Whether we know it or not, we’re our kids’ most important teachers. They’ll likely spend far more time with us in their formative years than anyone else, and everything we do is an opportunity for them to learn. Unfortunately, sometimes they learn from our mistakes just as readily as our good example.
Kids pick up their eating habits from their parents, of course. They get used to eating what their parents serve, and while they don’t share all tastes with their parents, there ends up being a lot of commonality. Children pick up habits just like adults do, through repetition and example over a period of weeks and months. Making sure these habits are healthy is an important part of parenthood, and fortunately we have some advice to help make this process a little easier.
Teaching Tip #1 – Team Up
Children are generally very sociable, and often behave in a way that seeks attention and approval from their parents. Additionally, they’re very quick to pick up on things they deem ‘unfair,’ particularly things they have to do that they don’t see their parents doing. Take advantage of this by teaming up with your kids for eating healthy. Bring them into it, and show them that it’s a whole-family effort, not just something they have to do alone or that you’re doing by yourself.
For example, consider all the techniques we’ve discussed thus far, such as eating with our off-hand or stopping for a sip of water between bites. Instead of just relying on these techniques yourself, share them with your children and help them learn to use them as well. They will reap the same rewards you do, as they slow their food intake and gain an appreciation of how to savor their food.
Teaching Tip #2 – Portion Control
When children develop bad eating habits, it’s usually because of what they’re being provided by the adults or authority figures in their lives, not through any conscious decision. You can help them with this by controlling how you feed them, and giving them alternatives.
Don’t put a full plate of food in front of your children. Remember that we’re learning how to eat until we’re comfortably full, not until the food is gone. Food keeps as leftovers, and it’s always better to save back a little instead of cramming too much into the stomach. Instead, provide a moderate portion for their plate, and if they’re hungry after, let them ask for more. This, coupled with the slow-eating techniques above, will help them achieve a healthy sense of feeling full instead of overeating.
Teaching Tip #3 – Don’t Use Food as an Incentive
One of the most common teaching techniques parents try to use is the food control method. They consider sending children to bed without dinner for misbehaving, offer promises of dessert if the kids finish their sprouts, and the like. The problem is, this is exactly the opposite of teaching healthy eating habits because it gets away from what the body needs and wants. Skipping a meal is not going to hurt the body seriously, but it does have an effect. Also, dessert is just going to pack on the pounds if kids are stuffing themselves to clean their plates in hope of a sweet treat.
Food is not meant to be a reward or a method of control. It’s nutrition, something the body needs in measured quantities to be healthy. If children insist they aren’t hungry, don’t force them to finish off their plate. Instead, focus on getting them to eat at regular times, in healthy doses, so their bodies learn to be hungry on a particular pattern.
Teaching Tip #4 – Go Shopping
Children have an immense capacity to learn, just like anyone. One method of getting them involved in your healthy eating habits is to take them food shopping with you, and to teach them all about what you’re buying.
When you buy carrots and greens, tell them a little about what each one is good for, such as carrots for healthy eyes or fiber-rich veggies for healthy hearts. Tell them how you’re going to prepare them, and what meal they’ll be a part of. Teach your children about how the store is laid out too, with fresh food along the outside of the store and packaged food inside.
Teaching Tip #5 – Go Slow
Just as it is with adults, kids take time to form their habits. It can take a while, a little more than a month usually, to get a good solid habit put together. A good benchmark to shoot for is 42 days. This can be further broken up into six weekly goals to reach, with appropriate rewards for good progress.
As a side project, consider how you’re going to gather information about your kids’ eating habits. We’ve discussed the power of food journaling, so consider adding what your family eats as well when you mark down your own meals. A week or two of keeping track can help you see where you need to make decisions and changes, and make the whole process of building healthy, family-friendly eating habits much easier.
Good luck!
Author’s Note: Previously published here.
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Larry Tobin is the co-creator of http://www.HabitChanger.com/, offering effective and empowering solutions for losing weight. Try our 42-day weight loss program for Losing Weight.
Read more articles written by Larry Tobin
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