Healthy Eating – 8 Ways to Inculcate Healthy Eating Habits in Kids by Dr Chetan Ginigeri

1. Encourage Your Children to Eat Slowly

Children might not listen to a lecture, but they surely imitate their parents. While you give them a snack or meal, make sure they keep everything they are doing aside and help them concentrate on the food they are eating. It will take some time for the body to register the food they are taking and to tell them that they are full. So, eating slowly can help them understand and savour the taste of that particular snack or meal completely.

It is also important to chew the food thoroughly before they swallow it. Swallowing without proper chewing can lead to choking and indigestion. Do not rush while eating in front of your kid. They might think fast eating is normal, and they will start to follow you. Fast eating can be harmful as it leads to overeating and subsequently, obesity. Obesity will make kids less active and lethargic and bring many uninvited health problems as they start to grow.

2. Eat Meals Together as a Family as Often as Possible

Family time is very important, both while having a good meal and spending a healthy break time. It creates a special and long-lasting bond with the family and the food they eat together when they sit with you. It can also help them mould the time and the type of food they eat as the vital routine of their lives. Make one standard meal for everyone in the family. Create a proper timetable for any mealtime, be it lunch or dinner, and try to follow it as often as possible. This routine will help your kids understand and take a complete look at the meal you serve them. They should know that eating healthy is not a punishment but the right thing to do.

Arrange a colourful meal when you eat with your kids. Vegetables like coloured capsicum, green beans, beetroot, carrot, cucumber are enough to make the table look like a rainbow. Make it a habit for yourself so that whenever you get time to eat with your kids, you do not have to change the whole table. Make sure you do not involve any junk on the table. Junk immediately draws kids’ attention, and they may end up eating it more instead of a healthy meal. Schedule the right snack and mealtime. Children need three healthy meals and two snacks for their growing body and better immunity.

3. Discourage Eating Meals and Snacks While Watching TV

Many parents routinely practice distracted feeding for their kids. This means feeding them in front of a television or while playing games on mobile. Distracted feeding deprives kids of eating, or it may encourage fast eating. Kids would not want to miss even a single frame of a cartoon or any other channel or game. So, they simply might either push the plate of snacks away or eat it without even knowing what they are eating. Watching television while eating can be addictive, making them want to finish the meal soon and get back to it again. Make sure to cut off all the digital environment when eating. It must be a strict habit of the family. It can help the child adapt and understand that screen time is forbidden during a meal.

A lot of advertisements that endorse junk and fast foods can grab the kid’s attention while eating. This can make the child think that eating junk is fine and they can develop a dislike towards healthy home food. Avoiding television and other digital sources while having meals can also build a good positive environment. Tell your kids about the story of the particular vegetable included in their meal. This can also help them develop an interest in healthy eating. Involve them while cooking a meal. This can distract them from the digital world. Help them add some ingredients to the food you are preparing and let them enjoy the cooking.

[Read : 10 Harmful Effects of Junk Food on Toddlers]

4. Have Cheat Days

Yes, it is known that junk food is harmful to kids at their growth stage, but once in a while, giving in to your children’s cravings should be fine. Do not deny and do not strictly ban junk food. Banning it completely might lead to a stage where they can start to develop an aversion towards home food and not eat it behaving aggressively. Take them out for a good trip and let them satisfy their cravings. Call this a cheat day so that they can understand that they cannot repeat this often.

Bake a good cake at home on a holiday, eat together as a family. Include your kids while baking, they will understand the effort behind the tasty cake. Involving kids while cooking will automatically make them eat the outcome.

[Read : ]

5. Pay Attention to Portion Size and Ingredients

Anything in excess is dangerous, so make sure your kid is not habituated to overeating. Try to pay attention to the portion they are consuming. This is where kids’ three meals and two snacks come to the rescue. Once you serve them a meal and snack at the right time, they can avoid being overly hungry. Being hungry for a very long time can lead to overeating as the insulin levels in the body start to go down. When the body needs immediate energy, we tend to satisfy it by eating anything available. This type of overeating can later be a problem. That is why it is important to fill your kid’s day with small meals and snacks like dry fruits and fruits.

Watch out for the ingredients you add while cooking. Avoid using excess oil for everyday meals. An occasional party meal with more oil and sugar is fine but never make it a habit, even if it is homemade. Do not make it too spicy, salty, and oily. Keep an eye on what they eat and tactfully push them to eat more raw vegetables than cooked food.

6. Guide Your Family’s Choices Rather Than Dictate Foods

Kids usually tend to become aggressive when you start dictating them. Give them a choice and let them choose what they want to eat that day. Make sure you select some healthy options and let them pick one among them. This will make your kid eat their own choice with so much joy. Make a good meal plan for the week. Help them choose a snack for the day.

Take them to the grocery store and let them help you select the vegetables for the week. While buying snacks, make it a habit to look at the ingredients on the packet. Try to explain to them why junk is not good and how it can harm them in ways. Write a meal plan and try to stick to it. Have plenty of choices, flip through the menu if needed. At the end of the day, feeding them a nutritious meal is all that matters.

