Fitness coach shares 4 steps to make your child's diet healthy
Fitness coach shares 4 steps to make your child's diet healthy (Freepik)
While kids are small, they are unable to independently create their own eating schedule and distinguish what food is healthy and what is not. Therefore, this is the parents' responsibility. As the child grows older and develops their own preferences, it can be challenging to persuade them to choose vegetables over sweets.
Fitness coach Viktor Mandziak explains how to make a child's diet healthier in four simple steps.
Combine desired and delicious
If you want your child to develop a liking for certain foods, combine them with something they already enjoy. For example, children often love mashed potatoes. Make them and add fish or vegetables.
When feeding a child, start with their favorite ingredient and then introduce something they should learn to like. If the child is already eating independently, ensure that everything on their plate disappears in proportion.
Combine desired with calories
Our bodies begin to develop a liking for certain foods due to the metabolic effects they produce. Substances that induce addiction work in the same way, by the way. The body remembers these emotions and encourages a liking for the food that triggered them.
You can use this technique with your child. If you give them vegetables and meat together, their stomach won't notice which one brought more calories. So, combine tasty and healthy food in a single meal, and the child will learn to love the healthy option. Honey with oatmeal or yogurt with jam are perfect examples.
Combine desired with fun
Children of all ages enjoy games. Cut vegetables into fun shapes or play "airplane" with a spoon. You can use your imagination here. But the main rule remains the same: a child's brain will remember the fun and want to repeat it.
Combine desired with hunger
Take your child for a walk and let them work up an appetite. When they're hungry, they will eat whatever you put on the table.
However, keep in mind that this won't work if your child constantly raids the fridge or satisfies their hunger with sweets.
This material is for informational purposes only and should not be used for medical diagnosis or self-treatment. Our goal is to provide readers with accurate information about symptoms, causes, and methods of detecting diseases. RBС-Ukraine is not responsible for any diagnoses that readers may make based on materials from the resource. We do not recommend self-treatment and advise consulting a doctor in case of any health concerns.
