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Healthy eating habits for your children
By teaching your children healthy eating habits you can keep them at a healthy weight. Also, the eating habits your children learn when they are young will help them maintain a healthy lifestyle when they are adults.
One of the most important approaches to eating is cutting down on fat intake. Simple ways to achieve this include eating low-fat or non-fat dairy products, skinless poultry, and lean meats, and low-fat or fat-free breads and cereals.
Child Discipline Tactics
Discipline is the process of teaching your child what type of behavior is acceptable and what type is not acceptable. In other words, discipline teaches a child to follow rules. Discipline may involve both punishment, such as a time out, and, more importantly, rewards. It sounds so straightforward, yet every parent becomes frustrated at one time or another with issues surrounding children and discipline.
Child discipline tactics
Discipline is the process of teaching your child what type of behaviour is acceptable and what type is not acceptable. In other words, discipline teaches a child to follow rules. Discipline may involve both punishment and, more importantly, rewards. It sounds so straightforward, yet every parent becomes frustrated at one time or another with issues surrounding children and discipline.
If you are unsure about how to select and prepare a variety of foods for your family, consult a doctor or registered dietician for nutrition counselling.
It is important that you do not put your overweight child(ren) on a restrictive diet. Children should never be placed on a restrictive diet to lose weight unless a doctor or paediatric dietician supervises one for medical reasons.
Other approaches parents can take to develop healthy eating habits in their children include:
Guide your family's choices rather than dictate foods. Make a wide variety of healthy foods available in the house. This will help your children learn how to make healthy food choices.
Encourage your children to eat slowly. A child can detect hunger and fullness better when eating slowly.
Eat meals together as a family as often as possible. Try to make mealtimes pleasant with conversation and sharing, not a time for scolding or arguing. If mealtimes are unpleasant, children may try to eat faster to leave the table as soon as possible. They then may learn to associate eating with stress.
Involve your children in food shopping and preparing meals. These activities will give you hints about your children's food preferences, an opportunity to teach your children about nutrition, and provide your children with a feeling of achievement. In addition, children may be more willing to eat or try foods they have helped prepare.
Plan for snacks. Continuous snacking may lead to overeating, but snacks that are planned at specific times during the day can be part of a nutritious diet, without spoiling a child's appetite at meal times. You should make snacks as nutritious as possible, without depriving your children of occasional crisps or biscuits, especially at parties or other social events.
Discourage eating meals or snacks while watching TV. Try to eat only in designated areas of your home, such as the dining room or kitchen. Eating in front of the TV may make it difficult to pay attention to feelings of fullness, and may lead to overeating.
WebMD Medical Reference provided in collaboration with the Cleveland Clinic
Children's Health Guide
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