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Eatยญing a healthy, balยญanced diet is imperยญaยญtive for young chilยญdren, so steerยญing them away from junk food and sweets is vital for their physยญiยญcal and intelยญlecยญtuยญal development. With perยญseยญverยญance and patience, and knowlยญedge of a balยญanced diet, you can ensure that your todยญdler is conยญsumยญing healthy food that will help them to thrive in childยญhood and latยญer in life. Studยญies have shown that a healthy diet can have enorยญmous health benยญeยญfits. It can help to mainยญtain a healthy weight, staยญbiยญlize a childโ€™s mood, improve acaยญdยญeยญmยญic perยญforยญmance, preยญvent physยญiยญcal health probยญlems, improve their menยญtal and emoยญtionยญal well-being and even lowยญer the risk of suicide. Furยญtherยญmore, diet is often examยญined in chilยญdren who sufยญfer from conยญdiยญtions such as depresยญsion, ADHD, schizยญoยญphreยญnia, bipoยญlar and anxยญiยญety. Thus, a healthy diet for todยญdlers is an imporยญtant daiยญly habit.

- Start Early

First, estabยญlish healthy eatยญing habits in the earยญly years of your childโ€™s life. Make healthy food norยญmal. Be sure to set a good examยญple by eatยญing healthy food yourยญself, and avoid packยญaged and processed foods because your chilยญdren will imiยญtate you. You should aim to eat food as close to its natยญurยญal state as posยญsiยญble. Proยญmote this habit by disยญguisยญing healthy food. Add vegยญetaยญbles to a deliยญcious stew, mash-up carยญrots with mashed potaยญto and think about the way you present food so that it appeals to children.

- Involve Your Children

Healthy Eating Habits for Kids l healthy habits for kids l healthy eating for kids l healthy eating kids l kids healthy eating plate Cook with your chilยญdren. Cookยญing more meals at home is an effecยญtive way to ensure the nutriยญtion of your meals, and includยญing chilยญdren in the prepaยญraยญtion of the food makes them more familยญiar with the ingreยญdiยญents of their meals and teachยญes them a valuยญable life lesson. Have your kids decide what is on the menu some days, and who knows, they might even start cookยญing for you when theyโ€™re old enough. You could even take this one step furยญther and grow some food at home if you have space and the resources.

- Eat Breakfast

This may sound obviยญous, but many peoยญple skimp on or skip altoยญgethยญer the first meal of the day. Encourยญage your chilยญdren to eat a wholeยญsome and subยญstanยญtial breakยญfast, which will help them study and play and feed them food such as enriched cereยญal, fish, meat, milk, eggs, cheese or yogurt.

If Youโ€™re Strapped For Time, You Could Try One Of The Following Techniques To Ensure a Healthy Breakfast:

Boil eggs at the beginยญning of the week and give one to your chilยญdren every day, as well as a piece of fruit and some healthy cereal. Make breakยญfast burยญriยญtos and freeze them. Fill a wrap with scramยญbled eggs, chickยญen or beef and cheese. For todยญdlers, these can be smallยญer or mini burritos.

- Come Together

Meals should be an expeยญriยญence. They can bring famยญiยญlies togethยญer and can reinยญforce the imporยญtance of meals as a healthy daiยญly ritual. Sit down at least once a day to eat a meal as a famยญiยญly, and if your todยญdler is at home with you most of the day, eat with them as much as possible. Encourยญage chilยญdren to enjoy healthy food and the expeยญriยญence of eatยญing, as this will help them to make posยญiยญtive assoยญciยญaยญtions with nutriยญtious food. Eatยญing togethยญer allows you to modยญel healthy eatยญing to your chilยญdren and to talk over any probยญlems your chilยญdren are havยญing. There are enorยญmous benยญeยญfits to sitยญting down togethยญer to enjoy a meal that has been preยญpared by one or more famยญiยญly members.

- Snacks

Chilยญdren of any age like to snack. Limยญit their access to sweets and unhealthy snacks, and offer them fruit instead. Of course, this wonโ€™t appeal to many chilยญdren, so, as menยญtioned preยญviยญousยญly, find a way to present the fruit appealingly. Add a dash of honยญey to chopped fruit, and for sumยญmer days, make popยญsiยญcles with 100% fruit juice or kebabs with difยญferยญent fruits. Rememยญber, preยญsenยญtaยญtion is imporยญtant, so try a variยญety of difยญferยญent colours. Furยญtherยญmore, make a fruit treat. Sell the snack as a reward or speยญcial treat from an earยญly age to creยญate the habit in toddlers. Try carยญrots or celยญery with a dip such as humยญmus, or offer some cute litยญtle proยญtein balls. Need furยญther inspiยญraยญtion? Go fruit pickยญing with your toddler!

- Sugar

The great tempยญtaยญtion. Chilยญdren crave it; we crave it. Howยญevยญer, chilยญdren can get all of their required daiยญly intake of sugยญar from that which occurs natยญuยญralยญly in food. Thatโ€™s right, nutriยญtionยญists tell us that there is no need to add any sugยญar to food, proยญvidยญed a child is eatยญing a balยญanced diet. Added sugยญar can lead to diaยญbetes, weight gain, denยญtal probยญlems, obeยญsiยญty, hyperยญacยญtivยญiยญty and mood disยญorยญders latยญer in life, so avoid adding any sugยญar to the meals your todยญdler consumes. Kids who are 2โ€“18 should have less than 25 grams or 6 teaยญspoons of added sugยญar daiยญly for a healthy heart, recยญomยญmendยญed for chilยญdren by the Amerยญiยญcan Heart Assoยญciยญaยญtion. The averยญage soda conยญtains 10 teaยญspoons of sugยญar. Also, studยญies show about 75% of packยญages of food in the USA conยญtain added sugยญar. Again, the mesยญsage is clear; avoid packยญaged and processed food where possible.

