Healthy Eating Habits For Kids: Every parent wants their child to be healthy, active, and always happy. But when it comes to food, most children make faces. Especially on seeing green vegetables, pulses, and fruits, it seems as if an alarm starts ringing in their mind. They like pizza, burgers, pasta, chocolate, cold drinks, and packaged food a lot, but when it comes to healthy things, they refuse outright.

This small thing can become a big problem later. If children are not taught the right eating habits from childhood, then it can have a direct impact on their health in the future. Weak immunity, obesity, diabetes, iron deficiency, weak bones, and stomach problems are the result of this negligence. Therefore, parents should make children develop the habit of eating healthy food from an early age so that they follow the same even when they grow up.

Why is it important to inculcate eating habits from childhood?

1. Habits are formed quickly: The mind of young children is like a completely blank slate. Whatever is taught to them in childhood will become a part of their life. If you inculcate the habit of eating healthy food from now on, then when they grow up, they themselves will like to eat salad, vegetables, milk, and fruits.

2. Prevention from diseases: Green vegetables, pulses, milk, and fruits are rich in vitamins, minerals, protein, and fiber. This strengthens the immunity of children. They do not fall ill again and again.

3. Mental development: Proper nutrition is also very important for the growth of the brain. This will make children concentrate on their studies, and their memory will also be sharp.

4. Better for the future: Healthy eating habits learned in childhood will support them throughout their life. This will keep diseases like diabetes, BP, and obesity away in old age.

Easy tips to inculcate healthy eating habits in children
1. Be a role model yourself
The child will learn what you eat. If you yourself eat vegetables, pulses, salad, and fruits daily, then the child will also start eating the same after seeing you.

2. Make a colourful plate

Children love colourful things. Decorate their plate with red carrots, green peas, yellow capsicum, tomatoes, cucumber, beetroot, etc. This will make the food look attractive to them.

3. Involve them in cooking

Give them small tasks like decorating salad, beating curd, kneading dough, or breaking paneer. This will keep them engaged, and they will show interest in eating themselves.

4. Make food interesting

Cut parathas into different shapes. Give sandwiches in a smiley or star shape. You can also make poha, upma, idli, or cheela in the shape of their choice and give them.

5. Do not force

Do not force the child to eat. Gradually put new things on their plate. This will remove their fear, and they will start eating new things.

6. Switch off the TV and mobile

Do not use the TV or mobile while eating. This will make the child focus on eating, and he will not keep eating even after his stomach is full.

7. Give healthy snacks

Always keep roasted chana, makhana, peanuts, fruit chaat, peanut butter toast, etc. at home so that whenever they feel hungry, they can eat only healthy things.

Keep fast food in limits.

You can give fast food of your child's choice once a week, but not every day. Give only home-cooked food daily. This will make their taste good and their health will also be good.

Remember, children will learn only what is there at home

If you teach them good eating habits from childhood, then it will become a part of their whole life. So pay attention to their food from now itself. These habits will make them healthy and happy in the future.

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