7 Ways to Get Kids To Eat Healthier

For parents, it can often feel like an uphill battle to get children to eat healthy foods. But starting our kids on the right path to eating healthier and adopting other good-for-you habits, such as getting regular exercise, not only keeps them healthier in the moment but also increases the likelihood that they will continue to make healthy choices as they grow into adulthood.

You may have to get a bit strategic to help your kids embrace healthier eating habits. But since habits learned when children are young often stay with them for life, the effort you make now will be well worth it in the long run.

“Instead of hounding kids to “eat this, not that,” coming up with strategies that make it more likely kids will embrace healthier eating as the norm can go a long way towards getting everyone in the family to develop healthier habits,” says PIH Health Pediatrician Ning Yang at PIH Health Hacienda Heights Medical Office Building.

Here are 7 ways to get your children to eat healthier and set the stage for a lifetime of healthy eating:

1. Actively include kids in making food decisions. When shopping for food at the market, preparing school lunches or making plans for dinner, present kids with healthy options to choose from and let them make the final decision. Children are more likely to eat foods when they have been part of the decision-making process.
2. Model the behavior you want to see. If children see their parent’s snacking on carrots and celery or fruit and nuts, they are more likely to copy that behavior. Make healthy eating a family affair and lead by example.
3. Avoid keeping junk food in the house. Instead of forbidding certain foods, opt to make them less accessible. Empty cupboards of unhealthy snack foods and drinks that you do not want your children to have free access to, leaving only foods that you are happy for your children to eat at any time. Get into the habit of enjoying certain foods only when you eat out, so portion sizes are controlled.
4. Introduce with new foods. At the grocery store, encourage your child pick out one or two new foods to try (preferably from the produce aisle). Make a game out of it to come up with ways to prepare the new food or try new recipes together.
5. Prepare healthy meals and snacks in advance. Meal prep is an easy way for everyone in the family to have easy access to healthy food when hunger strikes. Get the whole family involved to make easy work of meal prep. At the beginning of the week, portion meals and snacks into reusable snack bags or containers, so they are easily accessible and ready for the busy week ahead.
6. Eat meals together as a family. Eating together can go a long way in getting children to embrace healthy eating habits. Sharing family meals helps kids to associate positive memories with healthy foods, making it more likely they’ll want to eat them.
7. Start the day with a healthy breakfast. The first meal of the day is an important one, as it helps to kickstart the body’s metabolism. Plan to prepare a healthy breakfast high in protein, complex carbohydrates and healthy fat for your child. If meal prepping, try cooking up some egg muffins or breakfast burritos in advance if time is at a premium.

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Ning Yang MD

Dr. Yang chose to become a physician in order to have a positive impact upon others’ lives. She specialized in pediatrics because she loves working with children, and as a mother of two says the experience of raising her own children has helped her understand the feelings, concerns and needs of her patients’ parents. Dr. Yang received the Outstanding Doctoral Thesis at Capital Medical University and the Jon I. Isenberg Endowed Fellowship at UCSD. She received the Elizabeth Nash Memorial Fellowship Award and a New Horizons Research Grant, both for research in cystic fibrosis. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, Zumba, crafts, cooking and spending time with her family.

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