Parents set the eating habits for the rest of their children's lives, and it is important to create a nutritious eating routine as early as possible. This way, the child can learn to make healthy eating choices on his own.
Significance
Eating three meals and two snacks per day filled with a variety of nutritious foods can help prevent heart disease, high cholesterol, obesity and stroke for the rest of the child's life.
Types
A healthy, low-fat diet for children should include a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, lean proteins like black beans, lean turkey, skinless chicken breast, and low-fat cheese, and whole-grains like oatmeal, whole-wheat pasta and whole-grain bread.
Identification
Both parents and children should identify together which foods are healthy and which are not. Foods with only one ingredient are usually more healthy than processed foods.
Misconceptions
Even if the foods your child is consuming are healthy, cooking the foods in vegetable oil, butter or lard make them unhealthy. Foods should only be cooked with non-fat cooking spray or a dab of extra virgin olive oil.
Warning
Children, especially those who have health problems, should not be put on restrictive diets unless the plan is approved by a doctor.
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