So glad to have today’s guest share some tips on kids & nutrition!

Keep It Simple & Successful ~ Get The Kids Involved! 

By Jean Nicol

Is mealtime at your house always a happy, pleasant time as everyone enjoys the meals you prepare? If it is then you are very blessed indeed. You may enjoy reading on to get some new ideas on how you can switch things up a bit and get the kids more involved.

If you have struggles getting kids to eat the healthy meals you prepare or if you have become battle weary and given in to their restricted list of preferred foods to keep the peace, not waste good food and have them eating something, please read on. I may have some ideas you could try that will help you avoid battles and have the kids eating healthier too!

Many families are learning that by involving the children more in making healthy food choices mealtime is more enjoyable, everyone can share in the ownership of the plan! Kids are helping with the meal planning and they are having fun and eating healthier meals ~ making for some pretty happy moms and dads of kids who were not the best of eaters or who were picky eaters.

Imagine kids thinking they are going to be in control of deciding what the family eats! Some kids are already in control of their own diet, the very picky eaters. This may not be the diet you wished they would have. However, if they will only eat a limited number of foods, then they kind of have you supporting their plan as you are likely concerned about how little they eat. If their desired menu is a very limited number of foods then most parents, understandably, would have those foods available on demand. Now these children are pretty smart really, they have figured out how to be in control of their food choices and it looks to them like you think it’s a great plan too.

How many parents don’t have struggles with their kids, as young as toddlers, over who is going to be in control? That’s such a big part of growing and discovering who they are. Many discover at a very young age that they can gain control with food choices. Since they want to be in control of their food choices (don’t we all) then maybe we can work with them and have a bit more input! Why not work this out as a family and plan meals together.

Of course the persons purchasing the foods are really in control right. So you as the parent will want to present some more options but where do you start? A great starting place would be to get a copy of the Food Guide that your National Dept of Health publishes. Your children may already be familiar with it since many have seen it in school.  

·         Take a look at the food guide together.

·         Brainstorm some lists of foods in each food group

·         Get the kids to find pictures of the foods (old magazines, grocery store flyers, google images)

·         Use the food guide to find out the number of recommended servings of foods.

·         Maybe begin by planning together for the main family meal of the day.

·         Involve everyone by taking turns making food choices.

·         Make a menu; make it a picture menu too.

·         Post this menu in the kitchen where everyone will see it

·         Save the menus, as you may want to repeat it sometime

Expanding on the theory that the more involved the kids are the better, think of other ways to get them involved.

·         Take them shopping and let them help find the foods for the cart

·         Let the older children help put foods on the checkout counter

·         If time allows, make it a real learning time for toddlers. You can be developing language concepts with names of foods, colors, numbers, sizes, and shapes as well as getting them to listen and follow directions.

·         When you get home from shopping get the kids to help put foods away.

·         If you have a little one who likes water play, keep them busy at the sink washing fruit or veggies.

·         Do you plant a garden in the summer? Get the kids involved with garden preparation, planting, watering, weeding and picking their vegetables!

·         If you freeze veggies for the winter get the kids involved when you can. They can help cool the veggies after blanching. They can print the labels.

Involve them in the meal preparation, service and clean up when possible too. There are so many opportunities to teach them very necessary life skills they are not likely to learn anywhere else than from family. It’s never too early to begin teaching kids. Enjoy this new family time you will be spending with your kids. Time that will be well spent and reap many benefits. 

Canada’s Food Guide https://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/food-guide-aliment/order-commander/index-eng.php

United States Food Guide Pyramid https://www.mypyramid.gov/  

Australian Guide to Healthy Eating https://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/content/health-pubhlth-strateg-food-guide-whatis.htm

British Nutrition Foundation Healthy Eating Guidelines https://www.livestrong.com/article/411547-u-k-healthy-eating-guidelines/  

 

Jean Nicol is a retired nutritionist, special education teacher, autism school consultant and early interventionist. In her retirement, all her previous education and experience came together as she invented The Eating Game. Her invention is   an innovative and revolutionary program that even has picky eaters having fun planning and eating healthy meals every day. Kids love it! The little boy who was her inspiration named it a “game” because it is fun! Learn more about The Eating Game at https://www.theeatinggame.ca. Find out about other similar products and how they are being used at www.eyecancreations.blogspot.com.