How To Get Your Children To Eat Better

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Today we have a guest post by a writer from our neighbors and friends to the North, Canada. As surmised, they have some of the same problems we have in the US. Read on…

Childhood obesity is a very real problem throughout North America. Our kids are bombarded a million times a day by ads for every form of unhealthy fast food on the planet so getting them to eat better is no easy task. However it can be done. Here are five ways to get your children to eat better.

The Wallet Diet

They say charity begins at home and, let’s face it, when you’re raising kids you’re running a 24-hour soup kitchen. The good news here is that you’re the manager of this particular soup kitchen so you get to decide what goes on the menu. Your child may covet that Big Mac, but you’ve got the magic beans that produce the burger.

A Steady Diet For The Brain

Teaching your kids about healthy eating early will pay great dividends down the road. Kids have a million questions and they all begin with “Why…” so during meal time explain to them why you’re having fruits and vegetables, chicken and fish and when it is time for that burger and fries make sure they understand why it’s not food for everyday.

Junk Food Is Not A Reward Diet

This is an all too easy mistake to make and sets up a pattern that can be hard to break. Try to avoid instilling in your child the idea that fattening foods can be had as a reward for doing jobs around the house or staying quiet in church and so on. Like Pavlov’s dogs, your junk food craving child will be programmed to embrace life in the fast food lane every time they do a good deed. Keep food interesting but keep it set in your child’s mind for what it is: energy to keep one alive and healthy.

The Availability Diet

Kids have voracious appetites. They’ll eat anything that isn’t nailed down. And as soon as they are old enough to raid the kitchen you’ll think a bomb went off in the cupboards. Well, sorry to say there’s nothing you can do about the size of your grocery bill, but what you can do is make sure the kitchen is stocked with healthy food only. When kids get hungry, they’ll eat whatever is available. If only healthy foods are available, well, you can figure out the rest.

The Occasional Diet

As a parent, one can’t help feeling like a drug pusher the first time you give your kid a piece of candy or that first bite of a cheeseburger. Remember, until that first taste, they have no idea junk food exists. But once they find out… look out! You’ve created a rabid monster! The thing is, once your child has a taste for sugary snacks or fast food, there’s no going back. Total abstinence won’t work because the ‘forbidden fruit’ will only seem all the more tempting. Instead teach your children about moderation by indulging in unhealthy meals or snacks only occasionally, making sure they understand that it is an indulgence and such food is not for every day.

This guest post was written by Andrew Salmon. He writes for the website Life Cover, which provides term life insurance in Canada. Andrew lives in Vancouver, BC.

Hope these comments help you get your children to eat healthy. Thanks for reading!

Lee Jackson
Images Unlimited Books
http://www.imagesunlimitedpub.com