Adults are a powerful influence on young children. Modeling healthy eating habits and teaching children the difference between nutritious foods and not so nutritious foods will help pave the way for a life time of healthy eating habits. Many children learn best with hands-on activities and taking children outside to play a few entertaining games can help them grasp nutritional concepts and apply them to their lives.
Fruit And Vegetable Scavenger Hunt
Taking your child to local food sources can teach them a great deal about where their food comes from and what makes it healthy, according to Dr. William Sears and his wife, Dr. Martha Sears, writing for AskDr.Sears, a website from leading pediatricians. Take your children to a farmer's market or a farm where they are permitted to pick their own produce. Turn the adventure into a game by creating a scavenger hunt. Make a list of several fruits and vegetables they may see and challenge them to see who can find everything on their list first. Provide pencils so they can mark off their discoveries as they go. Reward each player by allowing them to pick out one fruit or vegetable to take home and enjoy later.
Food Pyramid Hopscotch
Spending quality time with your children provides you with valuable time to teach them what foods are healthy and what foods are considered occasional treats, report Roberta Larson Duyff and the American Dietetic Association, authors of "American Dietetic Association Complete Food and Nutrition Guide." Playing outside is one way that many families spend time together and playing a game of Food Pyramid Hopscotch can teach your child about nutrition at the same time. Draw a large triangle on your driveway and separate it into six sections. Print a copy of the Food Pyramid to guide you. Color each section accordingly and have your children stand at one end. Call out a food and challenge each player to jump to the food group that food belongs in. If you call out an unhealthy food, such as cookies, candy or soda, that child misses a turn.
Healthy Foods Relay Race
Identifying healthy foods is an important part of teaching children how to choose nutritious foods, recommend Renee M. McCall and Diane H. Craft, authors of "Purposeful Play: Early Childhood Movement Activities on a Budget." Make copies of several different healthy foods and cut them into small cards. Lay the cards out on one end of a grassy or concrete play area. Include two copies of each food. Divide players into two teams and have them form lines on the opposite end of the play area. On your mark, yell out a healthy food, and motion the first player from each team to run to the food cards and find that food. When a player finds the food, she grabs the card and runs back to her team. The first player to reach her team earns a point for that team. Play continues until each player has had an equal amount of turns. The winning team is the one with the most points.
References
- Ask Dr. Sears: The ABC's of Teaching Nutrition to Your Kids
- "American Dietetic Association Complete Food and Nutrition Guide"; Roberta Larson Duyff and American Dietetic Association; 2006
- "Purposeful Play: Early Childhood Movement Activities on a Budget"; Renee M. McCall and Diane H. Craft; 2004
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