childrenstreet.com

Children health statistics can tell you a lot about how well your child is doing.  Yet, for many people their child’s health is not something that is able to be bragged about.  Many kids start off their day with a bowl of sugary cereal.  They go to school and eat a bagged lunch that has sugars, fatty foods and chocolate snacks in it.  They come home, tired and hungry only to grab some chips or pretzels and sit in front of the television.  They eat a dinner, hopefully a little more balanced but still full of processed foods.  Maybe they even have a glass of milk and cookies too.  With so much going wrong for children, it is a better route to go to actually take a close look at the health of your child.

With so many bad things happening in the health of children today, many people are wondering just how they can make changes in their child’s eating habits.  Stripping the house of junk food can be traumatic and it can be very difficult too.  So, what can be done to have kids eating what they should be?  There are many things that can be done. 

• Introduce some new, tasty foods.  Replace their cereal with some pancakes a couple of times a week.  Or, have them go for a warm cereal like oatmeal instead.  Add a little maple syrup to it and it will be just sweet enough.

• Replace foods secretly.  On the market today there are many products that kids love that are actually reducing the calories and the sugars in them.  There are cereals that are reduced in sugar.  You can do this with other foods too.  Instead of giving them a popsicle filled with sugar go for a sugar free version.

• Make a deal.  If they would like to eat a chocolate bar, they must first eat a banana.  By virtually convincing your child to begin trying new foods they will eventually find ones that they like.  Maybe a few times later they will reach for the banana instead.

  Your children’s health is also about the amount of exercise he gets.  Turn off that television and get him outdoors.  He needs to burn off those calories and be physically active.  Also, find ways to encourage things like reading, problem solving and relationships with other children their age.  These things are all necessary elements in their development.  Your child’s health must be a combination of all of these things.