To carry out nutritional re-education with children, it is first necessary to change the parents’ habits, especially through simple actions, such as not buying sweets for home and always having salad on the lunch and dinner table.
Children tend to imitate their parents’ attitudes, which is why it is necessary to unite the entire family in changing eating habits, which can be achieved through the following steps:
1. Have good food in the fridge
The first step to getting children to eat well is to have good foods in the refrigerator, pantry and cupboards. This way, they will always have good options to choose from and, even when they throw a tantrum to eat junk food like stuffed biscuits and soft drinks, they won’t have any at home.
During children’s tantrums, parents should open the cupboards to show that they do not have the food the little ones want and to show other snack options available.
2. Always have healthy foods at meals
Including healthy foods in meals, even if children don’t want to eat them, is important so that they start to learn about new foods and be curious about them.
Parents can always provide salads and chopped fruits, and nuts and natural yogurt with honey for snacks, for example.
3. Eating new foods in front of your children
To encourage children to try new flavors, a good strategy is to eat healthy foods in front of the little ones, so they can see how delicious and healthy they are.
Children often don’t eat fruits, vegetables and different preparations because their parents themselves don’t have this habit, so it’s necessary to change and show them that change is good.
4. Let your children participate in the kitchen
Allowing children to help prepare food is also a great way to encourage them to learn about food and understand how the food was prepared in a loving and delicious way.
Sometimes, upon seeing the dish ready, children simply reject the preparation because they find it strange and do not understand how it was made. This way, by participating in the preparation and cooking process, they can try new flavors and get excited for when everything is ready on the table.
5. Avoid distractions at mealtime
It is important to avoid distractions such as television, tablets or cell phones during meals, a rule that applies to both children and parents.
Despite the mess that is usually made, the meal has to be a moment of attention for children, during which they receive praise and advice in a pleasant way, making the meal always a special moment.
6. Have a lot of patience
Having patience is always necessary when raising children, and the same goes for nutritional education. Children won’t give in to new foods easily, and it takes time and patience to convince them to try new flavors.
And the work doesn’t stop at the first attempt: in general, it is necessary to try the same food several times until the palate gets used to it and starts to like the new flavor.
7. Test new recipes
Testing and learning new recipes is important to innovate and add flavor to healthy food, which is often seen as bland and flavorless.
Learning to use natural seasonings and fresh foods brings more health and more pleasure to the family during meals. See more tips for getting your child to eat fruits and vegetables.
