Healthy eating behaviors, practiced daily, develop into positive habits your child will have for the rest of his life. Model for him and teach him to make the best food choices once he can eat table food. This increases the likelihood he maintains such habits and reduces his risk of becoming overweight, according to a 2005 article by Sylvia Crixell, Ph.D., and Lisa Lloyd, Ph.D., published by the American College of Sports Medicine.
Eat Breakfast
Eating breakfast will reduce your child's chances of consuming too much junk food later in the day, according to a 2005 article by Gary Miller, Ph.D., published in the "Health & Fitness Journal." Fuel your child by ensuring she gets breakfast in her tummy, including complex carbs, protein and healthy fats. Wake your child early in the morning so that she has time to eat whole wheat toast, natural peanut butter, all-fruit spread, eggs and a glass of milk. Teach her to refrain from eating sugary cereals and instant oatmeal for breakfast, except on occasion.
Pack a Lunch
Lunch food from a school's cafeteria is typically cooked off premises and usually full of saturated fat, sugar and salt. Help your child learn the components of a healthy lunch by having him pack a lunch for school instead of buying from the cafeteria line. Encourage him to participate in making his lunch by soliciting his preferences from your list of healthful foods, including whole wheat bread, cheese, low-sodium deli meats, baby carrots, olives, eggs and his favorite fruits. Stand nearby while he packs a bagged lunch himself, and be sure he includes a bottle of water.
Take Balanced Snacks
Your child's metabolism burns through her breakfast and lunch. Most kids do have a snack time between lunch and dismissal. Pack a snack of carbohydrates, protein and healthy fat so that she is not starving later in the day; hunger pangs will make it difficult to concentrate and study in school. Show her how to put together a healthy snack as she makes her lunch. Combine pistachios with graham crackers, a cheese stick with apple slices or unsalted peanuts with goldfish crackers.
Eat at Home
Children are eating fewer of their meals at home, contributing to the increasing rate of childhood obesity, advise Crixell and Lloyd. Cook a large pot or tray of healthy meals so that you have at least two more meals' worth of food ready to eat on those late nights after a game or practice. This strategy reduces the likelihood of eating out, demonstrating to your child the healthfulness of home-cooked meals compared to fast-food options. Repeating this pattern helps develop his preference for meals at home rather than at a restaurant.
References
- ACSM's Fit Society Page: Fostering Healthy Weight in Youth
- "ACSM's Health & Fitness Journal"; Your Clients Are What They Eat: Balancing Weight with Diet Part 1; Gary Miller, Ph.D.; January/February 2005
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