- Refined Carbs

Foods such as white bread, pizยญza dough, pasยญta, pasยญtries, white flour and white rice, and many popยญuยญlar breakยญfast kinds of cereยญal, fall into the catยญeยญgoยญry of simยญple or refined carbohydrates. This simยญply means that they are refined grains that have been stripped of bran, fibre and nutrients. Not only have these foods removed the nutriยญtious eleยญment, but they also proยญvide a sudยญden rise in blood sugยญar, which, as we all know, proยญduces sigยญnifยญiยญcant mood swings in chilยญdren, as well as negยญaยญtive physยญiยญcal side effects. Aim to feed your todยญdler what are known as comยญplex carbs. These can be found in food such as nuts, fruit, beans, brown rice, whole wheat or multiยญgrain bread, high-fibre cereยญals and non-starchy vegetables. As menยญtioned earยญliยญer, eatยญing food close to its natยญurยญal state can help to keep your todยญdler healthy. Comยญplex carยญboยญhyยญdrates proยญvide longer-lastยญing enerยญgy because the body digests them more slowly.

- Alternatives

Todยญdlers will demand tasty food. As hard as you try to keep them to healthy foods, they will taste junk food at some point, and they will be hooked. So, how do you steer them away from the food they crave?

Here Are Some Alternatives:

  • Choc chip cookยญies โ€“ Fig bars, vanilยญla wafers or fruit with caramel dip
  • Doughยญnuts and pasยญtries โ€“ Bagels, Engยญlish muffins or homeยญmade pasยญtries with less sugar.
  • Fried chickยญen โ€“ Baked or grilled chicken.
  • French fries โ€“ Baked fries, lightยญly saltยญed and grilled.
  • Ice cream โ€“ Yoghurt, sorยญbet or fruit smoothies.

- Eating Out

Healthy Eating Habits for Kids l healthy habits for kids l healthy eating for kids l healthy eating kids l kids healthy eating plate Speยญcial occaยญsions, rewards and famยญiยญly time should be celยญeยญbratยญed with a night out, which can also be healthy. Choose a restauยญrant that you know offers some nutriยญtious options and unhealthy food or treats. Avoid the fries and instead order the option with salยญad or vegยญetaยญbles. Do the same when orderยญing the kidsโ€™ meal, which will usuยญalยญly offer the option of fries. Many meals will offer sides, and few of these are nutritious. Monยญiยญtor porยญtion sizes. Overeatยญing among chilยญdren can be as damยญagยญing as eatยญing unhealthy food, so limยญit the amount of food your todยญdler conยญsumes when eatยญing out, just as you would at home. Give your todยญdler a treat from time to time, but be sure to let them know that it is simยญply a treat.

- Fat

There are good fats and bad fats. Feed your todยญdler monounยญsatยญuยญratยญed fats and polyunยญsatยญuยญratยญed fats , and avoid trans fats. Monounยญsatยญuยญratยญed and polyunยญsatยญuยญratยญed fats are found in pumpยญkin, sesame seeds, nuts, avoยญcaยญdos and olive oil, as well as walยญnuts, flaxseed and fish such as salmon, herยญring and mackerel. Junk foods, includยญing fried food and cookยญies, are full of trans fats. Be aware also that trans fats can be found in parยญtialยญly hydroยญgenatยญed vegยญetable oils, some baked goods and some kinds of margarine.

- Fussy Foodies

Chilยญdren can be fussy, so expose them to many difยญferยญent nutriยญtious foods, in many difยญferยญent forms, from an earยญly age. If they are fussy, present new foods as an advenยญture, an expeยญriยญence, and make it fun, rememยญberยญing only to present one new food at a time.

- Exercise

Of course, healthy food must be comยญpleยญmentยญed by the exerยญcise your child is doing to stay healthy. Set an examยญple by exerยญcisยญing yourยญself and where posยญsiยญble, make physยญiยญcal activยญiยญty part of your regยญuยญlar famยญiยญly rouยญtine. Find sportยญing teams and physยญiยญcal activยญiยญties in your comยญmuยญniยญty for your child to join and explain the link between a balยญanced diet and physยญiยญcal growth, and athยญletยญic performance.

Last But Not Least!

The physยญiยญcal, menยญtal and emoยญtionยญal benยญeยญfits of a healthy diet in young chilยญdren are proven. Guidยญing chilยญdren away from junk food and peer presยญsure is difยญfiยญcult but imporยญtant, and with knowlยญedge and perยญseยญverยญance, this can be achieved. Set a posยญiยญtive examยญple by eatยญing well yourยญself, and get chilยญdren into posยญiยญtive habits as earยญly as possible. Avoid packยญaged and processed foods and eat food close to its natยญurยญal state when at home and eatยญing out. Sit down as a famยญiยญly and preยญpare food at home, and fill your meals with as many fresh ingreยญdiยญents as possible.

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