For your child to be an adult with food awareness, it is important to teach some habits early on. The example of family members can significantly influence children’s eating habits. Here are some of the things parents can do to get healthy eating habits for kids.
Healthy eating kids
Okay, that kid who was crawling in the supermarket behind broccoli and carrots is a television thing. But although the vegetables are not among the dreams of most of the small ones, they should be part of the menu from the earliest childhood. In the end, it is low that the cucumber twists. It is natural that between 3 and five years, the child tends to a more monotonous diet, with lots of white rice, noodles (including snapshot), butter. That is part of a process called neophobia, that is, fear of the new. Everything that is strange causes fear. Just imagine the black bark of the eggplant! It’s scary.
Creating healthy eating habits early is key to avoiding overweight, childhood obesity and diseases like diabetes and hypertension. Many experts now regard childhood obesity as a global epidemic. According to data, obesity reaches 15% of children between five and nine years, and about 30% are overweight recommended by the World Health Organization.
Healthy eating early years
Food for children is something that should be well thought out by parents. Providing healthy food education early is not always an easy task. It takes care and attention to know how to choose the correct nutrients for the best development of the child. That is: it is important to avoid some foods in the daily menu of the small. Among them are those rich in sugars, fats, and sodium such as filled cookies, sweets, soft drinks and snack foods.
And it is a routine that parents can train the eating habits of their children. Meals should be made at the table with the full attention of the parents. And for the child to enjoy food, it must be proven several times. It is through this continuous contact that the child’s palate will become accustomed to that food, making it natural and tasty.
Set an example for healthy eating early in years
It is at home that the child learns to eat well, healthily and consciously. Take care of what you eat in front of your child, after all, and you are a role model for him. So eating at the table at the right times and healthy foods like healthy fruits, vegetables, vegetables, and cereals are all attitudes you should keep as well.
Eat what you planted!
Even if you live in small apartments, you can plant some seasoning and some vegetables. Getting children involved in the process of creating food encourages caring and appreciating food. This incentive will be positive, for example, when it comes to assembling a more colorful and healthy dish – in addition to the child’s understanding of where the food comes from since many people think it comes from the supermarket shelves.
Helping on the menu
Inserting the child into the healthy eating recipes and purchases generate involvement and commitment to what is being planned, as well as being a great opportunity for exchanges and for you to teach more about food and nutrients.
Power selection
This phase that of neophobia is one of the most crucial for the formation of the alimentary routine. If the situation is not well managed, the bad habit is maintained, and the child will become a picky eater. In addition to mismanagement of the situation, there is no certainty about what makes the child to become selective or not. Studies show that those who were heavily manipulated at birth, such as preterm infants who received medication and introduction of the catheter, show a greater tendency.
This type of child often develops some nutritional deficiency such as anemia, lack of iron, or malnutrition due to lack of protein. It is not uncommon for this picture to remain until adolescence when nutritional deficiency can impair growth, cognitive development. And do not be surprised if the pick eater child or adolescent is an obese, although malnourished. The foods chosen are often highly caloric. But they may also be underweight, especially of school age, if compared to children with healthy eating. Often they skip a meal, eat slowly and very little.
Accurate strategy
There are some behaviors that parents or caregivers should take especially from 3 to 5 years to make the stage go as healthy as possible. First, do not fail to offer varied foods, even if the child rejects, one, two, three, four times, up to ten times. Test different presentations and textures. If she does not like mashed potatoes, serve them roasted. Loving is a matter of habit. Chinese does not eat a grasshopper? So he got used to it early.
Family Example – Eating habits
It may seem obvious, but the example inside the house is everything. The child or adolescent needs to see their parents eating healthy food. And, very important: all meals should be made at the table, with altogether. Most important of all is not to fight or make drama at the moment of eating.
Mealtime can not turn into a battle. The emotional must not in any way interfere. Or lunch and dinner become a war of power and manipulation. When talking about creating a healthy eating habit, it is not just a force of expression. We are very forgiving of food. When the child says he does not want to brush the tooth, the mother will not allow it. But if you do not want to eat, this becomes a much bigger issue than it is.
No television
All attention must be focused on the meal. No tablet, iPad, television or cell phone at mealtime. The timing of the meal is an opportunity for the family to be together and interact.
The media encourages consumption of fast foods, treats, and snacks, often with the sale associated with the delivery of gifts or toys. In the case of adolescents, the exposure is even greater, and this difficulty adds up to the reasonable newly acquired independence. But if you have had adequate healthy eating guide since you were a child and you constantly see a good example at home, it is easier to maintain a healthy diet, even with small slips from time to time. Even if you think you did everything wrong-and you did not do it, you’re quiet, and it’s common to lose yourself trying to get it right-you can reverse the bad habit of either the child or the teenager.
Be creative
Nowadays several inventions can help you at that time. One is to create fun dishes for the little ones, making drawings, clown and other animals. Several inspirational websites and photos show you how to make fun, healthy and tasty meals to fill your child’s eyes.