Parents know the importance of eating well, and kids are never too young to start learning. Teaching your children about making healthy food choices early in life can help them develop good habits that will contribute to all aspects of their health, including their eyes.
The following tips from Parenting are fun and educational ideas you can use to improve your kids’ health:
- Apps. There are apps for everything these days, even for educating kids about healthy eating. One great choice is Fooducate, a free mobile app for iOS and Android. Simply scan the barcode on any product, and you’ll see a nutrition grade from A to D. You can easily turn this into a fun game to help kids determine the best choices when it comes to food.
- Timing. If your children wolf down their food, you need to encourage them to slow down. Eating slowly enables the body to register when it’s full, so that you avoid overeating. Provide kids with a way to time every bite to ensure they chew for no less than 30 seconds.
- Punch buggy shopping game. In this variation of an old classic game, children must figure out how packaging is designed to appeal to kids, such as the use of cartoon characters or bright colors. It’s a great way to teach children how marketing often influences their choices rather than the food items themselves.
- Where does it come from? This game involves thinking about where foods originate from. You should explain how natural foods have a smaller family tree and are healthier than products with long lists of ingredients that trace back to many sources. Draw your kids’ attention to chemical foods, such as high fructose corn syrup, red 40 and aspartame, which have the origin of “factory.”
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