Healthy Eating Habits for Kids

One of the most important aspects of healthy eating is to make sure that children have a balanced diet.  This means that their food choices should include foods from each of the major food groups, and should contain a wide variety of foods. There are simple ways to ensure that your children get the chance to learn how satisfying it can be to have a balanced diet:

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1. Family meals together give your kids a chance to see how the adults and other children in their home eat.  It also makes eating a fun, pleasurable time – leading to positive feelings about food in the future.

2. Always offer a variety of foods, including varying snack foods.  If you offer new, delicious foods, kids will be more likely to enjoy a nice balance of foods.

3. Lead by example – show your children the balanced diet that you eat, and explain how it is important for good health.

4. Don’t fight about it.  If your children are resistant to trying new foods, don’t worry.  Keep offering small amounts of the new food.  Eventually, kids will be adventurous and give it a try, and it will become part of their balanced diet.

5. Ask your kids what they want to try.  Instead of the parents always making the food choices, give the kids a chance to decide which new foods they will want to try.  This will help them learn that adding foods to their balanced diet can be rewarding.

Children benefit from eating a variety of foods, and it’s fun to try new things Of course, younger children might go through stages where it seems like they prefer to eat the same food at each meal, but this should be balanced with attempts to introduce new foods into their diets.  You will find that teaching your kids about new foods and their health is a fantastic way to give them a great start in life.

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