7 Golden Rules for Healthy, Happy Kids

Nutrition plays a decisive role in kids’ integral well-being and growth, and you can help them develop healthy habits to become healthy adults. Remember that fun is part of the learning process, so the more you involve them in the selection, cooking and learning process of their diet, the more success you’ll have when inculcating healthy habits.

Here, 7 healthy diet habits for kids, while they have some fun.

1. Eating is an adventure!

If you are a foodie, you know about it. Food is one of the superlative pleasures in life, so one of the best gifts you can give your kids is to encourage them to find different flavours and train their taste buds to enjoy new foods.

But don’t give up on the first attempt, as children usually need to try something new up to 10 times before enjoying it.

Add fun! Praise them when they try new flavors. Take your kids shopping to choose new food together, and serve it with foods they really like.

2. The colors of the rainbow

Nature has a colorful array of food for our enjoyment. Different colors represent different health effects, so you want to add as many colors as possible to your everyday diet. 

Add fun! Have kids class their favorite fruit and vegetables into colors, and create a rule to choose a different one for each meal throughout the day. You can create a chart or calendar where they can paste coloured stickers according to the colours they eat.

3. Water, precious liquid

Kids adore owning beautiful, colorful items. Buy them a nice water bottle or thermo that they can take with them everywhere. Include juices and other sweet drinks occasionally, specially in the mornings. Juice has important nutrients and provides kids with an energy boost, but they should feel the need to drink water when they are thirsty, instead of sugary drinks.

Add fun! Understanding the reasons behind facts, helps kids acquire new knowledge. Tell them about how the flowers need water to bloom beautifully, show them how a moisty fruit (or any other food) looks better than a rotten, dry one. Explain to them that their body needs water to stay active and their brain needs water to concentrate. 

4. Take enough time to eat

It takes about 20 minutes for the brain to get the message from our stomachs that they are full. So try no to hurry kids up to finish their meal in minutes —instead of the usual hours they take—. Remember this a few years later, when you have to ask them to slow down and take the time to chew their food. Besides, it is a good way to remain aware of how much more food they need

Add fun! Teach older children to listen to their tummies and ask themselves: “Is my tummy feeling full?” “Will I feel sick if I eat these extra cookies?” “Does my body really need them right now?” Sometimes feeling hungry is just an alert of the body for water.

5. Sit together at the table to eat

Like most of the activities in our daily life, there is a time to eat. Having this in mind will benefit the whole family, as you will be waiting for that shared moment to have a nice meal instead of grabbing some snacks on the run or while watching TV. Not that a good bowl of popcorn doesn’t match divinely with watching a movie, but reserve it for special occasions. Sitting at the table will educate their stomachs to wait for the right time to eat.

Add fun! Share stories of your day with kids while sitting at the table, and encourage them to do the same. This will help build self-esteem and important social skills.

6. Cook together!

This may probably happen to you, if you enjoy cooking: the more techniques you learn, the more eager you are to try new flavors. Children too are more likely to become adventurous eaters if they know how to cook. Aprons on, and let them help you in the kitchen.

Add fun! According to their age, assign specific tasks for them, from peeling bananas and breaking an egg, to decorating cakes and licking the bowl!

7. Active, active active

Sports and active play is a vital part of your children’s well-being and health. It builds strong bones, tones up muscles, burns excess energy and helps them maintain a healthy weight. You will be sharing precious time together, as well.

Add fun! Limit TV time and exchange it for fun, active, shared times. Go cycling together, walk with them to nearby places whenever possible, take them skating, tramping or rock-climbing.