It is never too early to teach your kids the importance of healthy eating. It is also best done in a way that brings JOY! Check out my tips below to help you get started:

  1. Set the scene – Encourage a fun and happy atmosphere whenever it is mealtime. The more relaxed it is, the more likely you are to get your child to want to try the healthy food on offer (especially if there are new foods being shared).
  2. Include their usual favourites – In the beginning, it is really important to keep some of your child’s favourite foods at the table when trying to introduce new healthy foods you want to become regular staples. This will help them ease into the new foods and make them seem less scary.
  3. First see, then eat – Remember not all children are comfortable trying new foods straight off the bat so it might be best to simply have them on the table for a while, before working up towards the child touching them and smelling them before eventually taking a bite (this could be over several weeks, so be patient with them as their brains normalise these new healthy foods!).
  4. Have foodie conversations – Every child is a foodie in his or her own way! So to encourage eating healthy food to be a fun experience, ensure you have lots of conversations about what food they like and don’t like and what they would like to try when they are not just at the dinner table. Promote food as bringing joy and not just something we do for health reasons and entertain foods that bring them joy.
  5. Kids learn from us – Your child is watching your every move, including what you eat! So one of the best ways for kids to learn to enjoy healthy food is to watch their parents eating healthy food on a regular basis! Again, we cannot forget the steps we need to take to get them to actually eat healthy foods, including exposure as mentioned above. But having parents set the scene regarding what food is commonly eaten in the house goes a long way in teaching kids what is acceptable to fill their food pantry with when they are older.

I have also been told these tips work for adults too! 😉