Healthy Eating and Beverage Tips for Kids

As a parent, you are a role model to your children. Healthy eating habits can be taught and nourished as your children grow up. Learn how to encourage healthy eating for your children by following these tips:

As a parent, your eating habits play a significant role in shaping your child’s relationship with food. From picky eating to making smart beverage choices, these tips will help your kids develop healthy eating and drinking habits from a young age.

Healthy Eating Tips

1. Set an Example: Your Kids Learn by Watching You

Smile when you eat your fruits and vegetables, and your kids will too! You may not know it, but your child is looking at the foods you eat. Choose healthy, and they will eat like you!

2. Introduce New Foods to Picky Eaters

Do you know a picky eater? Introducing new foods can be challenging. But to young children, all food is new and different. It takes time and experience for them to become comfortable with eating. As your child grows up and matures, so will their food preferences. It can take up to ten tries for your child to try a new food or meal. Just because your child refuses a food repeatedly doesn’t mean they’ll never eat it – be patient.

3. Get Kids Involved: Cook and Shop Together

Let your child be involved with grocery shopping and meal preparation to get them excited about tasting new foods. At the grocery store, let them pick out the produce and other ingredients off the shelves.

4. Family Meals Matter: Eat Together

Sharing a meal as a family is the best way to introduce new foods and encourage better eating habits. Silence your cellphone and turn off the TV to engage in conversation with one another.

5. Make Healthy Eating Fun!

Introducing new foods in fun, creative ways will entice your child to try it. Finger foods and fun dips are popular ways to introduce fruits and vegetables.

Healthy Beverage Tips

Proper hydration is just as important as healthy eating, and making smart beverage choices can significantly impact your child’s health. Help your kids make the switch from sugary drinks to healthier options with these simple tips:

1. Water First

Encourage your child to drink water before, during, and after physical activity to stay hydrated. Make water your go-to beverage at meals and throughout the day. Add lemon, strawberries, or other fruit slices to your water for a burst of natural sweetness and flavors.

2. Limit Sugary Drinks

Less than 10% of your child’s daily calories should come from added sugars. Swap out sugary sodas, sports drinks, and juice drinks for healthier alternatives like water or unsweetened iced tea.

3. Rethink Your Drink

It’s recommended that children drink six to eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day. During hot weather or outdoor play, be sure to bring water along to stay hydrated. Learn more about healthy drink choices at the Rethink Your Drink Campaign to help reduce sugary beverage intake.