To do food re-education with children, you must first change your parents' habits, especially through simple actions such as not buying treats at home and always having a salad at the lunch and dinner table.
Children often mimic their parents' attitudes, and so it is necessary to bring the whole family together in changing eating habits, which can be achieved through the following steps:
1. Have good food in the refrigerator
The first step in getting kids to eat well is to have good food in the refrigerator, pantry, and cupboards. In this way, they will always have good options to choose from, and even when they make tantrums to eat crap like stuffed biscuit and soda, they will not have it at home.
During the tantrums of the children, parents should open the cupboards to show that they do not have the desired foods by the little ones and to show other options of available snacks.
2. Always eat healthy foods at meals
Inserting healthy food into meals, even if children do not want to consume them, is important for them to get to know new foods and be curious about them.
Parents can always offer salads and chopped fruits, and nuts and natural yogurt with honey in snacks, for example.
3. Eat new foods in front of children
To encourage children to try new flavors, a good strategy is to eat healthy foods in front of the children so they can see how healthy and healthy they are.
Often children do not eat fruits, vegetables and different preparations because the parents themselves also do not have this habit, so it is necessary to change and show them that the change is delicious.
4. Let the children participate in the kitchen
Allowing children to help with food preparation is also a great way to encourage them to get to know the food and understand how the food was prepared in a loving and delicious way.
Sometimes, when they see the plate ready, the children simply reject the preparation because they find it strange and do not understand how it was made. So by participating in the preparation and cooking process, they can experiment with new flavors and get excited when everything is ready at the table.
5. Avoid distractions at meal time
It is important to avoid distractions such as television, tablet or cell phone during meals, a rule that applies to both children and parents.
Despite the mess that is usually made, the meal has to be a moment of attention to the children, during which they receive praise and advice in a pleasant way, making the meal always a special moment.
6. Have lots of patience
Having patience is always necessary during the education of children, and so is nutrition education. Children will not give in easy on new foods, and it takes time and patience to convince them to try new flavors.
And the work does not stop at the first attempt: in general, it is necessary to try several times the same food until the paladar becomes habitable and to enjoy the new flavor.
7. Test new recipes
Testing and learning new recipes is important to innovate and flavor healthy food, which is often seen as bland and tasteless.
Learning to use natural spices and fresh foods brings more health and more pleasure to the family during meals. See more tips to make the child eat fruits and vegetables.
