Teaching Kids Healthy Habits

This is an incredibly difficult time to raise kids and especially to teach them healthy eating habits. Our environment is increasingly filled with tempting triggers to eat food, see food and find food in places and ways we have never seen it before. For example, why do they sell food in places like Old Navy now? Because they know we will fall for it and buy it.

Research proves that when we see food we are triggered to eat it. Kids are even more susceptible to these triggers and environmental cues. They think an urge to eat means they should consume more food. Kids are increasingly overweight and developing life-long illnesses like Type 2 Diabetes from the added sugars and unhealthy eating patterns this new environment is setting up.

I teach many of my clients to begin to change not just their own personal eating behaviors, but those of their children as well. I never advise putting kids on “diets”, but instead to teach them eating habits that make them healthier for life. Kids need to feel like they are having fun. As you begin to teach them healthy habits make sure they are rewarded (not with food!) and that they understand why you are making the changes you are making.

6 Ways To Help Your Kids Build Healthy Eating Habits

Here are a few games and tips I encourage you to play with the whole family to begin to establish healthier meals and habits around food. And yes, I have two kids, so I get it. Busy, activity-laden kids are eating in the car on the way to practices and after school activities. Aim for progress, not perfection!

20 Minutes To Eat

Use the timer on your smartphone, place it in the center of the table and challenge everyone at the table to take 20 full minutes to eat their meal. Slowing down your eating will help you understand fullness and satiety cues.

Fruit Or Vegetable Challenge

Make a chart and challenge kids to eat a fruit or vegetable with every meal. 75% of Americans are not eating enough fruits or veggies these days. The vitamins and nutrients, fiber and water in them make them healthy powerhouses. Don’t limit yourself to fresh fruits and vegetables either. Try adding frozen ones, either when cooking or on the side of a meal. You might be surprised how many kids (especially little ones!) like the cold and texture of frozen produce.

Fork Down In Between Every Bite

Challenge everyone at the table to put their fork down in between every bite. This will slow down your eating. We all need to try anything we can to try to slow down how quickly we are eating these days as it helps keep portions in check.

Become Taste Testers

If you want your kids to eat more nutrient-rich foods and be willing to eat more vegetables and fruit, start small. Often kids are creatures of habit and like the same foods, unwilling to try something new (until one day they magically no longer love the one food they’ve been eating for months, we’ve all been there!). Start small when you want kids to try something new - just one slice of a new vegetable on the plate or maybe a few slices but with a fun dip.

Playing Chef

For older kids, or really even the young kids too, have them help you prepare a meal or pack lunches (it is that time of year after all!). If you’re packing lunches, provide them with some general rules for what to include like - one fruit, one vegetable, something that is protein-rich, and something with some calcium (milk, cheese slices, tofu cubes, low sugar yogurt cup to name a few). When kids have some control and responsibility, it’s amazing how much more willing they are to try things.

Same tip applies for snacks on the go - have your kids help pack snacks that they can eat when hungry before and after activities. Just set some boundaries to encourage variety and help them learn how to pack balanced snacks.

25 Grams of Sugar

We are only supposed to eat 25 grams of added sugars in a day. Have kids learn to turn labels around and add up the amount of sugars they are eating in a day. This helps keep desserts and “treats” down once they see how much sugar is in everything these days

You are their mentor and who they are watching. Live as an example. You’ve got this!

Get more weight loss support when you join my newsletter here.