When you become a parent and your kid starts eating real foods, you are likely overwhelmed with what is the correct food to give them. You want their diet to be balanced, healthy and nutritious but how do you do that? What should you be feeding your young child? You likely want to gather all the information you can about how to ensure your kid is eating a wholesome diet. This article will help guide you on the path toward understanding what your child needs and how to get them to eat the best foods for them.
Teaching Healthy Eating Habits
It is important to get your kids to have healthy eating habits from the start, exposing them to beneficial foods from a young age. When your kids have the correct building blocks to a nutritious diet, they will be more apt to eat healthy for the rest of their lives.
Learning Fruits and Vegetables: Games that Teach Kids about fruit and Vegetable Nutrition – From coloring sheets to interactive games, you can use this resource to help teach your kids all about fruits and vegetables and why they are nutritious. (Food Champs)
Hands-On Help: Fun Ways for Teach Kids about Healthy Food Choices – These hands-on lessons will help your kids learn what is healthy to eat in the kitchen. Try the activities with your kids beginning at a young age and continue as they get older. (Parenting)
Read About It: 10 Books about Nutrition for Kids – These books are perfect for reading to your kids in order to teach them about eating healthy. There are books for every age group so find ones that are best for your kids now and in the future. (Super Healthy Kids)
Straight Forward Approach: Healthy Eating Habits for your Child – These tips and tricks are very straightforward and geared toward what you, as an adult, should do in order to guide your child’s nutrition. (WebMD)
Healthy Food for Kids: Easy Tips to Help You Children Eat Healthier – In this in-depth article from HelpGuide, you will find lots of information and tips to help your children eat healthier. (Help Guide)
Healthy Eating Plate – This visual guide was designed by Harvard to help instill healthy eating habits by using fun, easy to use picture example. The image will show kids what is healthy and then explain each part of the picture in easy to understand terms. (Harvard)
Mom Says…15 Ways to Get Your Kids to Eat better – Real parents weigh in on how to make kids eat a healthier diet without forcing it upon them. (Parents)
Creative Healthy Eating: 10 Surprising Ways to Get Kids Eating Healthy – These interesting methods will help get your kids eating healthy and make mealtime fun again. (Today’s Parent)
Empowering Choices: 8 Steps to Teaching Kids About Nutrition – Here you will learn how to teach your kid about nutrition without begging, bribing or pleading with them to eat. (Your Kids Table)
Sit and Teach: Nutrition Lesson Plans and Tools for Teaching – Formal lesson plans may help when teaching your kids about nutrition. Make each lesson fun and your kid will be more inclined to take up some new healthy habits. (Super Healthy Kids)
Healthy Meal Plan
As a parent, you are likely busy almost all of the time. Sometimes you may not have time to think about what healthy foods to feed your kid but would rather have something quick and easy. These healthy meal plans will ensure you keep your kids diets on track without having to put too much thought into each meal.
Clean Meal Plans – If you are looking for a meal plan made with all real ingredients, full of easy to prepare meals and freezer friendly options, this is the site to check out. (The Seasoned Mom)
One Week Plan: A 7- Day Meal Plan for Healthy Kids – This kid-friendly meal plan gives you a week’s worth of meal options that are healthy and foods that your kids will want to eat. (SFGate)
Include Everyone: Meal Planning Tips for Healthy Family – Not only is it important for your kids to be eating healthy meals but it is also important for you as well. These tips will help you come up with creative and nutritious meals for everyone in the family. (Whole Foods Market)
Print It Out: Easy Printable Healthy Eating Plans – Full of colorful, interactive and very specific meal plans for kids, this site will make eating healthy simple and fun. (Nourish Interactive)
Variety is Best: Healthy Kids Meal Plans – These healthy meal plans are full of variety which will prevent your kid from ever being bored at the table. (EatingWell)
Cooking With Kids
One of the best ways to teach your kids proper nutrition is to let them cook with you. This hands-on approach will ensure that kids retain the information they learn about healthy eating as they will be learning with a hands-on approach. There is a lot your kid can do in the kitchen and making healthy choices and cooking healthy foods is just the beginning!