7. Involve Your Children in Food Shopping and Preparing Meals

Kids always enjoy shopping. If you can involve them in the shopping you do for the kitchen, they can enjoy it even more. It will help them to feel good about themselves. Take them to the grocery store and help them select the things you need. They will happily do it for you. A little older kids can also help you in cutting vegetables. Make sure to involve them while you cook and explain to them the value of the vegetable they are about to eat. Kids become extremely enthusiastic if they cook and they will be ready to eat whatever they have made. Explain to them the extent of nutrients they will gain by eating the one they are cooking. This can help them remember the nutritional value of that particular vegetable.

If your kid is a very picky eater, make some interesting shapes while making rotis and pancakes. Allow them to roll out the chapatis so they will enjoy the cooking session and mealtime. Do not give much importance to preparing junk at home. Encourage your child as much as possible in preparing and eating a healthy meal. The parent should be a role model for them in this matter. Your eating habits will influence them to an extent that they will blindly follow you. Give them the right direction and stay there while they cook and finish the process. Kids are meant to be fussy while cooking. Admire them while they cook. This increases the enthusiasm to learn new things. Be patient and ask them for help while you clean the kitchen.

[Read : Top Delicious Foods For Picky Toddlers]

8. Plan For Snacks

Meals are not just enough for a growing kid. Snack time is equally important. Snacking completes the nutrition and can act as an energy booster in between meals. Understandably, finding so many nutritious meals and snacks for children without them losing interest in it is a bit tough. Here we have given some easy and reliable options that can be useful during the snack time of your children.

• Cut and plate the seasonal fruits. Make sure to give only one fruit at a time. Do not mix up.
• Cut and boil some vegetables and plate them attractively.
• Bake small banana walnut muffins. Kids can enjoy such sweets topped with honey.
• Make some dry fruit bars and you can save them for some days. This is one of the most nutrient-filled snacks that can also act as the best replacement for any chocolate bar.
• Give them a tiny bowl of nuts and dry fruits like cashews, badam, pistachios, dates, raisins, and avoid including walnuts if your kid is allergic to them.
• Dry fruits are very rich in fiber and contain vitamins and omega 3 fatty acids. These help in boosting excellent immunity and avoiding any growth-related problems in children.
• Prepare milkshakes by adding dates and one fruit.
• Boiled eggs can be the best source of protein for kids.

Snacking gives them enough energy to be active by fulfilling their hunger between meals. It is fine to give in to their junk food requests once in a while, but keep an eye and stop tactfully before that falls as a pattern.

All the above tricks and tips may work or may not. But trying these can eventually help you build a proper timetable and stick to it. It will be easier to plan your day, which can lower the weight of your daily tasks. Remember that you need to be someone your child can look up to and follow. Most of the kids simply imitate their parents and start following them. Inculcating a healthy diet plan and the right eating habits in your kids can help them grow stronger with better health and immunity. Sticking to a weekly meal plan and snack plan can also inculcate disciplined eating habits in them from a very early age. Anything that sticks to a tender mind will stay with them growing to be a beautiful and appreciable habit.

[Read : Healthy Snacks for Children Prepared at Home]

FAQ’s

1. How Can I Make My Kid Eat Healthily?

• Give them their own choice in selecting the food for the day.
• Sit and eat as a family.
• Plan a healthy and interesting snack.
• Explain the nutrition content of what they are eating and help them understand the superpower of nutrients to the body.
• Avoid screen time while eating.
• Do not encourage junk food as an often reliable snack.
• Make your dining table look colourful with different types of vegetables.

2. What are the Four Types of Healthy Eating Habits in Kids?

• Ask your kid to eat slowly, help them avoid overeating. Overeating can cause obesity and health problems in the future. Chewing the food completely before swallowing can help in better and easy digestion.
• Snacking fresh fruits and dry fruits is a healthy eating habit. It is also an excellent way of replacing junk like chips and other fried foods. Fruits help build a better metabolism, thus keeping all the digestive problems away.
• Make it a habit to have breakfast. A healthy breakfast gives a lot of energy needed for the day.
• Include two snacks for kids. Help them understand the difference between a healthy snack and junk that merely fills the stomach without any nutrition.

3. How Can Kids Develop Healthy Eating Habits?

• A family is the only thing that influences a kid until they are grown and start to have their circle. Meanwhile, it is your responsibility to inculcate better and healthy eating habits in them.
• Try to avoid bringing junk home with the groceries. Not having junk at home will slowly draw them off from that.
• Introduce new foods and try making different meal combinations. Try to give them the way they like it.
• Avoid screen time while having a meal or a snack. Try to dedicate the time solely to eating.
• Kids follow their parents. Since the home is the only environment they spend more time in. Make sure your diet is healthy.
• Make it a routine to have good food at home. Allowing junk once in a while is fine, but that should never be taken as a habit.

4. How Can I Stop My Child From Having Junk?

It is not easy to pull your children back from the world of that addictive junk. Try your best to make home food interesting and appealing. Sit with them while they are having a meal, or have it together as a family. Give them a chance to cook sometimes, they will eat their creations. Explain to them that junk can be harmful in many ways.

Read Also: Top 12 Most Unhealthy Foods For Kids