Parents: 7 Smart Tips to Encourage Healthy Eating in Kids

Introducing your child to new, healthy foods is a perfect way to stimulate an active mind while nourishing their brain. Trouble is, most kids turn their noses up at the mere mention of a new food for no other reason than it’s unfamiliar. To help entice your child to try a greater variety of nutritious foods, here are 7 simple strategies to get started. Choose one to begin with, and you’ll soon have a child who enjoys a wider range of foods to fuel their active mind.

1. Stock your home with more healthy foods. Few habits will have more impact on what your child eats at home than your efforts to bring more healthy foods into your home, including fruits and vegetables.

2. Limit junk food at home. The easiest way to curtail your child’s intake of junk food at home is to avoid bringing it into your kitchen.

3. Model healthy eating habits. Be adventurous yourself about trying new foods. Kids notice more than you may think and are likely to try foods that their parents or older siblings enjoy.

4. Make healthy choices ready-to-serve.  Don’t underestimate the value of preparing foods to be ready when your child is looking for a snack. For example, wash grapes, cut them into small bunches and place them in a bowl in the fridge. In this way, you make the healthy choice the easiest one. And, since little or no preparation is required on your child’s part, it’s likely to be the first choice.

5. Limit goodies to one serving at a time. If you choose to bring a few not-so-nutritious “goodies” into your home, serve them up in single-serving portions to discourage overindulging. This is especially important when you purchase oversized items typically sold at warehouse club stores. While the larger sizes are budget-friendly, they can encourage overeating. Serve one serving, then put the rest away in the pantry, fridge or freezer. Leaving the container in plain view tends to encourage a second or third helping.

6. Encourage your kids to ask, “Where’s the fruit or veggie?” at every meal. Whether it’s fresh, frozen, canned or juice, it all counts. If it’s missing, ask what can be added to complete the meal. This habit helps your kids become comfortable with the idea that a complete meal includes at least one fruit or vegetable. Think banana slices on morning cereal, a crisp apple at lunch or steamed carrots at dinner.

7. Don’t be fooled by junk foods masquerading as healthy choices. Foods with no nutritional value are nothing more than junk food regardless of their food group. For example, a trendy new breakfast cereal may be loaded with sugar and have a nutritional profile more like a candy bar. If these types of foods are on your kid’s must-have list, treat them like any other junk food—an occasional choice rather than a daily staple.

There you have it. Seven ways to put more nutritious foods on your child’s daily plate (that they’ll actually eat).

Here’s to a curious May!

Lorna & Kathleen
Co-authors of Eating for A’s

P.S. Like this tip? For more, check out Eating for A’s: A month-by-month nutrition and lifestyle guide to help raise smarter kids. Kindergarten to 6th grade. (Second Edition)

P.S.S. Need goal tracking forms? You’ll find a full set in Eating for A’s—one for each pre-set monthly goal and extra credit. We call them My Smart Tracker forms. You can call them one of the easiest ways to help your kids reach their full potential in the classroom and beyond.