Teach Your Children Healthy Eating

The incidence of childhood obesity in the United States has grown considerably in recent years. Between 16 and 33 percent of children and adolescents are obese. Obesity is one of the easiest medical conditions to recognize, but often, one of the most difficult to treat. Overweight children are quite likely to become overweight adults unless they adopt and maintain healthy patterns of eating and exercise. One of the best ways to help children adopt good eating habits is to start teaching them about cooking at an early age.

Involving kids in meal preparation encourages healthy eating habits and introduces them to the value and importance of nutritious, balanced meals. Elizabeth Pivonka, a registered dietician with a doctorate, heads Produce for Better Health Foundation, the nonprofit entity behind the "Fruits & Veggies — More Matters" national public health initiative. Pivonka says the kitchen can be a great place to stir up some fun while teaching healthy habits. As a working mother of two, Pivonka understands that getting kids to eat healthy fruits and vegetables can sometimes be a challenge. "Kids can help by measuring, mixing or gathering ingredients while you cook," she says. "If kids help with the cooking, they are more inclined to eat what’s on the table. At my house, we make meal planning and preparation a family activity."

You can even start toddlers out helping you “cook” by using toy food, pots, pans, and bowls to copy what you are doing. Older preschoolers can help by measuring ingredients and stirring, and grade school kids can prepare simple non-cooked recipes or use the microwave with proper supervision. A simple microwave baked potato, cut open with a table knife and topped with cooked broccoli and cheese is fun, will empower them and give them a sense of accomplishment. Start educating your children about healthy eating at an early age. Getting them into good eating habits early on will go a long way towards keeping them happy and healthy the rest of their lives.

Take a little extra time at the grocery store with your kids educating them in the produce section. Tell them “This is the most important section of the store” and get them involved in picking out the fresh ingredients you will be eating. Make a game of trying something new and take turns picking out a new fruit or vegetable every week to try then get them involved in it’s preparation.

If you are an overweight adult yourself and are not well educated about healthy eating, start learning now and take steps on a weekly basis to educate yourself and your children. It is said that the best and easiest way to learn something new and retain the information, is to teach it to someone else. Learn about one seasonal fruit and one seasonal vegetable a week, trying one cooked and one uncooked recipe. You will be amazed at how much knowledge and experience you will gain over a short period of time. You may not enjoy all of the foods or all of the recipes you try, but keep the ones you do, and soon you will have a repertoire of healthy recipes you enjoy. Best of all, you will be teaching your children healthy eating habits and a healthy lifestyle that will stay with them the rest of their life!

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