We all want our children to be great eaters and embrace healthy foods. However, despite parents’ good intentions, long-term pressure to eat fruits and vegetables, excessive restriction of sweet and high-fat foods (known to be the foods children naturally prefer) and using food as a reward (‘a few more bites, then you can have dessert!’), have all been found to result in what we don’t want – kids that resist eating fruits & vegetables but never turn down a sweet treat!
How best can we speak to children about healthy eating?
Telling our small people to, ‘eat this because it’s good for you’, rarely has any impact; it just doesn’t mean much to a child! Instead, here are some other approaches:
- Make it all about colour! – aiming for ‘eat a rainbow a day’ helps motivate children to broaden their intake of a variety of fruit & vegetables in a fun way. Connecting foods to specific benefits can also help i.e. ‘Purple foods give us power brains!’
- Encourage exploring not just eating – curiosity about food will naturally lead to more interest. In our fast-paced lives, children often know very little about the foods that are plonked down in front of them, especially those anxious about trying new things. Slowing the pace and exploring colours and textures – ‘is it juicy?’ – will help build confidence.
- Field to fork education – reconnection to how our food gets to our kitchens is also invaluable. Consider an organic veg box delivery or how about supporting or getting involved with a local farm or growing community? There are many great initiatives starting in the PHA hubs.
- Involve children of all ages in meal preparation – there are endless opportunities from choosing foods at the shops, putting shopping away, letting them choose dinner, chopping vegetables (kids’ safety gloves are great!), to being the waiter serving the family! Children also love a kitchen gadget so let them get hands-on. This works really well with children whose resistance to foods is really about their desire to have some control!
Ultimately, these are life skills & knowledge that children need as they mature, are the foundations of health and will help us return to more faith in nature and food to nourish our bodies.
Clare Jeffries – Nutritionist specialising in children’s health (www.healthyinfluence.co.uk)
This month we also have a poem written by Monique McPherson
I used to love cupcakes,
The smell of the sponge,
The gooey choc topping,
For seconds I’d lunge.
To sample and savour,
The counterfeit flavour,
Of double choc croc,
But, – since I took stock,
I strived to be healthy,
And yes, I am wealthy,
As I’m leaner and greener,
And making less waste.
But if I indulge now,
All I can taste,
Is preservatives, additives, flavourings fake,
What the heck did I see in that
Chocolate Cupcake?