Teaching Healthy Eating Habits

my opinion is to wait to explain all the info to him. kids really don't care about what is good or bad for you and he probablly won't understand what you are trying to explain to him at this age ( maybe around 8 or 9). just give him food that is good for him, it will help develop a taste for the food. Only give him healthy options if he says that he dosen't like something and its ok to let him have candy or pop every once in awhile just don't make it an every day thing. more of like a treat or tradition kind.

Chris,

The best way to teach your kids good eating habits it by showing them. Before our kids were born we didn't have the best of habits ourself. Over the years they have become better. If nothing else, we try to have a balanced dinner... a meat, "starch" totatoes, rice or noddles & a veg or fruit. Not every night is a multi dish meal... spagetti is a well balance meal in it's self if you use meat in your sauce as is pizza, stir-fry and chilli.

Before the kids we'd skip meal, eat whatever and didn't really think about it. Now we try to make sure that we eat what is good so they will. Right now I have 3 little ones in the house 2, 4 & 5 yrs living in the house... they try everything we put in fount of them. I do have one that doesn't like green beans, but he eats a few everytime we have them & none of the kids like brousel sprouts or asparagus, but they do try a bit when we have them. We let them know that taste change & they need to try it to see if their taste buds grew to like the food.

As for when to eat - at 3 sometimes that can be hard. They need 3 meals & a few snacks a day inorder to get what they need for the day. Sometimes when they are about to grow they need a few more snacks then when they aren't. Also, I've noticed with my 5 yr old that school days she needs extra food then on weekends... guess learning makes them hungry.

Good luck with the teaching!

http://www.mypyramid.gov/preschoolers/index.html
this is the food pyramid. we have one on our fridge and talk about healthy choices to eat. i think they have coloring pages and stuff you can print out.

also, teaching him that eating a rainbow every day is helpful in getting all the vitamins and nutrients his body needs. (food coloring does NOT count!! :) so, red-tomatoes, orange-carrots, yellow-corn.... etc
kids tend to like only white foods... cheese and bread and chicken... so the rainbow helps a lot in teaching them what they need. we offer them choices--- which orange food do you want today? carrots or oranges?? but they know they should eat something orange... so it gives choice but also they have some responsibility.

You've "talking" to the right person. Used to teach preschool and we cooked EVERY day in the classroom. I used food as a HUGE part of the cirriculum. We talked about where it grew (geography), how it grew (science), tried ALL kinds of new food in the classroom and talked about texture, taste, smell, etc. TRY TO DEVELOP ALL SENSES! Even when it comes to spices and herbs....when you use them, have the child smell it. Reminders that they are PLANTS and therefore have a tremendous amount of nutrient value.

This might be a great time to learn some more things too. If you don't know.......find out and you could do it together.

Talk about proteins, carbs (good and bad) and fats (good and bad). Discuss what foods provide each of these. Let them help plan meals. We did this in class. When they understand that balanced diets mean proteins, good carbs - fruits, veg and grains, etc...then THEY TOO can and end up LOVE helping to plan menus.

THEY CAN DO THIS!! I KNOW! I've had classes full of them. You need to take EVERY food you eat and talk about the value of it - not necessarily in detail...but ON THEIR LEVEL. Proteins are necessary to build and maintain muscle. Good carbohydrates are necessary for energy and good fats are necessary for skin, heart, etc.

Might want to find the MAGIC SCHOOLBUS book about the body (can't think of the name of it off the top of my head) but it might be a huge help in the learning process.

When you go to the store. Try NOT to go on a limited time clock. Talk about shapes, colors, comparisons, etc. When he's learned all his numbers, let him pick the cereal with the LEAST (smallest number) where the sugar content is listed, etc. Let me tell you, once you start this, it's almost like you can't stop.

They are SSSSOOO eager to learn and I've used this to "push" the reading and phonics a bit sooner. When they want to know the word "sugar" or "fiber", it's incentive to get them to learn letters and sounds of letters so they can read. Even if they know their letters, they might be able to find FIBER on the box just because they recognice the "F" in the list. I can't begin to tell you the confidence this gives thenm in making choices. You ARE doing the right thing.

I always told the kids that food choices are things that have to be made EVERY day of their life regardless of anything else so it was VERY important to learn HOW to do it and why it was important.

I have to tell you that the first kids I had when I did this are now sophomores in high school. NONE of them are overweight and all of them STILL make choices like they were taught in preschool. I know because they go to my church and I still see them and the parents. I just had a conversation w/ one of the moms about this about a month ago. It HAS made a world of difference!

Hope this helps.

