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10 TIPS TO KEEP CHILDREN ON THE RIGHT TRACK
1)Healthy, active kids are more likely to grow into healthy, active adults. Ideally, children need at least 30 – 60 minutes of physical activity daily – playing in the garden or going for a walk is fine.
2)Try to maintain structured meal times rather than letting children graze throughout the day.
3)Don’t let your children fill up on fizzy drinks or squash between meals, this can reduce a child’s appetite for healthy foods at meal times.
4)Introduce new or healthy foods when your child is hungry.
5)When your child says they are hungry, offer a piece of fruit first. Only when they’ve eaten that, can they have something else.
6)Make eating healthily fun. Try keeping a chart, awarding one star for each vegetable eaten. Offer a treat when they reach 10 starts. Get children to keep a list of all the different types of fruit and vegetables that they eat. At the end of the week, count up how many different fruit and vegetable they’ve eaten. Plan a treat if they can beat that number in the coming month.
7)Make an effort to eat together as a family. Encourage conversation by turning off the TV or radio. Keep conversation around the table happy and positive – save the lectures for another time.
8)Teach kids that cooking can be creative and fun by getting them to help prepare meals so they learn about healthy eating.
9)Kids learn by example, so make sure you set a good one by eating a balanced diet yourself.
10)Don’t give in to pestering for the ‘wrong’ foods. Be firm, think ahead, especially on trips to the supermarket and have healthy alternatives ready. (e.g.bread, pasta, rice, noodles, couscous, potatoes, sweet potatoes and breakfast cereals.)
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