How to ensure that your child holds a healthy attitude towards food

With the obesity rate amongst Australian children rising at a steady rate, it is becoming more and more important for parents to ensure that their kids hold healthy attitudes towards food. Research suggests that the likelihood of a child being overweight or obese decreases by a respective 59% and 72% when certain steps are taken. This article will detail 6 ways that you can ensure your child holds a healthy attitude towards food.

1. Set a good example

Children are incredibly impressionable, and will often try and mimic the behaviour of other people. This essentially means that a parent cannot expect to teach a child about healthy eating if they are always eating junk food – It is imperative that parents practice what they preach.

Therefore, communal meals should include a selection of foods such as vegetables and whole grains, both of which are essential to the physical development of your kid.

2. Accept varying levels of food intake

One of the most common struggles that parents go through is the battle to coax their child into consuming their daily dose of vegetables. Unfortunately, research suggests that force feeding ultimately does more harm than good – Not only can this behaviour lead to a strained relationship between the parent and child, but it can also cause the kid to associate negative emotions with a certain food, and therefore begin to avoid it all together. Essentially, force feeding is something that can leave a child with a range of negative, long-lasting effects.

3. Having informed discussions

 While it may seem pointless, research suggests that talking to your child about food is actually very beneficial, as long as this conversation is carried out in the right manner. Specifically, it is important not to label some foods as inherently ‘bad’ – You do not want your child to hold a judgmental view towards people who eat a particular ‘bad food’. Instead, it is important to explain that some foods should be eaten in moderation because even though they taste good, they offer little to no nutritional value.

4. Get them involved

It is very likely that your child will not like foods such as plain vegetables. While this may seem like a problem, it actually provides parents with an invaluable opportunity to teach their child that their greens can taste good if they are mixed with other ingredients – foods such as fried rice, pasta, and pizza are all examples of meals that can remain tasty even when vegetables are incorporated into it.

By teaching your child how to make these healthy dishes, you are setting them up for good habits down the line – Research suggests that eating habits learned during youth usually stick with a person for the foreseeable future.

5. Allow children to serve themselves

There is an overwhelming amount of evidence which suggests that children are much better off choosing their own serving sizes – This will encourage them to eat at their own pace, and stop when they are full. Research has shown that children who are allowed to serve themselves often end up developing healthier eating habits later in life.

6. Ensuring that packed lunches are nutritious

A higher percentage of mothers are entering or re-entering the workforce than ever before. As a consequence of this, parents have a limited amount of time to pack school lunches, which explains why children often fail to meet their recommended intakes of energy, iron, zinc, and magnesium.

With this in mind, it is important that parents ensure that packed lunches are not only filling, but also nutritious. Even if parents lack the time, there are a range of pre-made options that provide fantastic options – Snacks such as Up & Go’s, Dark Chocolate, Nuts and Yogurt are all not only tasty, but also full of nutrition.

Conclusion

While instilling positive food related attitudes in children is certainly not a straightforward task, it is something that will come with a range of long-term benefits. Not only can a parent ensure that their child holds positive associations with nutritious foods, but they can also use a multitude of strategies to drastically decrease the likelihood that their child later becomes overweight or obese.

If you enjoyed this article, you may be interested in reading about how you can manage your kids sugar intake.