Hooray for you! Go to www.mypyramid.gov for lots of good info. I use this site when I'm teaching my preschool class about nutrition. (If your son goes to preschool, they should be already teaching these things.)

Also, what I do at home is to keep the bottom shelves of the fridge stocked with ready to eat snacks that my children can help themselves to at any time - even before meals. (These snacks consist of yogurt, cheese sticks, and fruits and veggies I've already washed.) Children love to be able to help themselves from the fridge - makes them feel so big! - so they will even eat that healthy stuff! :)

Blessings,
J.

I've been of 2 minds with this because they say you should offer something to a kid 7 times before they'll either try it or maybe even like it.

But I'm also an advocate of "actions speak louder than words" too. I remember it driving me crazy that my mother would always bug me to have a "healthy snack like carrots or celery" but her snacks were always a bottle of Coca-Cola and a couple big handfuls of pretzels!

Our girls favorite snacks are yogurt, cheese, bananas, apples, and funyons. My oldest does like potato chips/pretzels & dip...so we don't keep that around very often...but we keep bananas, yogurt, and cheese around all the time. We can hardly keep bananas in the house because both girls love them so much!

I've been gearing up for my next "weight loss program" and everything I'm seeing lately talks about having smaller "mini-meals" that contain a protein, leafy greens, and something that's a good source of fiber. Almonds are listed as something that's great for a snack that also helps lower LDL (lousy cholesterol). But the real thing seems to be proteins, greens, and fiber. Our plan has been to start leaning towards that.

For what it's worth, and good luck!

I like to make eating healthy fun. Maybe once a week or as often as you can, let him help you cook. (Actually, I was a stay-at-home mom who had time to do this almost every day when mine was that young.) As you cook, talk about what you are cooking. We would make things like banana bread and he would mash up the bananas, or a veggie tray with dip, crackers and cheese, etc.
Another thing is if you have the ability, let them grow some vegetables. They learn how to take care of plants, and then it is fun to pick them and eat them. Even taking them to a pick-your-own farm is a fun way to learn about good food choices.

Chris-

He's definitely not too early to teach about eating healthier.

For almost 9 years, I worked in the world of Diabetes, so I have a few thoughts that I hope will help you.

No matter what we're eating, we always have a fruit or vegetable available (and required to eat). I'd avoid canned products if possible as they're usually much higher in sugars/sodium to preserve them.

I'd serve him exactly what you're having for dinner and not make him something that caters to him. Pre-prepared foods (e.g. nuggets, frozen mac & cheese) tend to have much more sodium which isn't good for them. So, I'd try to do as much from scratch as possible.

We always try to ask the kids what they'd like to eat and give them a few options to choose from.

Kids aren't born with the ability to over-eat (it's something we teach them), so I wouldn't force him to eat a certain amount or at a certain time. But, we do have struggles (especially with our 3 year-old) about eating and have a requirement in place for meals. Last night, it was 3 bites of his scrambled eggs before leaving the table (all the fresh blueberries were the first thing eaten).

I'd also offer healthier snacks when possible (string cheese, yogurt, fruit), but don't deprive them of treats such as cookies, chips, ice cream occasionally.

Anything in moderation is OK every once in a while.
Probably the best thing you can do is really get familiar with reading labels on foods (even learning about carb levels in fruits). Things high in fiber are GREAT has they help fill you up, keep you regular, and prevent the absorption of some carbs. But, you have to have more than 5g for it to be truly beneficial.

Good luck. Hope this helps a little.

Take the time every day to sit down at the table and eat as a family. Make at least one meal a day a relaxing fun and ejoyable family experience. People eat bad foods and too much because they rush around and don't take time to savor their food. Children will learn to eat what their parents eat and what is put before thm. Let your son go shopping for food with you and help you cook. Have cheese sticks, grapes and crackers always at the ready.

Great for you!! It is so important to start earlier with healthy eating habits, and being a role model for them, too!

My son and I talk about "always" foods and "sometimes" foods. We have read books and things, but nothing really sticks with him, he does love to help me cook though, and that helps him to eat new foods. We also look through a children's cookbook sometimes. Talking about needing different colors is fun, and he could help you think of foods that begin with that color and find pick out new ones at the store.

However, I hate to tell you this, but my 3-almost 4 year old has started whining "I want an unhealthy snack!!" I will give him other options, but he just continues! Haha, I let it go and say something like we need energy to play, or ask him if it is a sometimes food, or for a special occasion... I just wanted share and possibly prepare you for that, but don't let that hold you back in any way!
You could also check out- Brain Foods for Kids by Nicola Graimes and Super Foods for Children by Straten and Griggs. They have recipes along with easy to read important nutritional information.
Happy Eating!