Encouraging Healthy Eating Habits among Children

“Geeee… I don’t like this vegetable!” “I don’t want to eat breakfast!” “This is not my favorite food!”

All parents would be familiar with these phrases. These are commonly heard on the dining table as kids crib about food. Parents are often concerned about their kids’ eating habits. They sometimes are unaware of or are unable to entice the child enough to eat a balanced diet. While there is no assured formula to ensure that your preschooler eats healthy food, but there are definitely ways to motivate them towards developing healthy eating habits. Encouraging your child to build healthy eating habits now can help him stay strong and active for life.

Take kids shopping for healthy food

Involve your kids in grocery shopping. Make the grocery store a play school franchise in India ground for them to choose healthy foods. You may give your child a small list of items to look for and check off as he finds them. You can also talk to your child about where healthy foods come from (i.e., a farm, a garden, the sea). Once in a while plan a trip to the farm or a kitchen garden to explain to children the source of food. Explain to them that healthy food usually comes from farms, sea, garden and other natural resources. While, foods available in cans, plastic covers and wrappers may not be as healthy as it doesn’t come from the natural resources and is processed in factories. 

Explain them about anytime vs sometime foods

Try talking to your child about different types of food as being either “anytime” foods or “sometime” foods. An “anytime” food means something we can eat every day, such as fruits and veggies, whole grains, lean meats, low-fat dairy, and water. “Sometime” foods are high in sugar, fat, or salt that we should only eat once in awhile. To bring home the idea of “anytime” foods, talk with your child about other activities he does every day to stay healthy, such as brushing his teeth or washing his hands. You can show him Cookie Monster’s video called “Cookie is a sometime food” available on www.sesamestreet.org which can explain him the difference between sometime and anytime food. There are many similar videos of Galli Galli Sim Sim also available on www.galligallisimsim.comwhich can teach kids about nutritious food.

Meal time = Fun time

Parents should aim to make meal time fun for kids. Simply by making the regular sandwiches in different shapes or doing an art on the plate with fruits and vegetables can attract your child’s attention. You can also encourage your child to participate in cooking healthy food. Simple salads and yogurts can be prepared by them. Dishes that they prepare remain close to their heart and they tend to enjoy eating them after the hard-work.

Be a role model

Children often imitate what they see at home, simply because they feel that what their elders do must be what they should do too. Hence, it is important to let your child see you order a fresh salad rather a pizza or burger. Try and eat with your child and model positive behaviors, show them how you enjoy healthy anytime food like poha, idli, dalia, milk, cereal, fruits, pulses, vegetables,  etc., how a healthy colorful food keeps you healthy and fit.  Educators at school franchise in India also encourage the habit of healthy eating among children. By instructing parents to pack nutritious food in Tiffin and by engaging kids in buying healthy food items at the Health Café set up at all Sesame Street Preschools, educators help children understand the significance of healthy eating. 

If bad eating habits reign during childhood, they can be hard to change once children have become comfortable with their routines. Hence, it is important to work on your child’s eating habits now rather than waiting for these to change later.

If you are looking for a play school franchise in India or preschool franchise opportunities, the author of this article recommends sesame street preschools - the world largest preschool educator’s approach toward education that has helped kids grow smarter, stronger and kinder.