Keeping Your Kids Healthy

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The kids are back in school. An awful flu season threatens us every day. The winter in the mid-section of the US is predicted to be horrendous. The economy stinks. Can we come up with any more good news?

You have to find a way to keep your kids in school as much as possible if you want to keep your job. While we all want our kids to be healthy and brilliant, the reality is you can’t be dealing with calls from the principle’s office, sick days, and trips to the doctor.

You need a good healthy lifestyle. Yes, even behavior problems and A.D.D. are helped with a healthy diet, exercise, and enough sleep. If you can’t afford time off work, then you can’t afford to be living an unhealthy lifestyle. This single mom has been there, done that, bought the t-shirt.

So, how do you get your kids to make healthier food choices? Make healthy dinners full of nutritious foods and esteem building conversation. Combating obesity, eating disorders, sickness, and behavior problems can be just that simple.

Most people struggle with getting their kids to eat healthy. But it doesn’t have to be a struggle. Here’s what’s worked for me –

1. Eat healthy yourself – they learn from you.

2. Put out lots of food choices and let them taste different foods.

3. Don’t force them to eat something they don’t like. Just ask that they taste new foods. Most kids will accommodate if you start them early. And if they know you won’t force them to eat it if they don’t like it, they’ll be more willing to take the plunge!

4. Remember that kid’s taste change seemingly overnight. Just because they didn’t like it one time doesn’t mean they won’t like it the next time.

5. If you like it, put it out. When they see you enjoying something, they’re more curious.

6. Kids like simpler foods. They’ll eat a hamburger with nothing on it, or a salad with no dressing. You don’t have to be a world class chef. Practically all my daughter wanted to eat was chicken, raw broccoli, raw carrots and French fries. My niece was the same way.

7. Rather than talking to your kids about how healthy the food is, talk about how great it tastes. They turn off to the notion of healthy eating just the way you do. But if you’re eating it because it tastes really good, you’ll all be a lot happier – and healthier just happens.

Nothing is better than a great example. If you know a lot about foods, and you eat a lot of different foods, kids will naturally learn from you. You can learn more about how easy it is to eat healthy food here >>>

By the way – These tips also work on adults!

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