You are the most important influence on your child and can do many things to help your children develop healthy eating habits for life. Offering a variety of foods helps children get the nutrients they need from every food group. They will also be more likely to try new foods and to like more foods. When children develop a taste for many types of foods, it’s easier to plan family meals. Cook together, eat together, talk together, and make mealtime a family time. Here are 10 tips on how to be a healthy role model for your children:
Lead and show by example. Eat vegetables, fruits, and whole grains with meals or as snacks. Let your child see that you like to munch on raw vegetables. Avoid costly and calorie-rich sodas, sweets and “junk foods”.
Go food shopping together. Grocery shopping can teach your child about food and nutrition. Discuss where vegetables, fruits, grains, dairy, and protein foods come from. Let your children make healthy choices.
Get creative in the kitchen. Cut food into fun and easy shapes with cookie cutters. Name a food your child helps make. Serve “Haley’s Salad” or “Jamison’s Sweet Potatoes” for dinner. Encourage your child to invent new snacks. Make your own trail mixes from dry whole-grain, low-sugar cereal and dried fruit.
Offer the same foods for everyone. Stop being a “short-order cook” by making different dishes to please children. It’s easier and cheaper to plan family meals when everyone eats the same foods.
Reward with attention, not food. Comfort with hugs and talks. Choose not to offer sweets as rewards. This leads your child to believe sweets or dessert foods are better than other foods. When meals are not eaten, kids do not need “extras”, such as candy or cookies, as replacement foods.
Focus on each other at the table. Talk about fun and happy things at mealtime. Turn off the television. Take phone calls later. Try to make eating meals a stress-free time.
Listen to your child. If your child says he or she is hungry, offer a small, healthy snack, even if it is not a scheduled time to eat. Offer choices. Ask “Which would you like for dinner: broccoli or cauliflower?” instead of “Do you want broccoli for dinner?”
Limit screen time. Allow no more than 2 hours a day of TV and computer games. Get up and move during commercials to get some physical activity.
Encourage physical activity. Make physical activity fun for the whole family. Involve your children in the planning. Walk, run, and play with your child, instead of sitting on the sidelines. Set an example by being physically active.
Be a good food role model by trying new foods yourself. Describe its taste, texture, and smell. Offer one new food at a time. Serve something your child likes along with the new food. Offer new foods at the beginning of a meal, when your child is very hungry. Don’t give up if your child doesn’t like it. It can take several tries to get some children to eat new foods. Child research shows that children may need to see a new food 10 to 12 times before they will try it. If you stop offering new foods to children who initially refuse them, it can lead to a narrow range in appreciation for different foods as they grow and develop.
About the Author: Lisa Mapel is an Extension Program Assistant and Better Living for Texans educator with the Brown County AgriLife Extension office. Lisa may be reached at 325.646.0386.
