How to encourage children to eat healthy foods

I have three boys and am amazed by how quickly they are growing. As they grow, I want them to get all the nutrients their little bodies need. It can become challenging when they go through the “picky eating” stages, especially with foods that are healthy. So, how do you encourage young children to eat healthy foods?

Offer healthy snacks

When your child gets hungry, he will look to you for food. It is much easier to encourage your child to eat healthy foods if you have them readily available. Offer fresh fruits and vegetables in the place of fruit snacks or Wheat Thins in the place of potato chips. Be sure to pack healthy snacks in your diaper bag or purse to prevent emergency stops at fast food restaurants.

Limit sweets to dessert time

What child wouldn’t want dessert before dinner?  Offering dessert as a treat after dinner can often encourage your child to eat the healthy foods before her. It will serve as a reward for finishing her meal.

Don’t think that desserts always have to consist of cookies, cake, and ice cream either. Dessert can also include fruit salad, JELL-O, or other healthy (and sweet) foods.

Try to limit sweets and dessert type items to after dinner or special occasions. For my boys, they have to eat their dinner, which is usually a small portion, and consists of a meat, vegetable, and starch. If they don’t eat their food, they don’t get dessert…period. I also limit treats like cakes and pies to special occasions such as birthday parties, anniversaries, and holidays.

Enjoy healthy foods yourself

Your children watch every move you make, so be careful what you say about different healthy foods.  For instance, I don’t like cooked carrots. Even though I personally don’t like them, I don’t ever say bad things about them or tell my kids that I don’t like them. I encourage them to eat them and even eat a few of them myself, while telling them how yummy they are and good they are for their growing bodies.

Make eating healthy foods fun

My boys like to dip healthy foods like vegetable or slices of meat in ketchup or ranch dressing. Also, you can dress celery up with peanut butter and raisins and make “ants on a log.”  You can even invite your kids to help prepare the meal, which always makes it more fun for them!

Shannon Steen-Larsen is the author of The Mommy-Files, a blog where she talks about motherhood, recipes and cooking, travel, product reviews, and giveaways. Shannon is a busy mommy of three boys living in California and experiencing the many joys and challenges of motherhood.

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