All parents want their children to be happy and healthy, but are you setting a positive example of good health for your child?
Do you want your children to eat their vegetables while you eat potato chips? Do you want your children to drink milk while you sip on soda? Do you think your child eats too many sweet treats, but you also do the same? Children get most of their health habits from their parents and families, so if your habits aren’t so healthy your child’s habits may not be so healthy either.
Try to set a good example for your children. As adults, we don’t always like to make the healthiest food choices for ourselves either. We enjoy snacking on cookies, chips and soda at times too, and nothing is wrong is enjoying these “sometimes foods” on occasion. But when you have a child that is looking to you as a role model it is important to make sure you are setting a positive health example. So how do you do that? Here are some ways:
1. Let your child see you eating healthy foods. If you have a younger child, playing up the goodness of the fruit of vegetable you are eating always helps too. Saying things like, “Mmmmm! This carrot tastes so good!” or “This apple tastes sweet like candy!” will make them curious and more willing to taste what you are eating.
2. Let your child watch you and help you prepare healthy meals and snacks. You can talk to them about the healthy ingredients you are adding to your dish. For example, if you are making red beans and rice with brown rice, let your child help measure out the rice while saying, “We are using brown rice. Brown rice is healthier for our bodies than white rice and it gives us lots of energy so we can play!” Later when you check to see if the rice has finished cooking, let them watch you and show them how to tell if it’s done. It is never too early to start teaching these fundamental skills.
3. Give your child with options when planning a meal. For example, if you have both red beans and butter beans at home, let your child choose which type of bean they would like to have with dinner. Not only will they feel empowered being able to choose what to eat, they will be more likely to eat it because they chose it!
4. Lastly, like I stated above, sometimes adults don’t like to eat as many vegetable and fruits as we should. Maybe you didn’t grow up eating a lot of vegetables, maybe you don’t know how to prepare other types of vegetables, or maybe you just haven’t found a lot of vegetable that taste good to you. Regardless of if you eat vegetables or not, you really should make an effort to have some type of veggie and fruit readily available for your child to eat. Fruits and vegetables are a necessary part of balanced diet for people all ages, but it’s especially true for young children who are still growing and developing.
If you don’t know where to start, you know what I usually suggest? Carrot sticks and grapes! It seems almost every child loves carrot sticks, especially dipped in ranch dressing. Carrots are affordable, they keep for a long time in the fridge and they make a quick, easy snack. Grapes also keep for a long time, and when you buy them in season (summer time) they can be pretty cheap.
Hopefully these tips can give you a good starting point for being a positive health role model for your children. And remember, children may learn most of their health habits from their parents, but parents can learn just as much, if not more from their kids. So don’t be afraid to learn from each other!