Get Your Kids To Eat Healthy
Getting children to eat their vegetables can be one of the toughest challenges parents face. All parents know the importance of encouraging healthy eating habits, but how do you prevail when all your child wants are sugary snacks and junk food?
Teach them to cook
Children enjoy learning new things. Create some powerful memories by teaching your son how to cook his own food. Get him involved in the entire process to encourage positive choices in what your family eats for dinner.
Give them "limited" choices
Present your child with a limited selection of snacks. This freedom will allow her to make her own decisions while still giving you control over what she eats.
Dip it
Use low fat dressing as a way to add sweet flavor to vegetables. For fruit, try yogurt, applesauce or honey. Encourage your child to experiment, as the new experiences will make him more willing to try new dishes later in life.
Be sneaky
Find ways to sneak healthy food into dishes they love. Adding vegetables to your lasagna recipe will benefit the entire family. Add a cup of blueberries to pancake batter or make mini-pizzas on whole-grain bagels.
Freeze your fruit
Provide a novel snack by freezing grapes, making a sweet, icy treat perfect for summer. Stick toothpicks into pieces of strawberries to create fruit pops.
Allow treats
Allowing your child the occasional treat is okay as long as she learns to have sweets in moderation. Use her favorites as a big reward - maybe you can take her for ice cream on Saturday if she does all of her chores for the week.
Have Fun
Be creative in your approach and try new things. Make shapes and faces out of your child's meals or give vegetables fun names - broccoli can be mini-trees. Encourage them to try new things, because even if it's food that you don't like, your child may love it.
