Practical Tips on How to Make Your Child Eat Healthier
If dinnertime has become your least-favourite time of day, then it is time for you to make a change. You may feel as though your kids are always turning up their nose at whatever you make and that they are constantly negotiating with you to try and get chicken nuggets. At the end of the day, you know how important it is for your kids to get the right balance in terms of their diet, but they don’t, so sometimes you need to make some changes in order to make everyone happy. If you want to find out more about that, then take a look below.
Offer some Choices
Nobody likes to be forced into doing something. This is especially the case when you have rambunctious toddlers running around the house. If you want to stop this from becoming an issue, then you need to try and give your kids some choice. You need to let them choose between celery sticks and some apple slices because even though this may not seem like much of a choice, it actually gives your kids the autonomy they crave so dearly. It also helps you to stay in control of the nutrition you give them as well. Your little one may be way more excited to try a healthy dish if they feel as though it is their idea too. If you have a very picky eater, you may need to incorporate some kids vitamins with iron.
Make their Own Plates
Letting your kids take control of their very own plate is yet another way for you to let them exercise their independence. It also gives them the chance to try out new foods too. This may take a few tries, but at the end of the day, most kids will be more than happy to try and add a couple of healthy foods to their plate if they have the chance to choose what they eat. At the end of the day, you do have to make sure that your plates include a complex carbohydrate, vegetables and protein, but other than this, your kids can add anything they want.
Gateway Foods
Kids tend to be suspicious about eating new things all the time, and this quite often includes healthy foods. If you are stuck, then you may be wondering what the solution is here. Truth is, the best thing that you can do is try new foods with much healthier options- or ones that you know your child is going to like. During your child’s first few years of life, they are learning what they like and what they don’t, so it’s your job to expose them to as much as possible. If you can do this from an early age, then you will really help them out in the future.
Snack Way Smarter
Snacks tend to be a part of life for your children but at the end of the day, you need to keep those snacks in line. You need to keep portions small and you also need to make sure that they are not avoiding eating their meals.