Tips to Ensure Children Maintain a Balanced Diet

Making certain that my children maintain a balanced diet is something that concerns me greatly. My two older children do an amazing job but I am a little concerned that we dropped the ball with the younger one.

We have babied her from the start and as a result, maintaining a balanced diet is not something that I am sure she does enough of.

1. Take the majority of choices away when it comes to dinner.

I am all for giving children freedom to make choices but I prefer to leave this to toys or picking the color of crayon they prefer to color with.

When it comes to dinner, vegetables and a healthy beverage are non-negotiable as far as I am concerned. My kids are offered a choice between milk and water. They can have broccoli or green beans. That is as much of a choice as they get.

2. Drink first. Eat second.

We always start our meals with a beverage and 90% of the time that beverage is water. My kids love water and cannot get enough of it which I love as well.

3. Try New Healthy Foods Often

I am always encouraging my children to try new things especially those foods that are healthy. My kids are great about this and will pretty much try anything.

My husband recently made cooked carrots with a different recipe and although previously my kids did not care for cooked carrots too much, they agreed to try them again. And they loved them.

So getting kids to try things can also mean foods that they previously dismissed as not liking. I know that I myself have tried foods that I thought I really did not like only to later learn that I enjoyed them.

4. Take Vitamins and Take Them Consistently

Vitamins ensure that my kids are getting the much needed nutrients for their bodies. Although they seem to do pretty well with their diets, their pediatrician recommended a daily vitamin. The key is making certain that they take it every day.

5. Make Food Fun

My kids love cold, crunchy apples or frozen grapes or even frozen yogurt on Popsicle sticks. They love Ants on a Log (peanut butter on celery with raisins). Making food fun for them ensures that they will more of the things that I like them to eat.

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