Helping Kids Develop A Healthy Attitude Towards Food:

                                          

Giving our children proper food messages can help them learn positive eating habits as well as have a healthy body image when they are older. If we put thought into the way we introduce food, plan our meals, and discuss food around our children, we can create understanding of, and  positive feelings towards eating properly - without power struggles.

Explain the benefits of healthy foods:

When serving meals, explaining the different food groups and why they are important can educate our kids about why certain foods are good for us and how. For example, meat, fish, and other protein sources contain iron and are good for your blood and bones, fruits have lots of vitamins that our bodies need and want, and vegetables have fiber and lots of other nutrients which can prevent disease. When our bodies are well fed, we feel better, happier and  more energetic.

Trying new things is brave! 

Making a big deal about trying new things can help motivate kids to do so. Sharing personal situations of times you thought you wouldn't like something and then tasted it - and liked it - may help them want to try new things as well. When children aren't forced to eat something they don't like, they will be more willing to give new foods a chance.

Involve the children in making a menu:

Sitting down with your picky eaters and having them choose options for dinner can encourage them to eat more of it.  Including their ideas (even if they are not typical) may help them be more likely to eat at meal times.

Everything in moderation:

Instead of telling kids that "treats are bad for you," "make you fat," or “are poison," you can explain to them the concept of moderation. There are some foods that are good for us that we can eat a lot of, and other foods that taste yummy, but don't have nutritional value. The second type are foods we can enjoy only in small amounts because they are not healthy for our bodies. When children are aware of this concept, and are allowed candies and treats in moderation, they are much less likely to binge, or be "the child who begs other children for their candy at school."  Knowing why it is better to eat certain foods in moderation -  not because "mommy is mean and doesn't let us," but rather, because "I care about my body and want to keep it healthy" - will give them a positive message about food that they can carry with them into adulthood.

Not Using Food as a Reward or Punishment:

When food is given as a reward or taken away as a punishment, it can lead to emotional eating.  Food is not a friend, nor an enemy - it is there for when we are hungry. Using treats as a punishment or reward can lead to adults who eat when they are upset or reward themselves with a pizza pie after a hard day -- not a healthy outlook!

Model Healthy Eating:

Lastly, but perhaps most importantly: we can't model a healthy approach to eating for our children if we ourselves have an emotional relationship with food! Taking a good look at your own relationship with eating helps: do you eat when you're sad/bored/lonely? How was food and mealtime approached when you were a child, and how might that impact you and your eating habits today? Taking the time and energy for some reflection in this area may give us the needed insight to have a healthier, more detached approach to helping our kids develop normal, healthy eating habits. The less negative attention we give to food, the more positive, happy, and educational we can make our mealtimes. We'll be healthier role models for our children, and will start them on a

positive path toward having a healthy relationship with food!