6 Tips For Helping Your Children Make Healthier Food Choices.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of the Facts Up Front program.

My husband and I are always trying to make healthy food choices for our family. As the primary cook in our home, I feel like it is my responsibility to help our children develop healthy food habits and positive feelings towards food. But, it can be really hard.

After my daughter asked why I was “reading the back of the box” while grocery shopping not too long ago. I showed her how to read labels. She thought it was fun, but had a hard time with all the info and the small print. While reading a cereal box during breakfast, she pointed out that the box nutrition info on the front that was much easier for her to understand.

And that was the first I heard about Facts Up Front. Facts Up Front aims to help families (consumers) make informed choices about food, by putting the nutrition information on the front of the packages where it is much quicker and easier to read.

I have noticed that since our kids have started paying attention to nutrition labels and especially the Facts Up Front, they are much more conscious about the food choices they make. I have loved the quick reference it provides me as I am working to make wise choices for our family. 

Here are 6 tips for helping your kids make healthier food choices. I hope they help your and your family.

 1. Stop restricting Food. Restricting food, leads to a higher chance of eating disorders and negative feelings towards food. It can also promote binge eating and sneaky eating. When kids do get their hands on the restricted food, they tend to overeat it, and even sneak around to get it. We are friends with a family that doesn’t allow one drop of sugar in their home. No candy, cookies, not a single sweet of any kind. Recently, their 6 year old has been stealing candy from his friends, and hiding it under his pillow to eat at night when no one is around. This can be a result of banning, or restricting food. Instead, talk about healthy food choices and don’t loose site of moderation. Teach kids to look for the Facts Up Front label on food for a quick look at what foods are healthy for their bodies.

 2. Don’t use food as a reward. Argh, this one can be so hard as parents. It seems to make things so much easier to be able to bribe with a lollipop, or promise a treat if our daughter does well on her spelling test. But, using food as reward often leads to weight problems, as our children get older. Instead of using food as a reward, reward with fun active things like going for a bike ride, or having a play date outside with friends.

 3. Don’t label food as “good” and “bad”. Labeling food as good or bad teaches our kids to feel guilty as they get older about the choices they make with food. Stop labeling and start teaching. Teach your children how food affects their participation in the activities they like and how it makes their bodies function and feel. This will teach them to make decisions based on what is best for their own bodies. And use words like healthy and unhealthy instead of good and bad.

 4. Stop constantly pointing out unhealthy food choices our children make. Instead of always pointing out the unhealthy choices our kids are making, praise the healthy choices. And don’t hesitate to suggest healthier choices like pretzels over potato chips and fruit over candy. Need help figuring out what food choices are best for your family? Take the Interactive Nutrition Quiz.

 5. Let kids choose. It is empowering when we get to make our own choices. It lets us feel like we are in control. We make so many of the daily choices for our children. When they sleep, what they get to do, what they get to put in their mouths. It can be stifling to them. So, let them make some of their own choices. Before a meal, explain that you are going to have a vegetable, and then let them choose between carrots and green beans. Simply letting them choose will make them more likely to eat the veggie. We tend to own our choices and follow through with things when we are the ones deciding. When your children choose healthy foods they like, serve those more often.

 6. Eat dinner together as a family. This one is really important. Children who eat dinner with their parents are less likely to make unhealthy food choices and are also less likely to engage in delinquent behavior. If you want to read more about the power of family dinners, check out this post. You can also use the Shopping and Meal Planning Tips on the Facts Up Front website to help your family overcome common obstacles for getting from the grocery store to the family dinner table. If you are not eating dinner together now, this can seem overwhelming. Start slow with twice a week and then increase until you are sitting down together as many nights as possible. Utilize resources like the Facts Up Front recipe section for help with what to cook your family.

 The Facts Up Front label is becoming much more prevalent in grocery stores around the country. Go on a little scavenger hunt and have your kids see how many products they can find with the new labels. Couple that with the six tips above and start talking about good nutrition with your kids today.

 This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of the Facts Up Front program.

Must Have Family Resolution #1- Family Dinners

Last week we talked about setting Family Resolutions this year. Setting goals and resolutions together as a family will help strengthen our family relationships.

Although we need to set our own individual family resolutions, there are three resolutions that EVERY FAMILY should implement every year. Today we are talking about Must Have Resolution #1-Family Dinners. 

Lets start with some facts and figures. 

Did you know that good research suggests that Family Meals, specifically dinner, is THE most important thing parents can do for their children? THE most important. 

