How to teach your child to eat right: 8 tips from a nutritionist

It is difficult to explain to children why oatmeal is better than French fries and fruit is healthier than chocolate. A few simple steps will help to teach your child to eat right, when there are so many temptations around.

Candidate of Psychological Sciences, head of the training center

Tells how to form proper eating habits in a child.

Índice

How to teach a child to eat right

Define the boundaries and understanding of “proper nutrition”. Every family has its own and in details it differs: someone does not eat meat, but eats fish; for someone it is a split diet, some refuse milk, others choose meat instead of canned food.

Set the right example. Nothing motivates like personal example. In childhood, parents are especially important to the child, and from them “drawn” models of behavior in all areas of life, including in nutrition. In this case, copying occurs unconsciously, stable food habits of parents in most cases become and habits of children.

And if you yourself are hard to get on the path of a healthy lifestyle, told in the material how to love good nutrition.

Set up relationships with your neighbors regarding “proper nutrition”. The main principle here – do not impose your choice on anyone and do not allow others to judge your choice. With loved ones can be agreed that they do not offer your child food that does not agree with your principles of nutrition. It is better to answer provocative questions correctly, so that it becomes clearer to your child why you hold such views.

Think of substitutes for familiar products and try to always keep at home:

“harmful” sweets → honey, dates, apricots, prunes, topinambour syrup, bananas, kiwi, raisins;
dairy products → goat’s milk analogs;
salted peanuts → soaked almonds, cashews, walnuts;
canned foods, sausages, sausages → natural meat, homemade cutlets;
ketchup → tomato paste with seasonings;
mayonnaise → sour cream (e.g., goat’s milk), yogurts;
instant noodles → homemade noodles;
sugary carbonated drinks → pure water, herbal teas;
margarine → coconut oil, olive oil.

Explain the importance of proper nutrition. In the future, the child will build his diet independently. A “built-in” logical basis for these choices will help.

Explain why not everyone eats right. This step is closely related to the previous one. The child needs to understand why other children and adults eat differently.

Encourage your child to eat right from an early age. Parental example is very important. It is good if the principles of good nutrition enter the life of the baby as early as possible.

Remove unhealthy foods from the house. Do not tempt yourself and the child. Willpower is great, but not in this case. It’s easier to surround yourself with the right foods so that everything healthy is at your fingertips.

When you need to worry

Raisa Zhmareva

expert in rational nutrition and weight correction

Among the warning signs of eating disorders: skipping meals, negative statements about their weight, secretly eaten foods or referring to certain foods as “good” or “bad”.

If your child becomes obsessed with appearance or gains/loses a lot of weight in a short period of time, talk to a pediatrician or nutritionist.

It’s important to follow all of these rules yourself. Don’t restrict yourself from eating or go on fad diets, and don’t make comments related to weight or overeating issues. Teens whose parents have conversations with them about being overweight are more likely to go on diets and engage in unhealthy behaviors. Instead, it’s better to talk to your child about the benefits of certain foods for the body and the importance of being physically active.

And what to do if your other half does not support a healthy lifestyle, told in the article.