The Battle Of Healthy Eating Habits With Your Kids

The dreaded question we are always asked as parents, How is their eating? Do they eat enough fruits and vegetables. I wish I had a different response when asked this. I have always tried to instill the importance of healthy eating with Cadence and Stevie. It started with my choice to strictly breastfeed both girls. Cadence was breastfed for 14 months and Stevie was almost 2 and 1/2 when she weaned. I was fortunate enough to be able to successfully breastfeed the girls. It was not easy some days, but I am proud of the fact that I was able to provide that for the girls. Breastfeeding is another topic in itself but I believe this is where the healthy eating aspect began for them. I know breastfeeding and formula feeding is a sensitive subject. I am not saying because I breastfed my girls, they are healthy eaters, because that's not the case. I am saying that MY journey to instill healthy eating habits with my girls, began before they could even conceptualize what I was trying to do for them.

I know breastfeeding the girls provided them with the nutrients they needed throughout the beginning of their little lives. However it didn't make a difference in the struggle of getting them to try different fruits and vegetables. I think once kids hit the age of two, they completely shut off their ability to want to eat fruits and vegetables. At least for mine it did! It is an on going struggle. I hide vegetables in pasta sauce, meatloaf, smoothies. However I can get them into their little bodies, I try my very best to do so.

Keep offering they say, they will eventually try they say. So that'ts what I do. I put a small amount of fruits and vegetables on the girls plates, if they try it, wonderful if not, well I will try again at the next meal. I don't force them to try anything but I always offer. I don't want to force the girls to eat food. I want them to understand the importance of healthy food choices and making those choices on their own. Finally, I am making progress with Cadence. As soon as she turned four, she became much more open to trying new foods. If has made it so much nicer at meal time! Patience and persistence is starting to work in my favor!

We also talk a lot about healthy eating habits and what foods make us strong and fuel our body. We discuss junk food, and foods that are considered to be treats. I make baskets for the girls that I fill with healthy snack options. These are the baskets they can choose from when they feel hungry. This prevents the girls from asking for anything other then what is in the basket. If they don't like the options in the basket that day, they must not be hungry.

We have been reading Jolene Adventures of a Junk Food Queen and also playing with our ROCA Toys, healthy and not healthy food choices. Both of these are wonderful options to help talk about what is healthy and what isn't.

Jolene Adventures of a Junk Food Queen is a great book for children to comprehend what foods are junk, and make us feel yucky, and what foods help keep us energized and focused. It helps explain it in a way that that young kids understand, a way that us parents may not be able to! I love this book, but it is great for that reason in particular!

The wonderful part of the healthy, not healthy food box from ROCA toys is the play based learning around different food choices. The only way we can change obesity in the world today, is by starting to teach our kids at a young age, healthy and not healthy choices when it comes to food. This all falls on us as parents and caregivers. We are responsible for buying the food. We are responsible for what we put on their plates. A wonderful way to teach is through books and play. I highly recommend reading Jolene Adventures of a Junk Food Queen and incorporating play based learning with ROCA toys healthy and not healthy play food.

Once again, it starts with us, we are responsible for making the change for our children. Start small and your kids will adapt to the changes. Any change is a positive change!

#healthy #healthychoices #makeachange #playbasedlearning #change #ad