Healthy eating habits begin at an early age. It is important for us to inculcate these habits right from the beginning. Only then will it continue as our kids grow up. But it is not that easy. Kids love to eat junk food and shun away from home cooked healthy food. And we know what happens when they eat junk food, don’t we? They keep craving for more, which leads to overeating. Now especially while they’re at home, children look for snacks in between play and most often it is unhealthy snacks that they pick. Even when we offer them home cooked snacks, they prefer fried food or food with preservatives that neither fills them nor provides them with the nourishment that they need. So, how to avoid overeating in kids in India?
Start by being the role model they need
Children follow what they see, not what they’re told. If you choose healthy snacks and foods for yourself, they will want to eat healthy too. We cannot eat unhealthy ourselves and hope our children won’t eat the same way! Again, choosing healthy food should be a constant practice. Keep healthy snacks at home, fruits, whole grain snacks, etc.
Offer them healthy food
Yes, even if they refuse it! Talk to them about what healthy food does to their body. If a child who likes playing football understands that drinking milk everyday will make his bones strong and help him play better, he might consider it. How we offer them healthy food also matters.
Make snacks with healthy alternatives
Homemade sandwiches, pizzas with veggies, whole wheat or oats cookies, and baked potato chips are some ways to make snacks interesting and tasty. Moreover these are prepared at home so you know only healthy ingredients go in. In fact, we have been preparing snacks together and it is a super funactivity. We can also teach kids these simple recipes. It encourages them to eat better when they are involved.
Replace sugary drinks with better options
Every kid loves to drink processed juices and flavouredbeverages. With the variety of these juices available in the market it is pretty hard to keep them away from it unless you really have something much tastier to offer them!
That’s when PediaSure comes to the rescue. I have tried so many recipes with it. Fruit smoothies with a spoon of PediaSure, milkshakes, or a glass of warm milk with chocolate PediaSure are all something my child enjoys. He now doesn’t ask for fizzy drinks or other juices. Moreover, PediaSure is filling and helps maintain a balance in nutrition.
Encourage play and physical activity
When children are bored, they look for snacks. When they get enough physical activity, running around and playing their favourite games it builds strength and endurance. Play helps burn calories instead of storing them as body fat. They feel energetic and problems such as obesity is avoided. When children are physically active they become healthier. Physical activity is an important part of growing up.
These are some simple things I follow at home to keep my child nourished with the right kind of food and avoid overeating junk food. Tell me what your experience is like as a parent?
Disclaimer- The opinions expressed in this post are the personal views of the author. They do not reflect the views of any brand. Any omissions or errors at the author’s end does not assume any liability or responsibility on any party mentioned in the blog.
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