Supporting Healthy Children At Home

Supporting Healthy Children At Home

Building Healthy Habits

 “A child’s health and wellbeing is fostered by a home environment with engaged and skillful parenting that models, values and encourages sensible eating habits.” (Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Prevention of Obesity in Children and Youth, 2005)

 We have a lot of power over our health, wellness, and resiliency based on how we treat our bodies. 

Setting an Example

As a parent, teacher, and adult, modelling to kids is important as they are watching us. When we start building healthy habits as adults, we start to feel good. As parents when we feel good, we are motivated to teach our kids to embrace healthy habits.

Transitional Time: Power of impact

A routine is consistently found to be the most important tool when teaching our children to adapt to something. When we are modelling healthy eating, the curious minds of our little ones are absorbing everything – this is an opportunity to talk about healthy habits. For example, talking about what is on our plate, the colour and texture of the vegetable or fruit that we are eating, whether it is sweet or sour, and how it impacts our bodies.

Steps to Take When Educating Children About Healthy Routine

The first step is to set a strong and consistent routine:

·         Set expectations surrounding meals and dinner table rules

·         Serve meals and snacks around the same times every day if possible. Make the experience fun, get your child involved by telling them you have a big ‘project’ for them and to set the dinner table. When my daughter was little, she had a special plate just for her that she picked out. Every night before dinner I would tell her to set the table and make sure she puts out her special plate!

o   You can also plan dinners with them and get them to be your little helpers (with stirring, kneading, etc.)

Sit down at the dinner table with all family members if possible (and during breakfast and lunch if everyone is home)

Try to make sure that everyone at the table is eating the same food and there is no one person eating something different – by limiting the choices, kids will be forced to get comfortable with the foods that are in front of them instead of ‘demanding’ what they want and don’t want.

Let your child pick their own portions with a promise to finish what is on their plate – this means less waste for you and also a way to get your kid involved (but make sure they are also taking enough to keep them full!)

If you are introducing a new food item, make sure they at least try 3 bites of it before deciding whether they want to eat it or not

·         Discuss the taste, texture (crunchy, lumpy, soft, hard)

·         Talk about food, its colour, and what it does to our body.

·         It is important not to shame any foods even if they are not the foods that we are not used to. Include different ethnicity once a month to keep a variety

Healthy Eating Research Findings

The formation of healthy habits is considered to play a fundamental role in health behaviour change. The term lifestyle change inherently means that changes are made such that they can be followed for the lifetime of an individual. A healthy routine does not require conscious effort or thought once it is established. Research consistently demonstrates that “too much change, too fast” is likely to end without positive results.

A routine helps your child understand the balance between enjoyable tasks such as play and functional tasks such as helping to set a table during mealtime. The predictability of the daily routine helps little ones with expectations and responsibility.

A fun, nut-free, lunch box friendly Granola

·         2 cups Oats (rolled or old fashioned)

·         1 cup Unsweetened Coconut Flakes

·         1/2 cup Pumpkin Seeds

·         1/2 tsp Cinnamon

·         1/4 tsp Sea Salt

·         1 Banana (ripe, mashed)

·         2 tbsp Coconut Oil (melted)

Preheat oven to 300ºF (149ºC). In a large bowl, combine the oats, coconut flakes, pumpkin seeds, cinnamon, and sea salt. Add the mashed banana and coconut oil into the bowl with the oat mixture. Use a spoon to stir until all is very well combined. The mixture should be evenly coated. Spread mixture in an even layer on a large baking sheet. Press down slightly and place in oven. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, checking and tossing every 15 minutes. Break up large clusters as necessary. Once the granola is evenly browned and no longer feels damp, remove it from the oven. As it cools it will crisp up even more, so do not over-bake. Once cooled, store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week. Or store in the freezer for a few months.

Serving size: One serving is roughly 1/2 cup of granola.
Serve it with yogurt, oatmeal, parfaits, almond milk and/or fresh fruit.
Variations: Add chocolate chips, nuts, Golgi berries or other dried fruits, banana can be replaced with nut butter and honey.

Wrapping Up

Get the children involved with the preparation of fun and healthy recipes. Since they are young, they are eager to learn and will adapt to this routine easily. Implementing a healthy habit early on will lead them to make healthy decisions in their lives as they grow up and go into high school, post-secondary, and adulthood.

If you are looking for a kid-friendly, 7-day meal plan with recipes and a shopping list, contact me and we can work on one together based on what you and your family like to eat!

About Sujata

Sujata will be writing a series of blogs on how to introduce healthy eating and make it a familial lifestyle that you and your kids will carry throughout life.

Website: https://www.sujatanutrition.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/suja.banerjea/?hl=en

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sujatanutrition

References

Arlinghaus, K. R., & Johnston, C. A. (2018). The Importance of Creating Habits and Routine. American journal of lifestyle medicine, 13(2), 142–144. https://doi.org/10.1177/1559827618818044

David T. Neal, Wendy Wood, Jennifer S. Labrecque, Phillippa Lally. How do habits guide behavior? Perceived and actual triggers of habits in daily life. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. Volume 48, Issue 2, 2012, Pages 492-498, ISSN 0022-1031, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2011.10.011.(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S002210311100254X)

Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Prevention of Obesity in Children and Youth; Koplan JP, Liverman CT, Kraak VI, editors. Preventing Childhood Obesity: Health in the Balance. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2005. 8, Home. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK83834/

Nemec PB, Swarbrick MA, Merlo DM. The Force of Habit: Creating and Sustaining a Wellness Lifestyle. J Psychosoc Nurs Ment Health Serv. 2015 Sep;53(9):24-30. doi: 10.3928/02793695-20150821-01. PMID: 26325170.