Healthy Eating: Helping Your Child Learn Healthy Eating Habits
Food eating tips for kids
- Offer new food. When trying a new food at a meal, be sure to include another food that your child already likes. Don't give up on offering new foods. Children may need many tries before they accept a new food.
- Don't say "Clean your plate." Try not to manage your child's eating with comments such as "Clean your plate" or "One more bite." Your child has the ability to tell when he or she is full. If your child ignores these internal signals, he or she will not be able to know when to stop eating.
- Make fast food an occasional event. Order the smallest portions available. Get your children in the habit of sharing one small order of french fries.
- Don't use food as a reward for success in school or sports. For example, don't use favorite foods as rewards for behaving well. And don't reward desired eating behavior (such as finishing a plate of food or trying a new food). If you serve dessert, consider it part of the meal, not a treat to follow the main course.
- Be a good example. If you don't want your child to eat less nutritious foods (for example, those that contain high amounts of fats or sugar), don't have them in the house. If you eat these foods but try to keep them away from your child, the child will learn to sneak these foods, beg for them, or view them as highly desirable.