Developing healthy eating habits in children will be the foundation for lifelong wellness. However, encouraging the children to eat nutritious foods will feel like a daily battle for the parents. Between the picky eating and attraction to junk food, along with the distraction of gadgets, children will usually fall into poor dietary choices. So, consulting the best pediatric doctor Bhubaneswar will be very important for people so that everybody will be able to enjoy healthy eating with consistency, patience and creativity, and children will be able to develop a healthy relationship with food.
Effective and practical tips that you need to know about making the meal time enjoyable and nutritious:
- Becoming a role model: Children will usually learning by observing their parents, and when parents eat balanced and healthy food items, automatically children will be able to follow it naturally. Eating meals together as a family whenever possible is important, and further, the parents should always focus on showing some enthusiasm to give a try to the new and healthy foods. Also, parents should avoid keeping food items and snacking excessively and processed items. When healthy eating becomes a family habit, children will be able to perceive it as a normal and not a forceful activity.
- Meals should be colourful and fun: Children will be drawn to the food items that look interesting and colourful, and making the meals visually appealing will encourage the children to eat in a better way. So, using the different colour food items and vegetables will be very important so that overall meals become vibrant, and further arranging the foods into multiple shapes like a smiley face or a star is a good idea. You should also focus on allowing the kids to decorate their plates with their favourite ingredients so that meal time will become a creative activity and children will be able to get involved in it wholeheartedly.
- Offering a good variety of food items: Exposing the children to multiple tastes and textures will be very important so that they will be able to develop a broad aspect, and further will be able to prevent boredom. Rotating the fruits and vegetables weekly will be very important, and introducing the new foods along with favourite Items will be very important. Experimenting with multiple cooking styles is also a good idea for parents, so that you can provide the children with new items every time in the form of roasting, grilling and steaming. Even if a child refuses to eat a new food at the beginning, reintroducing it several times will increase the chances of acceptance later on.
- Setting regular meal and snack time: a regular snacking and eating schedule will lead to overeating, poor digestion and frequent junk food cravings. So, establishing the routine which will allow the body to have a clear idea about when to expect food will be very important. Serving three balanced meals and two healthy snacks daily will be very important for children so that there is no chance of any grazing throughout the day. Keeping the snacks light and nutritious in the form of fruits, yoghurt, and nuts will be very important. Consistency will not only support the direction but also will be helpful in teaching the children discipline around food.
- It is important to avoid using food as a reward or punishment: Associating the food with emotions will lead to unhealthy relationships with eating, and, for example, rewarding good behaviour with sweets and with favourite foods as punishment will create a sense of confusion around the purpose of the food. Rewarding the good behaviour with praise, stickers, and extra play time is always a good idea and talking about food as a body fuel is very important, so that such approaches will be encouraging the children to enjoy food rather than considering it as a comfort or approval process.
- Involving the children in the preparation of food: As per the recommendation of the best child specialist in Bhubaneswar, whenever parents involve the children in the preparation of food, overall curiosity will be increased, which eventually will provide the children with the best opportunity of learning the basics of ingredients very well. Toddlers can focus on washing the vegetables or setting the table, older kids can help the mothers in chopping, stirring and planning the menu, and further, you should always allow the children to become independent in choosing the food, as they are interested in giving it a try every week. This sense of ownership will be helpful in converting the healthy eating into an exciting family project.
- Limiting the consumption of processed and sugary foods: No doubt occasional treats are very much fine, but frequent consumption of processed snacks, soft drinks and sweets will damage the digestion, immunity and overall focus. So, it is very important for people to focus on keeping things in the right direction very well with the help of replacing sugar cereals with oatmeal and whole grain alternatives, and further encouraging the home-made snacks like smoothies and fruit popsicles is a very good idea.
- Encouraging slow and mindful eating: Children who will be eating very quickly will usually be overeating and will be unable to notice when they are full. So, teaching me mindfulness during the food items will be very important, so that digestion will be improved with self-control and eating together without a screen or distraction is a very good idea, so that things are sorted out. Mindful eating will always be helpful for the children to enjoy their meals, and further, everybody will be able to avoid the situation of overeating or digestive discomfort.
Conclusion: Apart from the points mentioned above, remaining in touch with the best paediatrician in gastroenterology will be very much recommended for the parents, so that everyone will be able to ensure balanced nutrition very easily and eventually will be able to get the optimum professional guidance whenever required. Improving the eating habits of children will not be only about the direct diet or denying favourite foods, but it will be all about balance, awareness and consistency so that you can provide the children with a foundation of lifetime of vitality, confidence and good health.