7 Ways to Encourage Your Child to Explore Healthier Food Choices
No food is inherently "good" or "bad", but teaching children about healthier food choices is more so about fuelling their wellbeing by incorporating nutrient-dense foods, that have proven health benefits.
Habits are generally easier to adopt at an early age, so there's no time like the present to start encouraging your child to eat a more balanced diet. We've compiled seven top tips to help you get started.
- Lead by example
As with most areas in life, your own actions, attitude and behaviours are most likely to influence your child's. Children like to do as you do, not just as you say. So, one of the best ways you can encourage your child to form healthier eating habits is to lead by example. Let your child see how you (and other family members) enjoy foods, try new flavours and experiment with different meals.
- Offer choices
A good way to get your child on your side when it comes to healthy eating is to offer them choices. This helps them to maintain a sense of independence and agency over what they're eating within the confines of your food choices. Your child might also be more inclined to try a new snack or meal if they feel as though it was their own idea.
- Stock up on healthier foods
Like you and anyone else in the house, your child is less likely to reach for junk food if it simply isn't available. Rather than snacks with added sugar, try to stock up on fruits and vegetables, which can be sliced and enjoyed with peanut butter (apples and celery, for example) or eaten as is. Other healthy snacks can include mixed nuts, dried fruit, yoghurt, whole/multigrain crackers, rice cakes, cheese, and tuna.
- Snack smarter
When it comes to snacking, try to limit the intake of sugary drinks such as soda, fruit flavoured juices and flavoured milk, as well as low-nutrient snacks like crisps, chocolate and sweets. It's not that these foods should be completely banned but rather limited to treats. As mentioned above, try to stick to whole foods that have more nutrients to offer, and support physical and cognitive function.
- Introduce gateway foods
When it comes to trying new food, children tend to be a little sceptical. It can be helpful to introduce these new foods and flavours slowly and alongside foods that they already like. For example, if you know that your child likes carrot batons, try introducing hummus as a dip. If your child likes omelettes but doesn't like tomatoes, try chopping the tomatoes into small pieces and sneaking them into their omelette. It might be that your child doesn't like a certain food simply because they didn't enjoy the way in which it was prepared when they tried it for the first time.
- Include your child in meal preparation
An age-old trick that rarely fails to get children to try new food, is involving them in meal preparation. Doing this makes them feel more invested in the meal and proud of their creation - therefore, keener to give it a try. Involving them this way is also a great opportunity to show them how a healthy and balanced meal comes together, which will inform their habits when making food as an older child and beyond.
- Let your child build their own plates
Giving your child ownership over their own plate is another way of letting them exercise their independence and allowing them to explore new foods from a place of curiosity rather than force. Try to include protein, complex carbs, veggies, and calcium-rich foods for them to choose from. This way, they'll get to choose while still getting nutrient-dense meals.
If you enjoyed this article and found it to be useful, you can check out more of our early childcare resources in our Family Resource Zone!
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