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Q&A with Australian Health Practitioners
How can I start over with getting my kids to eat healthy?
Related Topic
Aged 3.5 and 7.5 now and I have allowed them to be too choosey over their food and to eat too much junk food too regularly. -
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Tanya Lewis
Dietitian
Tanya is a Personal Trainer and Dietitian with over 10 years experience.Tanya works from Life Personal Trainers www.lifept.com.au View Profile
Congratulations on looking to improve the health of your family!
It takes time and ongoing commitment to change habits, particularly when the environment around us does not always make the healthy choice the easy choice.
Here are a few tips:
- Avoid talking about ‘good’ and ‘bad’ food, instead, focus on talking positively about ‘healthy’ and ‘everyday’ foods.
- Remove less healthy temptations from the house.
- Avoid using less healthy foods as rewards, this only makes those foods more special, instead, give stickers or other surprises.
- Set an example yourself and enjoy healthy foods.
- If possible, try growing some of your own vegetables, this can be surprisingly motivating for children to try new foods and encourage them to be involved in food preparation where appropriate.
- Your younger child may respond to talking about their favourite character eating those foods, eg: Elmo/Batman/ballerina etc loves ……
- It is important not to focus on making these changes because of weight.
- Don't forget to also encourage regular activity.
Regards
Tanya
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Deneka Pilmoor
Dietitian
Deneka is an Accredited Practising Dietitian with the Dietitians Association of Australia. Deneka is able to provide expert advice and nutrition therapy for a range … View Profile
Kids can be fussy eaters but it’s important to keep persevering. It is important that children have a role model to learn from so make sure you are eating the same healthy meals as them. Make meal time an enjoyable experience with the whole family and remove distractions such as television or radio. Eating meals at the table is important to develop a structure around meal time. Getting the kids involved in preparing the meals can be a good way for them to develop a good attitude towards food and be more open to trying new things. Making food preparation fun can help build this positive attitude. For example, for younger children making smiley faces with cut up fruit and vegetables can make eating these foods a fun experience therefore children are more likely to accept these foods in other meals. If your children are refusing certain foods try reintroducing the food a couple of days later until the food is accepted. For specialised advice and assistance in getting your children to adopt healthy eating habits book an appointment with an Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD). To find an APD near you visit the Dietitians Association of Australia website: www.daa.asn.au
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