How To Encourage Healthy Snacking: 5 Kid-Friendly Tips
Kids are famously known for having giant sweet tooths and pouting or turning away from healthy, nutritious food. But as parents, it’s our job to provide them with a nourishing diet so that they can grow to be healthy adults. Here are five kid-friendly tips to encourage your child to eat healthy snacks!
Lead By Example
Monkey see, monkey do! Eating healthier can be a journey you and your child take together! Your child naturally follows your example, so if you’re hoping to encourage healthier eating habits in them, it might be best to change your behavior first.
If you’re craving a candy bar or fast food, lead your child by example by eating fruits and veggies instead.
Cook Together
Accomplishing an activity together allows a child to engage in their environment further. Next time you cook a healthy meal, ask them to help you; it’ll fuel their excitement to eat more nutritious choices! Plus, you’ll be teaching them valuable skills that they’ll use throughout their life. And you just might be introducing them to a new hobby!
Make It Fun!
While you’re cooking, break out the cookie cutters to turn a bland mound of brown rice into a heart-shaped mountain of rice! Making healthy eating fun engages the imagination and establishes excellent eating habits that they’ll adapt into adulthood.
Keep Healthy Foods Out and Junk Food Hidden
One essential way to help your child build healthy snacking is to keep the junk food out of the house to begin with. Follow the “out of sight, out of mind” philosophy, and replace unhealthy food with better, more nutritious food.
Schedule Eating Times
It’s easy for some adults to eat out of boredom, which may stem from their childhood. Try creating an eating schedule for you and your child (i.e., breakfast at 7 a.m., healthy snack at 10 a.m., lunch at noon, etc.). This will prevent your child from snacking out of habit.
Pack healthy snacks like cheese sticks, carrots, and frozen yogurt pops if you’re always on the go!
Inspire Them With Superfoods
There are lots of tasty fruits and veggies that create a colorful, healthy diet for your child! Some superfoods include:
- Avocados
- Mushrooms
- Ginger
- Dulse leaves
- Eggs
It may be difficult for your child to eat certain vegetables, so adding a bit of sauce or dressing can mask the strong taste. Dulse leaves contain many essential vitamins and minerals to promote a healthy body and mind. You can add dulse leaves to sandwiches, omelets, soups, and more!
Now that you know these five kid-friendly tips for encouraging healthy snacking in your child, you’re ready to start a new journey together!