I know I’m not alone in wanting children to develop healthy relationships with food. Rather than focus on numbers or set goals, I challenge you to explore what you can do together as a family.
Yes, measurable and timely goals are typically the recommendation, but when it comes to your kids, let’s keep it fun without pressure. To help you inspire your children to establish healthy eating habits that will last a lifetime, here are five simple tips you can start implementing today that can benefit everyone in the family.
5 Healthy Family Goals
Family meals
The importance of family meals cannot be emphasized enough. Research suggests that having family meals four times per week improves childhood development. Studies also show family meals can increase fruit and vegetable intake while decreasing fried food and sugar-sweetened beverage intake. Family meals have been linked to a lower risk of obesity, substance abuse and eating disorders.
That said, I understand family meals are hard! We all have busy lives with kids in activities; two parents working outside the home, or single parenting. All barriers to sitting down and spending time together. But it doesn’t need to be complicated. Even sitting down for 10 minutes will have benefit on your family unit and your child’s development. If you must get fast food on the way home from a sporting event, try to sit at the table together and eat it. Add a baggie of raw carrots to your meal, and you suddenly have family time and a more balanced intake than if you just ate alone or quickly in the car.
And start from where you are at. If right now you eat no family meals together, aim for dinner one to two times per week. If that doesn’t work, try brunch on the weekends. Any step towards getting the kids to sit down and have a discussion with you. Bonus points if you get them to help in the kitchen!
And don’t forget, your children are observing and modeling your behaviors on a daily basis. If you’re turning up your nose when the broccoli is being passed, don’t expect your child to ask for a first, let alone a second, helping of the stuff.
[READ: Mediterranean Diet Recipes for the Instant Pot.]
Cook together
A lot of times I feel parents don’t cook because they are busy caring for the kids and truly don’t have time. But what if we tried to get the kids involved? Yes, it can be messy, depending on their age. Or you may have a teenager who would rather do anything but spend time with you in the kitchen, but I promise you can make it work over time.
Give the youngest kids an activity to do. Perhaps they can sort out the different colors of carrots, or put pasta in a bowl (truly they can do this one by one as a busy task, but will be fun for them). If your child is a toddler, you can give them a child safe knife, with supervision, to cut up a cucumber or banana. Perhaps the older kids need to pick a recipe one time each week and then help create it with the family. Bottom line, however you can get the kids involved works! This has been shown to increase the chances of them eating the foods and will also take a little bit of the burden off of you. Everyone together helps get the job done.
“By teaching kids to cook, they shop differently, fill their plates differently and consider the impact on their environment differently,” says Peggy Policastro, director of the New Jersey Institute for Food, Nutrition and Health’s Student Ambassador Program at Rutgers University. “Watching cooking is not the same as cooking.” She points out that, “after watching the Super Bowl, you don’t become a better football player.”
[READ: Orthorexia: The Unhealthy Obsession with Healthy Eating and How to Break Free]
Avoid body talk
This one can be hard, especially for those who grew up with negative self-talk or body image in their own home. Let’s start fresh in 2024 and make a goal to not comment on others’ bodies or weight. This will go such a long way in your child establishing a positive relationship with themselves and reducing risk of eating disorders in the future. If you are concerned with your child’s weight for medical reasons please talk to their pediatrician (without them present, ideally).
Get outside
Self-explanatory, but the more outside time we can have with our kids, the better. It’s a mood boost, brain boost and positive for movement in general. Take a hike, go on a walk around the block, even play a board game or have a meal outside. Even in the winter months, go outisde. Vitamin D is good for the body and soul.
[READ: How to Make Physical Activity a Family Affair]
Have conversations
If your child or teen made their own health related goals or resolutions, I would try to approach this with curiosity. Why does your child feel they need to change something about themselves? Ask open ended questions.
The goal with this is to be aware of any disordered eating behaviors or body image concerns. Let your child know that you love them just as they are; and you want to help and support them in their goals. Some goals may be health promoting, such as spending more time outdoors or adding more veggies into their diet. But due to the influence of social media and society, many may be health detriments such as losing weight, dieting or setting a severe exercise goal. Talking through all of this with love and support is the most preventative tool you can use.
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How to Build Healthy Habits for the Family originally appeared on usnews.com
