How to Raise Kids Who Eat Healthy

One in three children is overweight or obese, and childhood obesity rates have tripled over the past three decades, according to Let's Move. With declining opportunities for exercise and ever-increasing emphases on snacking, children are putting on weight the same way adults in America are. If you want to raise healthy, happy kids who grow up to make their own smart choices about food, instill in them from a young age a respect for food's importance and what it takes to make it. Luckily this isn̵7;t as hard as it sounds: Just get them involved.

Things You'll Need

  • Varieties of new foods
  • Ingredients from all five food groups
  • My Plate food chart
  • Range of healthy snacks

Instructions

    • 1

      Introduce a variety of foods to your children from the time they begin eating solid foods. According to a July 2013 article in "U.S. News and World Report," it can take between five and 20 exposures to a new food for a kid to get used to and start liking its flavor, so keep trying.

    • 2

      Avoid letting kids dictate the menu, even when they are very small. Include their favorite foods because those foods work with the meal, not because your children demand them. Use a variety of ingredients for each meal, and switch those ingredients up regularly.

    • 3

      Make an effort to include foods from all five food groups -- grains, vegetables, fruits, dairy and protein -- and show them the My Plate food chart as you tell them about foods. Limit the last two categories and pile on the fruits and veggies. Buy whole-grain products whenever possible, checking the labels of bread, tortillas, cereal, crackers and other grain products to make sure they use them.

    • 4

      Emphasize the importance of mealtimes. Put toys away, turn off the television and provide a calm, pleasant environment that helps everyone, including your children, feel relaxed. Provide encouragement when introducing new foods and praise when your kids eat them.

    • 5

      Involve kids in preparing food. Take them with you to the grocery store or farmer̵7;s market and let them help choose the ingredients for that week̵7;s meals. Invite them into the kitchen to prepare those foods, starting them with simpler jobs such as stirring or kneading dough and moving up to more complex jobs such as chopping or slicing.

    • 6

      Allow them freedom of choice when it comes to some of their foods. Offer a wide range of healthy snacks that they can choose from so they feel they have some control over their own decisions.

    • 7

      Model the behavior you expect. Eat the same healthy foods you give to your children, and let them see you eating them. Share with your children when you̵7;re trying a new food and show your reaction to the new experience so they can see that adults go through this too.

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