How to Get Your Kids Excited About Eating Healthy

One of the most prominent challenges parents face is getting their children to eat healthy foods. It’s crucial not to allow the bulk of your child’s diet to consist of fast food or convenience foods like chicken nuggets, mac, and cheese, or frozen meals. Developing healthy eating habits early in life helps children expand their tastes and can increase willingness to try new foods. Try these strategies to help get your kids excited about eating healthy and getting the nutrition their growing bodies need. 

Set an example 
Children mimic what their parents do and eat. If you eat a lot of fast food or things from a can, your child will want to eat the same things. Ensure you’re meeting your nutrition needs with plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables in your diet. Instead of telling them that they need to eat their vegetables when they get older, show them by filling your plate with healthy options too. You’ll benefit from expanding your tastes and trying new foods along the way. 

Make shopping an adventure 
Instead of heading to the grocery store yourself, bring your children along to see the multitude of fruits and vegetables available. Shop for in-season produce instead of what you always buy. You'll get a better deal and vegetables and fruits last longer because they’re fresh and don't have to travel as far or over a longer period. Go a step further and venture to a local farmer’s market to encourage sustainability and supporting local growers. Take your time to show your children the options and help them to try at least one new thing every time you visit. It’s a unique experience because they can interact with the sellers and learn about how food makes it from the farmers to the table. 

Involve your children in cooking 
Sit down with your child and create a meal plan and shopping list. Give them options to select from and make unique meals that incorporate healthy options. Give them tasks such as getting the proper cooking utensils, mixing ingredients, or washing fruits and vegetables before you cut them. Children love to be involved and feel important because they’re contributing like a grown up. It also helps them learn basic cooking and food preparation skills that will stick with them for life. 

Get creative 
Think carefully about how you serve and present various foods. Plain vegetables might not appeal to your child, but cutting them into various shapes can increase their interest. Children are more willing to try new foods if they’re visually appealing. If you don’t have time to wash and prepare fresh foods, don’t be afraid to purchase canned or frozen varieties that are already cut for a quick option when you don’t have the time to prepare a meal from scratch. 

Start a garden 
Children gain new insight into food and eat healthier when they have a hand in growing it. There’s something magical about putting a seed in the ground, watering and taking care of it, and then picking and eating the fresh veggies. Maintaining a garden also teaches your child responsibility since they need to water the plants, weed around them, and bring them in when it’s time to harvest. Canning also allows you to use vegetables in a wider variety of ways, such as tomatoes for pasta sauce or cucumbers to make pickles to expand on the endless possibilities and combinations available. 

Practice moderation 
Forbidding certain foods isn’t an effective approach to encouraging your child to eat healthy food regularly. A small amount of dessert, a few potato chips, or a piece of cake and serving of ice cream at a birthday party isn’t going to sabotage your efforts to instill good eating behaviors in your child. Allow these items on special occasions, but don’t tell your child that they can’t have something until they’re an adult. That increases the appeal of the forbidden items and can lead to gorging when they do get the opportunity to snack. 

Getting your child to eat healthy food doesn’t have to be a constant battle that you endure night after night when mealtime rolls around. Implement these strategies to introduce your child to healthy eating habits early on that will stay with them throughout their adult life.