Teaching Your Kids About Making Healthy Food Choices

Healthier Food = Healthier Kids

Let’s face it- when it comes to feeding our kids, it is much easier to grab something pre-packaged and sweet. You know your kids will eat it and it takes minimal effort on our part. When our days are so busy, being able to have access to food that we can grab and go is a great relief, as well as a time-saver. However, by feeding our kids lots of refined sugars, and other man-made chemicals, we are basically setting them up for failure. Not only is it not good for their growing bodies, but it also affects their long-term health when they become overweight. How can we help them (and ourselves) make healthier choices?

Be a role model yourself. If you are telling your kids to eat healthy things, but you are snacking on chips, drinking soda, and practicing other unhealthy eating habits, how do you expect them to follow suit? Make the food that you eat show a great example of what your children should do. In the long run, you will be thankful because you will get much more time with your kids when you are fit and healthy.
 
Get them involved and give them choices. I often try to ask my kids what they would like for a snack by giving 2 to 3 choices. Having a say in what they are consuming makes your kids more likely to be on board with what they are eating. Also, having your kids be your helper is a great way to have them be invested in what they are eating. Allowing them to put food on a plate, wash the fruits and vegetables for you, or helping with the pouring and mixing are all great ways for them to feel like they helped to make the meal.
 
Make healthy snacks readily available. In addition to having a fruit bowl out that I fill weekly with fresh apples, nectarines, plums, and bananas, I also try to leave out a bowl of grapes that are washed and picked off the stem, chopped strawberries, or anything else that is in season.  If I leave it out, my kids and I are all more likely to snack on it rather than other junk food.
 
Teach your kids were the food actually comes from. Rather than just going to the supermarket where everything is readily available, plant your own garden or go to your local farmer’s market to find fresh in-season produce. Going to a farm to see how a cow or goat is milked or having that hands-on experience of growing something, then being able to eat it is a powerful experience for a child.
 
Make your kids aware. I try to be as honest as possible when it comes to what is in our food. My kids are very aware that when they consume too much sugar, they don’t feel well. They also know that artificial things like aspartame and food coloring are bad for them. After we have indulged in something we don’t normally eat, and they are acting a little off-the-wall, I remind them that this is why we don’t have these things all the time. The best rules for choosing wisely are that the fewer ingredients in what you were eating, the better and, if you can’t pronounce it, it’s probably worth skipping.
 
Helping our kids learn about healthy, delicious food brings us back to our roots and to the warm happy memories of our own childhood. I have such fond memories of going strawberry picking with my mom, then helping her to make homemade strawberry jelly. Food is what traditionally brings us together, so instilling that value of health into our own kids is a wonderful life lesson.
 
 
Meet The Bella Behind the Blog: Kristen Farley is a mother of three and a domestic goddess. She is a former teacher who enjoys spending lots of time with her kids, healthy eating, volunteering at school, and mommy blogging for the masses.

Be on the lookout for more of Kristen’s expert advice and brilliant tips!