Healthy Recipes Kids can Make – These recipes are all nutritional and easy to make which means your kids can whip them up on their own or by your side (for younger kids). (Food Network)
Independent Snacking: 12 Fun and Healthy Snacks that Kids can make themselves – These fun snack recipes are all foods that your kids can make and then enjoy on their own! Each recipe is healthy and easy to follow which means your kids will be able to make a healthy snack choice independently. (Kidspot)
Basics of Healthy Cooking With Kids – This is the perfect place to start when you are first learning to cook with your kids. (Eat Right)
Step by Step: 8 Fun Ways to Teach Kids about Healthy Eating – This easy to follow guide will show you how to teach kids to cook and the most important steps to ensure they learn about healthy options in the process. (ActiveKids)
Everything You Need – This site is completely devoted toward cooking with kids and has all you will need to start getting your kids involved in the kitchen. (Cooking with Kids)
Food Safety
When your kids first start cooking with you in the kitchen, their safety may be your number one concern. Kitchens are, after all, full of equipment and tools that may not be very kid -friendly. However, with proper teaching and guiding, your kids will be able to cook safely while still having lots of fun cooking up healthy meals.
Top Seven Safety Tips to Teach your Kids – These tips to safety in the kitchen for kids are the most important and the most necessary. A perfect place to start learning about kitchen safety. (Super Healthy Kids)
Parental Guide: How to Keep your Kitchen safe for Kids – This is perfect for parents to read before letting your kid go into the kitchen to cook. These tips will help you know what to look for and where to step in when your kid is learning to cook. (Parents)
Activity Sheets: Kitchen Safety Worksheets Teach Resources – This site is full of activity sheets that will help teach your kids kitchen safety. These fun forms will get your kids excited to learn about being safe. (Teachers Pay Teachers)
Food Safety: Stop Bacteria Before It Begins – Here you will learn all about food safety when it comes to spreading harmful bacteria and how to properly cook foods. Perfect for kids who are new to the kitchen but old enough to understand concepts like bacteria and foodborne illness.
Start Young – If your kids are of preschool age, you can find many resources regarding kitchen safety here. The simpler terms and activities are easy for the youngest chefs to understand.
When kids get a chance to learn about nutrition and healthy eating starting when they are young, their diets will likely continue to be nourishing for the rest of their lives. It is not hard to teach your kids to eat healthy and to cook healthy foods, all you need is a little time, a few fun activities and some great, kid-friendly recipes. Soon, your kid will be cooking you healthy meals while you get to sit down and relax, knowing that you have taught them well!
More Resources on Healthy Food for Kids
The Food Guide Pyramid Becomes a Plate – The post explains exactly how much of each food group children need to eat to stay healthy. (Kids Health)
10 Tips for Picky Eaters – Practical tips to avoid mealtime battles. (Mayo Clinic)
Keep a Food Journal – Teach kids about nutrition with a journaling exercise. (Super Healthy Kids)
Eating Tips for Children: Young Toddlers – Parental concerns and real challenges of feeding young toddlers. (Better Health/Victoria, Australia)
Eating Tips for Children: Older Toddlers – Practical tips to get finicky eaters on the right track. (Better Health/Victoria, Australia)
Eating Tips for School Children – The importance of breakfast, dealing with peer pressure around food, exercise, and snack ideas. (Better Health/Victoria, Australia)
Nutrition for Kids: Guidelines for a Healthy Diet – Offers exact nutritional needs for girls and boys at various ages, based on the latest Dietary Guidelines for Americans. (Mayo Clinic)
School Lunches – Suggestions for helping kids make a healthy choice when choosing what to eat for lunch; ideas for packed lunches that satisfy and taste and nutrition concerns. (Nemours Foundation)
What’s the Right Weight for Me? – A child’s guide to understanding body type and size, calories, exercise, and how to to get the right weight for kids. (Kids Health)
Healthy Eating for Teens – How a varied and balanced diet can support your body through the physical changes of the teen years. (NHS)
GMO Facts – Frequently asked questions on the use and safety of GMOs. (Non GMO Project)
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