For today’s letter, I am going to talk about Eating Habits. All of my children are currently extremely healthy. We make sure they get exercise daily and they are eating their portion size. Our biggest hurdle is with our 3 year old that is a fussy eater.
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If you are like me, and trying to find the best way to keep your child healthy, here are the hints and tips that I go by.
- Allow Choices – If you force your children to eat specific food, they will rebel. We have options in the house that help reinforce healthy habits. The kids also feel good about selecting what they want to eat for snack or breakfast.
- Slow Down – You want to make sure your children drink water while they eat and chew slowly. This will help them know when they are full, or if they are truly hungry for seconds.
- Eat as a Family – Mealtimes should be a time to spend together. The less stress while eating, the better the digestion is. Plan meals together and if possible, prepare them as a family. At least involve the older children! Finally, make sure you break from the electronics while eating, so you pay attention to what you are eating.
- Food is Not Punishment/Reward – While using M&Ms is acceptable for potty training rewards, you should not threaten a child with no dinner for poor behavior. Speaking from a personal experience here, we have found it is better to have them eat in their room and away from the family until they are ready to calm down and be respectful. On the flip side, do not promise your children suckers or soda if they behave on a trip. Equally, do not tell them they cannot have dessert if they do not eat a specific part of their meal. Instead, inform them that they need to finish dinner before they can have more food.
- Know Proper Portions – The only way to eat right and develop healthy habits is by teaching your children the proper portion sizes to start with. We have worked very hard on this. Our tweens are struggling with their growing bodies, but they still start with a standard portion.
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Developing proper eating habits from an early age is important. With obesity on the rise eating right is more essential than ever.
ReplyDeleteYou should consider getting rid of CAPTCHA. It makes people less likely to comment and the A-Z guidelines suggest you remove it during the challenge.
Thanks for the head's up! I had it turned off and I must have changed something or forgot to save it. I HATE CAPTCHA.
DeleteGreat advice. If more people would follow your guidelines, we would be a much healthier nation.
ReplyDeleteAs parents, we are still working on our habits, but we want our children to know that only they have the ability to decide how they care for their body.
DeletePortion sizes are indeed totally out of control. Sue Ann Bowling
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I definitely agree that eating together as a family is really helpful and important for encouraging healthy eating habits. That was definitely a major priority for my family. And my parents never used food (or lack of it) for reward or punishment. I do remember having to eat sitting on the top basement step if I misbehaved at the table, and having to clean my plate IF I wanted dessert. But neither thing happened too often. :)
ReplyDeleteStopping by from the A to Z--thanks for the chance to link up!
We're suffering from obesity here in England too. But rather than take responsibility, parents are blaming McDonalds (and other fast food places).
ReplyDeleteWhen I was young, my parents couldn't afford to buy junk food. My mum always cooked fresh food and made proper, balanced meals. She would never pander to my wants. Parents are in charge and should never let their children dictate meals. My mum would only ever cook one thing, and if I was being fussy and didn't want to eat it, I wouldn't eat. I learnt my lesson when I was told that if I didn't eat my dinner, I would have it for breakfast the next day. It was horrible.
Parents just need to take responsibility, and hold on to their authority.
There are an alarming rate of children and their parents, suffering from over eating. The results are we being the fattest Nation for the record. There are more people in the U.S. that just do not care about their health when it comes to choices of food and nutrition.
ReplyDeleteI feel for everyone who are in this situation and they do not feel there is anything they need to do about. Now, we have people praising how healthy someone's child looks, when they are overweight. Saying, they are better than being someone who looks like they do not eat. This is just crazy!
Creating proper eating habits from early childhood is so important. I was fortunate and thank my parents everyday for instilling in me the desire to eat healthy and stay healthy.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on doing the same for your kids. They will thank you for it down the road!