Train Your Child’s Eating Habit

by Midas

let your child assist you in the kitchen

Your child’s eating habit depends on you. Your child’s good eating habits start in your own home. Not only that, ‘acquired’ health problems like diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol level, heart problems, etc does not just affect the individual because of his or her wrong eating habit in a week. Most of it started when they were young children. Their love of salty, sweet , fatty and preserved foods rooted when they were still young that was carried over to their adulthood. These habits usually precipitates resulting to ‘acquired’ diseases that most people are suffering nowadays. Can you afford your child to suffer such diseases someday because you have not trained them while they were still young?

Here are some tips that might help you train your child on his or her eating habit:

Children loves to copy what the adults are doing. As the old rhyme says, “Monkey see, monkey do.” Parents, please set yourself as a good example to your child. Share meals with your child with the same dishes for him or her to copy your own eating habits.

Discourage your child snacking on junk foods. Have plenty of supply of healthy foods such as fruits, raw carrots or cheese, which your child can eat in between meals instead of junk foods and other preserved or refined foods.

Allow your child to follow their natural appetites in deciding ‘how much’ to eat. However, you should be followed on ‘what’ to eat and not their tastes, for most of young children wants to eat their favorite foods only.

At his or her early age, encourage your child to enjoy fruits and vegetables by giving him or her different varieties. Aim for five portions a day for the child to enjoy enough nutrients and phytochemicals from what he or she ate.

Invite your child to prepare your meal. Encourage your child to help out with simple task in the kitchen such as measuring, stirring, and arranging foods in plate. This activity will help kid to love the food you are preparing for him or her. This will stimulate child’s appetite.

Do not encourage sweet tooth. The chance for your child not to crave for sweet foods is high if you will not add unnecessary sugar to drinks and foods.

Same thing with salt, the chance for your child not to crave for salty foods is high if you will not add extra salt by sprinkling it over the food. Remember that taste buds can be trained.

Always provide whole milk to your child if he or she is under fives. Kids need the energy provided by the extra calories in whole milk that cannot be found in a skimmed milk.

Do not give food like whole nuts to your child under four years old that may cause choking. Grind those foods if you want your child to avail its nutrition value. And, make sure that your child is not allergic to nuts.

Educate your child on the importance of healthy eating while your child is young, for him or her to know and love what he or she is doing. And, for your child to practice a good eating habit that can be carried on to his or her adulthood.