1. Monkey see, Monkey do
As a caregiver, you are one of the biggest influences in your child's life. Children imitate adults early on; it is in fact an important developmental milestone, so start teaching them early. Consider this: do you want your child playing "fast-food drive through"? If not, you need to set the best example you can in terms of nutrition for your child. They will thank you for it later on.
2. Food for Thought
Think about this, if your child helped pick out the food at the grocery store and assisted you in preparing it, are they going to try it? You bet. Involve your child in family food planning. It gives you endless teaching opportunities. At the grocery store, you both can learn about healthy foods. Ask for samples in the produce area then discuss the nutritional values of the food. Try an exotic fruit or vegetable and guess what kind of vitamins it has. Let children plan a family dinner and pick out items based on the healthy content. At home, you can work together to prepare the meal. It is not enough to know what foods are good for you, but how to prepare them in a tasty way is the key. These are lessons that will last a lifetime and can be handed down for generations to come.
3. Label Games
By reading labels together you can practice math, science, vocabulary and nutrition. Start with the food pyramid at mypyramid.gov explaining what foods are needed for good nutrition and which ones are empty calories. Then review labels of their favorite foods to see what is really inside. You can practice math by determining how may calories per serving there are or figuring out how many juice drink boxes they need to get the same vitamins as a glass of 100 percent juice. Teach your child which ingredients mean sugar (like fructose and others with the suffix "ose"), fat and salt (anything with sodium in the name).
4. Slow-Go-Whoa Foods
Reading labels are not always easy, so here is a great way to teach your child about proper nutrition. This basic concept is used to classify foods for children that everyone can grasp. "Slow foods" are ones you eat sometimes, "go food" is good most times and "whoa" is not a good food choice. You can play games while shopping or cooking as to what is a slow go and whoa food or how you can make a slow food a go food and vice versa. For example, celery sticks are go foods, mashed potatoes are a slow food and French fries are whoa foods. Use the food pyramid as a guide.
5. It's a Way of Life
When making these types of lifestyle changes, don't quit trying. If you slip up one day by serving pizza, make sure the next dinner is the picture of nutritious eating. Next time you debate whether to turn in the fast food drive through, consider first what you are teaching your child about nutrition.
