As a parent you will know the difficulties involved with encouraging children to eat well and take exercise. During their childhood it is important that they develop a healthy attitude towards diet and exercise as this will affect them later on in life. It is essential that taking exercise and healthy eating does not feel like a chore and something they have to do, rather a way of life in which they choose. See here a guide to encouraging your children to make healthy decisions.
Make Healthy Eating Fun
It’s well known children do not enjoy fruit and vegetables. Most parents have to use the old ‘You’re not leaving the table until you finish your broccoli’ tactic, or the ‘No pudding if you don’t eat your peas’. This is bribery and children will begin to see eating fruit and vegetables as a punishment.
Get them to enjoy eating these foods by involving them in the choices. Take your children shopping with you and allow them to choose two types of fruit each and two types of vegetables each to buy. When it comes to dinner time before you cook ask them to come down and claim you need help choosing what to cook. Give them two choices and allow them to pick all elements of the meal so the emphasis is not put on the vegetables. Children will feel proud to have been given the responsibility to choose the family meal and if they see you enjoying it they will too.
Try to avoid putting in place a reward scheme when it comes to eating healthy food as this can result in them feeling like for every good thing they eat they can have something bad too.
Do Not Deprive Them
It is becoming increasingly popular for parents to deprive their children of the foods they really love due to the increasing emphasis being put on our health by the government. Depriving your children can cause problems later on in life as soon as they are free to make their own decisions they will rebel and make bad choices.
Occasional treats are fine and promoting a balanced diet for a young age will set children up to feel like this is normal and the right way to eat. Children do enjoy sweets and crisps and a once a day treat is perfectly healthy and will help develop a good attitude towards food.
Work Sport Into Their Weekly Routine
Along with healthy eating taking regular exercise as a child is equally important. Taking exercise should be something that is fun and children look forward to. Again a great way to ensure they enjoy taking regular exercise is to get them involved in making choices. Children love sports and classes that allow them to socialise and get involved with other children. Ask them which sport or class they have always wanted to try and book them in. They can start from a young age and really the younger the better. There are some great classes available such as football for toddlers or ballet classes to start as young as age two. The sooner they start the more normal regular exercise will seem.
If they start a class and they don’t enjoy it do not force it upon them. Accept this and say they can choose something else to try. Even if they try five or six things eventually they will find something they really enjoy and will never want to miss a class. It’s all about trial and error but always encourage them and make sure you do not curse them if they decide a class isn’t right for them.
[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’][/author_image] [author_info]Eilidh MacRae works for Sport 4 Kids who provide football for toddlers.[/author_info] [/author]
