As a parent or caregiver, you play an essential role in shaping your children’s eating and drinking habits. When you get into the habit of consuming foods and drinks that are low in added sugars, saturated fats, and salt and high in fiber, the children you care for may learn to like these foods, too. If a child you’re caring for doesn’t want new food right away, don’t get upset. Children often need to see a new food many times before they’ll try it.
Set a good example. As a parent or caregiver, you also have an impact on your child’s physical activity. You don’t have to be an expert at any activity—get up, get moving, and show your child how much fun it can be to be active. They might enjoy it, too. You can set a good example by going for a walk or bike ride instead of watching TV, playing a video game, or surfing the Internet. Find an activity that you both enjoy and can do together.
Talk about staying healthy. As you learn more about how to improve your health, take time to talk to kids about how a particular food or physical activity might help them. For example, when you go for a walk, take the kids with you and let them choose the route. Talk about how walking helps them feel better and is a fun way to spend time together.
Use your children’s food and drink choices as teachable moments. Let them know when they make unhealthy choices. Steer them toward healthier options or say, “You can have a little of that, but not too much.” Talk to them about why an overly salty or sugary snack isn’t the best choice. Avoid making them feel guilty about their food or drink choices.
Promoting healthy habits in children
There is a long list of good habits that everyone should follow, but if you want your children to really put them into practice, don’t overwhelm them with information; instead, start by teaching them the following five habits:
- Wash your hands
Children are interested; they want to touch everything they find in their path, and they touch objects and surfaces that contain bacteria and viruses that are not visible but are there and can cause diseases because it is widespread to put their hands to their mouth, eyes, or nose.
Handwashing should last 20 seconds, using soap and water and gently rubbing the palms and back of the hands to completely clean the entire area of the body.
- Brush your teeth 3 times a day
It is essential to talk to your children about dental care because foods they love, such as sweets, tend to cause cavities that affect oral health. Therefore, to have a white and radiant smile, they should brush their teeth 3 times a day.
- Practice some sport
Children seem to be tireless beings, so to take advantage of all that energy they have, you can enroll your children in a sport that they like since it has been proven that doing at least 30 minutes of exercise improves the development of children and not only physically, but also mentally and socially.
- Have a balanced diet
If one of your impossible missions is to get your children to eat vegetables or certain foods that they have never even tried but rejected, what you can do is prepare delicious dishes that include a portion of protein, some legumes or cereals, and fruits and vegetables. The key is knowing how to combine all the foods and make a very colorful dish so that they are encouraged to try and leave the plate clean.