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- Start Early
First, estabยญlish healthy eatยญing habits in the earยญly years of your childโs 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
- 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 Youโre 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 wonโt 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. Thatโs 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 2โ18 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.