Healthy diet for kids helps them to stay healthy and fit. Eating healthy should not be a problem with your kids if you follow the right approach. Find out how. Deciding on a healthy diet for kids is not really a big ordeal as it is commonly made out to be. It is true that most kids are fussy about what is served to them and they throw a lot of tantrums on what is served to them. But you can get creative in deciding your kid’s diet and will be well surprised to find that your kid is literally eating out of your hands. Given below are a few tips on how you can incorporate healthy diet in your kid’s life: In this articleBuild the Habit Right at the BeginningThere Should be VarietyPersist Even if the Food is not Accepted Treats Should be Offered as ‘Treats’ Build the Habit Right at the Beginning You can actually build the taste preference for your child right from the time when you are giving him his first solid food. By providing him with a healthy meal choice, you can tell your kid without much of an effort, that he has the best option, which is, eating healthy. There are actually studies to prove breastfeeding can inculcate the healthy habit of eating well in kids right at the infancy. Kids naturally have a thing for sweet and salty foods. So if you provide them sugary drinks, chocolates and junk food early on, you are actually enhancing the chances of the kid becoming an obese in later life. There Should be Variety Kids dislike monotony. So try your best that you do not end up repeating the same fruit or vegetables every second day. This will build a boredom that might be difficult to get rid of, and they will keep demanding for junk to appease their tastes. Ensure that when your kid feels hungry they have the option of a wide variety of fruits and healthy snacks at their disposal. That way, even when they are not at home, they will be more likely to choose healthier options instead of the junk. Persist Even if the Food is not Accepted If the kid refuses to have your food, do not give up and cater to his demand and provide him with the sugary, junk and unhealthy option, just to placate him. Or think, that at least this way he will be having something that he likes to eat. This is a wrong judgment and decision. Once the kid finds that he has unhealthy options, it will be difficult to make him have the healthy food easily. So take responsibility for building habits. Persist with the food and make an effort to make the food interesting from the point of view of the kid as well. Treats Should be Offered as ‘Treats’ This means that when you want to treat the kid, offer it as a healthy option. Treat does not entail that you have the license to eat junk. If the kid prefers sweets, offer a glass of chilled ‘Badam-mango’ milkshake or a desert made of banana smoothie topped with strawberry and grapes. But keep other options like a piece of chocolate, a slice of pizza, or any such fast food that your kid is fond of as one of the occasional treats. Finally, the most important point that you cannot afford to forget – you must put in practice everything that you are preaching. If you are trying to help your kid understand that eating healthy is the desirable option in life in order to stay fit and healthy, you cannot ignore that fact that you as parents, must adhere to this objective as well. You cannot pose a different set of rule for the kid and then go out get some junk fast food or a bottle of cola for yourself. You ought to act as a responsible role model.
Healthy diet for kids helps them to stay healthy and fit. Eating healthy should not be a problem with your kids if you follow the right approach. Find out how. Deciding on a healthy diet for kids is not really a big ordeal as it is commonly made out to be. It is true that most kids are fussy about what is served to them and they throw a lot of tantrums on what is served to them. But you can get creative in deciding your kid’s diet and will be well surprised to find that your kid is literally eating out of your hands. Given below are a few tips on how you can incorporate healthy diet in your kid’s life:
You can actually build the taste preference for your child right from the time when you are giving him his first solid food. By providing him with a healthy meal choice, you can tell your kid without much of an effort, that he has the best option, which is, eating healthy. There are actually studies to prove breastfeeding can inculcate the healthy habit of eating well in kids right at the infancy. Kids naturally have a thing for sweet and salty foods. So if you provide them sugary drinks, chocolates and junk food early on, you are actually enhancing the chances of the kid becoming an obese in later life.
There Should be Variety
Kids dislike monotony. So try your best that you do not end up repeating the same fruit or vegetables every second day. This will build a boredom that might be difficult to get rid of, and they will keep demanding for junk to appease their tastes. Ensure that when your kid feels hungry they have the option of a wide variety of fruits and healthy snacks at their disposal. That way, even when they are not at home, they will be more likely to choose healthier options instead of the junk.
Persist Even if the Food is not Accepted
If the kid refuses to have your food, do not give up and cater to his demand and provide him with the sugary, junk and unhealthy option, just to placate him. Or think, that at least this way he will be having something that he likes to eat. This is a wrong judgment and decision. Once the kid finds that he has unhealthy options, it will be difficult to make him have the healthy food easily. So take responsibility for building habits. Persist with the food and make an effort to make the food interesting from the point of view of the kid as well.
Treats Should be Offered as ‘Treats’
This means that when you want to treat the kid, offer it as a healthy option. Treat does not entail that you have the license to eat junk. If the kid prefers sweets, offer a glass of chilled ‘Badam-mango’ milkshake or a desert made of banana smoothie topped with strawberry and grapes. But keep other options like a piece of chocolate, a slice of pizza, or any such fast food that your kid is fond of as one of the occasional treats.
Finally, the most important point that you cannot afford to forget – you must put in practice everything that you are preaching. If you are trying to help your kid understand that eating healthy is the desirable option in life in order to stay fit and healthy, you cannot ignore that fact that you as parents, must adhere to this objective as well. You cannot pose a different set of rule for the kid and then go out get some junk fast food or a bottle of cola for yourself. You ought to act as a responsible role model.
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- The Indiaparenting Team
good article with practical , simple and good tips.keep up the good work. we need inculcate healthy eating habits in kids just like what our parents did for us.
How can parents develop healthy eating habits in children? Which food items should not be given to children? How to include healthy foods in children’s diet?
Amit Kumar
Guys do check this the Humpty Bumpty Kids blog. They will definitely have your answer..will help solve a lot of problems. ...
Sowmya Krish
Many parents these days have the same question especially with the increase in junk food everyday. An article from Humpty Bumpty Kids on Instilling Good Habits in Children helped me and my friends a l...
friend
i think you should add variation to ur dishes such as paalak paratha u can add cheese, instead of making plain khichadi you can add veggies to it etc... u have to be innovative with ur cooking.. m sur...