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Ensuring Children Eat Healthy |
- Give children a variety of foods from early on to help them acquire different tastes. Children may take between 12 - 15 tastes of a food to get to like it so don't give up too easily.
- Do not overfeed. Children who become obese at a young age will probably remain obese.
- Avoid adding sugar to fruit and drinks.
- Limit the portion sizes and be careful in restaurants as portion sizes have grown over the years and this is resulting in a higher calorie intake. Share or ask for half portions.
- From the age of 5 children can be given low fat dairy products such as semi-skimmed milk. Dairy products can be high in fat.
- Cook and eat poultry without skin and where possible opt for fish and white meat.
- Some cereals and cereal bars can also be high in sugar, so opt for ones which are high in fibre and low in sugar.
- It is essential that packed lunches are always healthy and consist of a healthy snack eg a wholemeal sandwich with salad, lean meat or low fat dairy cheese, fruit and water. It takes time to get children to accept all this but introduce slowly and vary the lunch from week to week. Get children to suggest too and eventually make their own lunch too.
- Low fat does not mean low sugar and vice versa.
- Cook at home. Ready made food is high in calories. Grill and bake - do not fry.
- Teach children to eat at table with the family and to eat slowly as this can detect fullness.
- Discourage eating whilst in front of the television as this can lead to numerous high fat or high sugar snacks.
- Have plenty of fruit available at home and get children into the habit of having a fruit cocktail or vegetable soup when they arrive home from school rather than biscuits, sponge cakes, etc.
- Do not use sweets as a reward as this is sending out a wrong message.
- Serve as a good example yourselves! Eat healthily and do a lot of exercise.
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