As parents, it is natural for us to think that we need to provide our children with lots of "other" experiences or opportunities to help them learn and grow. But, fact of the matter is, mealtime is more important than time spend in sports, school, studying, or in extra curricular activities. 

For children, regular family dinners (5-7 times a week) means better grades in school and better behavior.  

Other findings... 

Higher self esteem

Less likely to try drugs and alcohol

Lower risk of depression

Lower risk of teen pregnancy

Lower risk of eating disorders

Lower rates of obesity

When there is discussions during family dinner, it has a greater affect on our children's development and vocabulary skills than playing with toys and reading them books. 

The research is solid and overwhelming. 

If you are wondering what you can do to make your family stronger, start by making sure you are intentional about family dinners. 

Easier said than done, right. I know what you are thinking. 

"We are busy, there is so much going on." 

"The kids never sit still or eat their food." 

"Dinner time is chaotic."

Here are a few suggestions to make dinner time better and more manageable. 

First, get everyone on board. Sit down as a family and talk about how you are going to eat together each night. Make it clear that everyone is expected to be there. Work through schedules and complaints, but don't give in. This is important. Also, make it clear that you are turning off the tv during dinner, and that cell phones are not allowed at the table. This goes for parents also. 

A fun way to handle technology? When everyone sits down to eat, pass around a small basket or bucket and have everyone deposit their electronics in the basket. Once dinner is over, they can retrieve their goods from the basket. 

  

Second, have a meal plan. This might sound trivial, but it is a big deal. Planning ahead, so you know what you are going to eat, saves time and makes you less stressed. Sit down and plan out the next two weeks. Have your calendar on hand so you know what nights are extra busy and plan your meals accordingly. When I was first married, with only one child, a meal plan wasn't quite as vital. But now with a full house and everyone involved, a plan is vital. Plus, meal plans save money. Added bonus. 

Then, be sure you have a way for everyone to know that dinner is starting. Maybe you ring a bell. Maybe you set a time, 6 o'clock every night. Maybe dinner is when dad gets home from work. When he comes in, everyone heads to the table to eat. Regardless, come up with a way for the whole family to know it is time to eat. 

Why does this matter? It puts us all on the same page. We know what to expect. That is important.

Next, focus on what you want to have happen while you are eating. Do you want to talk while you eat? Of course you do! What are you going to talk about? Think about these things before you sit down. 

Will you talk about what happened at school? 

Will you play a game and have each person tell two truths and one lie?

Will you have a jar full of discussion prompts and have a different person pull out a prompt each night to discuss?

It doesn't matter how you go about the discussion, just talk. Let everyone participate and be involved.

Remember, dinner conversation is not a time to argue, or discuss hard things like finances, or a time to scold or reprimand the kids. If every time you sit to eat, your kids get interrogated and reprimanded, they will not want come back to family dinner.  

It is natural that as adults, we might expect to be able to use this time to talk to our spouse. But this is not the time for personal one-on-one spousal conversations. The focus should be the family and involving your children. You can find time for the two of you to talk later.

Finally, you need to settle on an exit. How will your family know that dinner is over? Why is this important? Let me give you an example. Our family learned this the hard way. 

In our family, we eat at different speeds. My husband eats really fast, and so does our daughter. They finish and are ready to move on to something else. I am always the last to finish because I have been helping everyone else and feeding small babies. Our son eats very slow, while he tells us a million things about his day. Mingled with fun facts and findings that he has been waiting to share. 

So... I found that we were never really eating together because my hubby and daughter were off and running while a few of us still sat to finish. Seeing them off doing other things made the other kids want to forget about dinner and go play too. The whole thing turned into a disconnected mess.

So... this is why you need an exit. 

Now, we all sit at the table and talk until EVERYONE is finished eating. Every once in a while there is an exception. There will be exceptions. But for the most part, we all now sit together until everyone is done and then the kids ask if they can get up. 

Once they get the go ahead, they take their plates to the sink, the older kids put their dishes in the dishwasher, and then they can leave the kitchen. 

Having a start, middle and end to our dinners keeps everyone on the same page. It eliminates confusion and makes for a much more meaningful and peaceful experience. 

I can promise that if you will work to eat together, and establish these three phases (beginning, middle, and end) that your dinners will be more successful and your family will grow closer together. 

Don't get discouraged. Not every dinner will be perfect. Kids won't always eat their vegetables or sit in their seats, but don't quit. It is too important.

If there is no way you can eat dinner together. Try to eat breakfast or lunch together. Remember, 5 is the magic number. 

Eat together 5 or more days a week!

Do you eat dinner together as a family?
How often do you and your family eat together?