Tips to encourage healthy eating habits in children
Child feeding experiences should take place in secure, happy and positive environments with adult supervision.
Foods should not be labelled as ‘bad’ or ‘good’ or ‘yum’ or ‘yuk’.
Allow your child to eat according to their appetite and do not force your child to eat anything. Children are able to decide how much food they need for activity and growth if allowed to eat according to their appetite. Forcing children to ‘clean the plate’ or giving sweets as rewards may lead to problems of overeating later in life. Allow your child to decide how much food is enough. This shouldn’t cause problems for most children if a variety of healthy foods are consistently offered. Offer a small serve first and give your child more if they are hungry. Meal sizes will vary, as the amount of food a child needs depends on what else has been eaten during the day
Parents and other caregivers should lead by example and have a positive approach to eating themselves. Show the child that eating is a positive and enjoyable experience. Do not discuss your own food dislikes in front of children. Exposure and copying behaviors are key elements to encouraging new food choices.
Involve children in shopping and preparation of food. Allow them to make choices in what is served and how. Have a go at growing some of your own foods too if you can, tomatoes, beans, leafy greens and herbs are a great start and can be fairly easy to grow. Encourage your child to help plant and water the veggies or herbs and once they see them grow they will only be too happy to try them because its something they’ve helped produce then.
Do not offer foods as a reward or as a comfort tool if they are upset.
Avoid advertising influences for unhealthy foods.
Ensure that your child is not filling up on unhealthy nutrient-poor snacks and even fluids in between meals, this will interfere with their normal appetite and they will be less likely to eat a proper nutritious meal.
If a child refuses a certain food, don’t make a big fuss; simply serve it to them again at a later date. Often children need to be exposed to a food a number of times (up to 10) before they will try it and even decide that they actually like it.
Try ‘marketing’ foods to your children in a way that will make them listen and take notes. Rather than saying eat this fish/chicken/meat because it’s healthy/good for you could say I’ve made this chicken/fish/meat for you because it will help you to grow big muscles that will help you to run fast and do big strong kicks at soccer practice. Or as another example, you could explain to an older child at school that you’ve packed them some grainy bread for their sandwich because grains are great for your brain and they will help you to ace that maths test you have on today. Just make sure you target it towards something they love and will want to achieve!
