Parents, Here’s How You Can Encourage Healthy Eating Habits In Kids – Doctor NDTV

How to encourage kids to eat healthily can be a contentious argument for the parents. It may involve consensus or no consensus with the kids as their eating habits tend to fluctuate from time to time. It is very common for the parent to get thwarted or frustrated during these times of disagreement. With these simple tips and tricks, you can get your child to eat healthy and happily.

8 effective tips to encourage healthy eating habits in kids

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1. Involve kids while preparing the food

You can choose to guide them about different fruits and vegetables. Or, you can surprise them with secret recipes from your kitchen while you are cooking or preparing to cook. This will allow the child to feel enthusiastic about homemade food products and also help them understand their nutritional values.

Involve children in cooking and tell them about healthy habits – while you follow them too
Photo Credit: iStock

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2. Set an example

The behaviour of your child is most often determined by how you treat yourself, others and more specifically, them. You should try to set a good example by appreciating nutritious eating habits and involving healthy foods in your diet to be worthy of imitating.

3. Make deciding easy

To avoid resistance, you should try offering more choices with the same segment of the meal. For example; adding sauces to the broccoli salad can make your child feel happy and prevent resentment to a greater extent. You can also start recreating the same types of meals with the use of different sauces or a little snack to mix it up. Sauces play a definitive role in making the meal tasty without losing its nutritional content.

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4. Let them begin with small portions

Allow your child to start with small portions of food. You should never force them to eat healthy as it just creates reluctance in the child’s behaviour. Rather than this, be responsive and grateful about the little healthy food they consume so that they feel it is normal and acceptable to start off easy.

Begin with smaller portion sizes to encourage healthy eating habits in children
Photo Credit: iStock

5. Stay neutral

Another helpful way to make your efforts count is to stay neutral about your liking or disliking of food products. This way they tend not to be picky about food items and learn to appreciate all the food they get to eat. If you start being picky and biased, they often end up hating healthy food and start speeding up on junk.

6. Present new dishes frequently

By including new dishes into the meal plan for your child, you can manage to balance the diet even better. Make an attempt to serve different food items in a very presentable way. This allows the child to stay excited and eager for their next set of the meal by developing a clear sense of interest.

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7. Allow them to make their plate

When you allow your child to make their plates, it helps them establish a better understanding of the food. It might seem vague, but this strategy aims at creating a sense of how they like their food better and in what pattern.

8. Make desserts a part of the meal

Don’t insist on your child to always eat healthy as it prohibits the interest of the child and might not go a long way. Rather, provide them with desserts occasionally to stay appreciative about all kinds of food. This way always helps in letting the kid stay happy and not feel deprived of their desires.

Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.

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