Nutrition Tips for Kids

Healthy eating habits should be developed right from childhood to prevent metabolic syndrome or disorders when the child grows up. Right nutrition from childhood is essential for the proper growth and development of the child and to prevent various deficiencies.

The following are a few nutrition tips for kids:

1) Make Your Child Follow a Balanced Diet:

Consuming a healthy and balanced diet is essential for the proper growth and development of your child. If your child does not have an adequate nutrition-enriched intake, they might develop various deficiency-related disorders. Vitamin A deficiency may lead to night-blindness in children, whereas the deficiency of vitamin C might lead to scurvy (bleeding gums). If your child severely lacks protein in the diet, then the chances of developing protein malnutrition are quite likely.

2) Make Your Child's Food Interesting:

Many parents these days complain that their children do not feel hungry. This may also be because of the boredom of having the same type of food every day. But on the other hand, if you purchase a pizza for your child, you will notice that your child has it very happily and asks for more. In this case, what you can do is try making healthy food interesting. You can transform your regular chapati into chapati pizzas by adding lots of vegetables to it. For protein, you can add shredded chicken or cottage cheese to it. Your child will lovingly and happily have it. You can even try preparing whole wheat noodles with veggies added to it. This is definitely healthier than the processed noodles available in the market that your child craves for, thus spoiling his or her health.

3) Eat Your Meal Together:

A family that eats together and prays together always stays together. When you have meals with your family together, your child automatically starts developing a sense of safety. When you have meals with your family, remember that you are a role model for your little one. If you complain about having vegetables, then children are imitators. They, too, would start behaving like that. You cannot expect your child to be perfect and listen to whatever you say when you do not practice it.

4) Avoid Screen Time While Eating Food:

Making your child limit the use of mobile phones or television, especially while eating food, is a good way to teach your child to respect food. Switching on the television while eating food would make your child engage in mindless eating. We obviously want to teach mindful eating techniques in our children and ourselves as well. Also, avoid giving children your phones to play while eating food. These habits should be developed from childhood itself, or kids turn out to become stubborn if not corrected from a younger age.

5) Ensure That Your Child Has Plenty of Water Every Day:

Water is an essential nutrient that does not have any calorific value, yet it possesses various health benefits in adults and children. Make sure that your child at least has 8 to 10 glasses of water regularly to prevent problems like constipation and piles and to keep your child very well hydrated. You can distribute the frequency by having at least one glass of water every hour. This can be practiced for at least 8 to 10 hours. Because having liters of water just at once would make your child use the washroom too often (4 to 6 times in an hour). Hence, the distribution of having water in time intervals plays an essential role in maintaining the proper hydration status of your child. Water also helps to flush out harmful toxins from the body. Hence, remember to stay hydrated always. Avoid giving your child aerated drinks to quench the levels of thirst. It contains very high levels of sugar and is bad for your child's system. You can prepare various detox drinks using mint, cucumber, and coriander for your child instead.

6) Avoid Giving Processed Foods to Your Children:

With today's fast-paced life and parents' working schedule, there are various convenience foods that have come up in the market. They contain trans fat, which is made up of partially hydrogenated vegetable oil and is very harmful to your child's health. Avoid giving them processed foods like chips, ready-made burgers, nuggets, etc. Instead, whole grain bread, vegetables, and chicken sandwiches would be healthier alternatives for your child. Ensure that you are giving your kid healthier options. Again, deep frying foods are not a good option for your child, as they contain trans fat and may lead to childhood obesity and other problems. Steamed vegetables and baked food are good snack options for children. You can even try making whole wheat vegetable wraps for your child. Some good sources of protein like sprouts, cottage cheese, or some amount of shredded chicken can be added to these whole wheat wraps.

7) Take Your Child for Grocery Shopping:

When you take your children grocery shopping, you can educate them about selecting healthy food choices. You can also help your kid read food labels and choose healthy foods from the supermarket.

8) Involve Your Kids in the Kitchen:

You can teach your child basic chopping work. Let them use a plastic knife instead of the normal knife. They can be taught basic stuff like making salads or sorting vegetables in the whole grain bread while making a sandwich. When children are involved in food preparation, they will happily consume those foods even if the child is a fussy eater otherwise, because the child has made efforts to prepare the food.

Always appreciate your child's efforts and encourage them for that. I hope that you will definitely keep these nutrition tips in mind for the good health of your child. Stay tuned for more nutrition-related articles by me on icliniq.com.

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