Maintaining healthy eating habits for children aged 5-10 years old is an important challenge for today’s parents. Obesity has recently overtaken the education system in the United States with two-thirds of adults in the United States being overweight and at least one-third considered obese. These are alarming numbers for future children with obesity on the rise. This is why it is so important for young children, especially 5-10 year olds, to learn and maintain healthy eating habits well into their teenage years.
Unhealthy foods at an early age give young children a bad habit of eating unhealthy food which they carry into their teens and twenties. This is the main problem for Americans. Poor eating habits, appearance of junk foods, etc. that cater to those unhealthy habits. Implementing healthy eating habits should start with young children. Parents who regularly expose their children to fast food, processed frozen foods, or nutrition-depleted diets must quickly change their children’s diet.
It is important for children ages 5-10 to receive enough vitamins and nutrition so that their body and brain can grow within this time frame. A variety of fruits and vegetables, multivitamin tablets, less fatty foods, plenty of calcium for bone growth, cereals, dairy products, whole wheat bread, soda-free but 100% juices, lean meats, and fish are a good foundation. But most importantly, children must learn to enjoy healthy choices so that, as adults, they can maintain their healthy lifestyle. Some tips for maintaining healthy eating habits are:
You have a specific time and place at home to have dinner as a family. Watching TV while your kids eat is not something you want them to grow up with. Make sure that dinner time is family time and that no TV is allowed.
Encourage your children to eat slowly. This allows them to be able to tell when they are full properly, not just partially full from a really quick bite.
Lunch packs. School cafeterias are notorious for serving unhealthy lunch plans. French fries, hamburgers, fried chicken and pizza are the main dishes in schools. Instead, pack the traditional sandwich, chips, 100% juice, and an apple. It saves you money in the long run and ensures that your kids get a healthy diet.
Make them drink water! Unless it is 100% juice, most other sweetened drinks are full of sugar, especially soda, which is one of the main causes of obesity.
If they don’t like vegetables, give them more! Today people seem not to worry if their kids are eating enough vegetables because they can just give them vitamins to cover it. But vegetables are full of nature’s healthy treats. Vegetables (and fruits) are known to be cancer-fighting foods, can prevent vision loss (especially common in young children who watch too much TV), give your child’s heart much-needed protection from future heart attacks or strokes, lower blood pressure, and are a healthy source of fiber.
Also, make sure that you brush and floss your children every day. There is no need to explain here, but it protects your children from tooth decay, bad breath, and gum disease.
– If you are afraid that your child is overweight, do not panic. Young children need to eat a lot to ensure that they are growing and that their bodies still have years to grow. Implementing diets early in their lives is not necessary. Just make sure that they are eating right and that their eating habits are healthy enough to last them into their teens and twenties.
Giving your kids the right nutritional plan is an essential job for every parent. Ages 5-10 are an excellent time for kids to learn the right way to eat, and we hope they take these healthy habits in high school and college and inculcate them in their kids for many years of healthy habits.
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