Healthy lifestyle choices play an important part in children's development. Children who have a healthy and balanced diet are able to progress well at school and develop and grow up to be happy and successful individuals.

As parents and carers you have a great deal of influence over your child’s eating habits. The patterns laid down in their early life are most likely to be carried on into adulthood. The first few years of your child’s eating experiences are of vital importance to their health and well-being.

Babies

Weaning

Mealtimes

Deserts

Snacks

Drinks

Cooking

How to encourage healthy eating

Healthy eating needs to be developed and promoted from as early an age as possible to keep your child healthy and well.  Children develop their eating patterns early on so getting it right as a parent and carer is essential.

Babies

Before you have your baby, you must ensure you are eating a healthy diet, not smoking or drinking and primarily are getting enough folic acid. By doing so you ensure your baby is getting all the essential nutrients whilst in the womb. More on pregnancy.

When your baby is born, keeping yourself healthy is essential, as this affects the quality of milk your baby receives should you choose to breast feed. Breast milk contains many nutrients that help your baby develop a healthy immune system and fight off infections. Many parents now choose to bottle feed but the benefits and nutrients in breast milk are recommended by many health professionals. Breast milk is said to fight infections as it contains antibodies, stops constipation and provides babies with all the essential nutrients they need for the first six months of their lives. It is advised to breast feed your baby for as long as possible.

Weaning

As soon as your child is ready to be weaned, which is usually at around six months old, it is essential that you begin with healthy and nutritious choices. This way your child learns to accept these foods as part of their everyday diet. Most importantly try to incorporate fruit and vegetables into your child’s meals.

For a main meal you could start with something simple such as a mixture of parsnips, potatoes and carrots. Make sure the food is blended up to a runny, paste like consistency. Never add salt as this can damage your baby’s kidneys. Then for a healthy desert try blending up apple and pear with a small amount of water. This makes a quick and nutritious lunch for your baby.

Mealtimes

Once your child is eating solid foods and joining in with family mealtimes, they can become more involved with healthy eating choices. It is helpful if all members of the family are good role models and eat a healthy diet, as this way your child will be used to eating a variety of healthy foods.

By having a range of healthy dishes at mealtimes which everyone in the family is eats, your child will grow up getting used to these nutritious foods e.g. brown rice, brown pasta, sweet potatoes, fresh fish, broccoli, lentils, salads.

Give your child time to try different meals and model a love of healthy foods in your home, Encourage them to be involved in helping you prepare the meals, perhaps washing tomatoes for the salad, It make take time and effort to begin with but the result is you child will grow up to enjoy a good range of foods and have a healthy balanced diet.

Deserts

There are many healthier deserts which you can make to ensure your child is having a balanced diet. Try and avoid buying ready made cakes, puddings and cake mixes as these often contain high levels of sugar, artificial colourings and preservatives. Healthier options include home-made carrot cake with freshly grated carrots, apple crumble, flapjack, fruit cake, fruit scones or fruit salad.

Try and avoid rewarding your child for good behaviour with sweets and chocolates and instead do something together. You could make a cake or savoury dish. You are likely to find they enjoy doing this far more and you have the opportunity to spend quality one-to-one time together,  which will strengthen your relationship.

Snacks

Try and avoid stocking the cupboards with crisps, cup cakes, biscuits and chocolate bars for snacks and instead buy a variety of healthy foods for your child to snack on.

There are many healthy nutritious snacks which your child can enjoy such as cereal bars (check sugar content carefully), natural yoghurts, cherry tomatoes, fruit, breadsticks, raisins, crackers (which are low in salt), dried fruits (prunes, apricots, dates, figs).

Drinks

Encourage your child to have a glass of milk or water if they are thirsty during the day. You might want to make this more appealing by providing them with their own special plastic glass and cartoon character straw. Explain to them why drinking milk is good for them i.e. it contains calcium which develops their bones and teeth.

Avoid having fizzy drinks and squash available during the day and maybe keep these types of drinks for a birthday party or special treat, Instead help them make a fruit smoothie or banana milkshake with fresh fruits.

Cooking

Most children enjoy spending time with an adult, and cooking together is an ideal way to promote healthy eating in a fun and enjoyable way. You might decide to use a child’s cookbook, so your child can select something they would like to make and which appeals to them. Make sure the recipes in the book are healthy and sensible and suitable for children. Home cooking is healthiest as it does not contain artificial colourings, additives or preservatives.

By cooking with your child they will begin to understand what foods are healthy and good for them and what foods are best eaten in smaller quantities or less frequently. You may decide to cook with your child once a week and let them choose what they would like to make, or just let them help you with meals daily. By cooking with your child you are teaching them the importance and need for a healthy and balanced diet.  

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