Here at Curiosityville, we are passionate about helping young children develop the skills they will need to be successful in school as well as in life. Early childhood development is about much more than just their academic skills. This is the time where young children are developing interests, beliefs, preferences and habits that will influence them for the rest of their lives. As we adults know all too well, bad habits can be hard to break. That is why it is so important to encourage our young children to develop good habits at an early age.
Eating habits are an important ingredient in living a long, healthy and happy life. Children and adults who are physically fit tend to have more energy, better health, more confidence and a more…show more content… Some children may not become overweight or obese at an early age despite poor eating habits, but their metabolism will change one day and their bad habits can catch up with them later on. On the other hand, some children may have good eating habits and still have some “baby fat” while they are young, but those good habits will serve them well as their bodies change as adolescents and for the rest of their lives as adults.
Clearly, we owe it to our children to do what we can to steer them in the right direction. Did you know that children begin forming taste preferences from the day they are born, and those preferences may even be influenced by their mother’s diet in utero? There is even evidence that suggests an expecting mother can influence the odds their child develops childhood obesity through their television habits while they are pregnant?
So what can we do to help our kids? Here are a few suggestions of how to influence your children and encourage the development of good eating…show more content… If they see their parents making healthy choices, they are more likely to do so on their own when you’re not around. Simply telling them to eat their vegetables is a good thing, but it’s not enough when it comes to the development of habits and preferences. Think about the way you snack in front of your children too - eating right at mealtime is great but unhealthy snacking is a bad habit to form and a very difficult one to break.
Start small, and build from there
Children can be picky eaters and they may not like brussel sprouts, for example. While telling them they need to eat their veggies is good for their health, try to find things that are healthy that they actually like and keep those types of food around. Starting with baby carrots or apple slices as a snack is much better than junk food. If they like baby carrots with ranch dressing to start with, you can build from there with other vegetables in ranch dressing and even a salad. It is important to make the idea of eating something healthy desirable rather than a chore.
