Nearly one-third of American children are overweight, according to the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition. Motivating children to lose weight can be challenging, since suggesting that a child is overweight can make her feel self-conscious and damage her self-esteem. Introducing healthy foods and exercise into your entire family’s routine makes children feel that they’re not alone. Ask your child’s pediatrician for approval and advice before starting your child on a new exercise regimen.
Step 1
Remove junk food and sugary drinks, such as soda, from your house. If children don’t have access to these foods, they learn to live without them.
Step 2
Make a weekly meal plan together with your children. Visit the library or search online for recipes of healthy dishes that children like. Look for healthier versions of their favorite foods, such as baked chicken fingers rather than fried chicken. Write out the week’s meal plan and hang it in a central location, such as the refrigerator, so children always know what to expect.
Step 3
Take children with you when you go grocery shopping. Buy all the ingredients for your week’s meal plan. Demonstrate how to look at food labels and choose foods that are low in calories, fat, sodium and sugar and high in fiber, protein and vitamins.
Step 4
Ask children to help cook meals. They learn how to adjust recipes to their tastes and may be more excited about eating something healthy if they have a hand in preparing it.
Step 5
Sign up for exercise activities that you can do with your children. These must be activities that the children enjoy, such as swimming at the local community center or taking skiing lessons. Choose an activity that they can do once or twice a week so they don’t become burned out.
Step 6
Go for a family walk each day. Do it at the same time each day, such as after dinner, so it becomes part of your routine. Walk around the neighborhood for 15 or 20 minutes to start, gradually moving up to 40 or 45 minutes. This ensures that children exercise each day and gives you a chance to talk.
Step 7
Praise children every day for their effort. Don’t focus on their appearance. Say “I’m so proud of you for making healthy choices.” This makes them feel proud and want to continue getting healthy and losing weight.
Things You'll Need
- Recipes
- Paper
- Pen
- Healthy foods
- Exercise clothes
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