it!

    Here is my website - Binaryoptionsbullyreviews.Com

    ReplyDelete
  28. This is such a great resource that you are providing and you give it away for free. I love seeing blog that understand the value of providing a quality resource for free. Coconut mushrooms

    ReplyDelete