healthy eating habits for kids

Healthy Eating Habits For Kids - It's Challenging For Parents.

It can be a challenge to encourage children to eat vegetables and fruits every day.

Parents who get their children to adopt healthy eating habits from a young age can have a positive influence on their kids’ dietary habits later in life. Over the years, researchers have found evidence that eating behaviors and meal habits in early childhood have an impact on children’s food preferences and eating patterns in adulthood. This does not mean that children who are overweight need to go on to become overweight adults but several researchers suggest that weight patterns of children are an indicator of health issues in adulthood. Additionally, research studies imply that the likelihood of children to suffer from obesity doubles when their parents are overweight.

Most parents know about the importance of their kids’ nutritional needs yet it is easy to feel overwhelmed when accessing information from various sources. Early childhood is an important time to establish healthy eating patterns. A balanced diet is a key to healthy eating habits because it provides children with the nutrients they need to grow. Such a diet should contain three daily meals and two healthy snacks with foods of the following food groups: protein, carbohydrates, fruits, vegetables, dairy foods, some fat, and sugar.

But, for others luckily, there are several ways for parents to shape their children’s eating behavior positively.

Eating well doesn't mean that you need to cut back on calories or fat. It means choosing whole grains, lean proteins, low-fat dairy products, and plenty of fresh produce.

Develop healthy eating habits:-

To help children develop healthy eating habits:

• Provide plenty of vegetables, fruits, and whole-grain products.
• Include low-fat or non-fat milk or dairy products, including cheese and yogurt.
• Choose lean meats, poultry, fish, lentils, and beans for protein.
• Encourage your family to drink lots of water.
• Limit sugary drinks.
• Limit consumption of sugar and saturated fat.

Remember that small changes every day can lead to success!

Getting your kids to eat more fruits and vegetables starts by teaching them to love real food and the natural tastes and textures fruits and vegetables provide. You can do this by serving a variety of fruits and veggies in a variety of ways. If you serve fruits or vegetables in different forms, textures, and temperatures, that will help children develop a maturepalate, which is more accepting to a wider variety of new foods. Training kids tastes and appetites will help them develop a love for real food. Don't hesitate to offer fruits and veggies fresh, frozen, dried, canned, juiced, pureed, blended, etc.

Limit calorie-rich temptations

Reducing the availability of high-fat and high-sugar or salty snacks can help your children develop healthy eating habits. Only allow your children to eat these foods rarely so that they truly will be treats! Here are examples of easy-to-prepare, low-fat, and low-sugar snacks that are 100 calories or less:

• 1 cup carrots, broccoli, or bell peppers with 2 tablespoons hummus
• A medium apple or banana
• 1 cup blueberries or grapes.
• One-fourth cup of tuna wrapped in a lettuce leaf.
• A few homemade oven-baked kale chips.

Help children stay active

In addition to being fun for children, regular physical activity has many health benefits, including:

• Strengthening bones.
• Decreasing blood pressure.
• Reducing stress and anxiety.
• Increasing self-esteem.
• Helping with weight management.

Children ages 3 through 5 years should be active throughout the day. Children and adolescents ages 6 through 17 years should be physically active for at least 60 minutes each day. Include aerobic activity, which is anything that makes their hearts beat faster. Also, include bone-strengthening activities such as running or jumping and muscle-strengthening activities such as climbing or push-ups.

Remember that children imitate adults. Start adding physical activity to your own routine and encourage your child to join you.

Summary

Eat less sugar, Make half of your meal fruits and vegetables Eat a variety of proteins, Choose whole grains, Stick to 4 meals per day, Avoid sodium Avoid processed food, Drink lots and lots of water, Sleep well and play hard. Making sure about the eating habits of the kids from the beginning is very important. If kids are not taught to eat all the fruits and vegetables from the beginning itself, they might face problems in eating different types of food when they grow up. Probability of becoming very choosy in food is very high if right eating habits are not taught from the beginning.