It’s important for parents and caregivers to guide children to become self-directed when choosing their own food. Once they go off to school they will be exposed to a variety of food choices that they may have not experienced at home. Not only do they need to know what foods are healthy they also need to know what is not healthy and why.
Don’t underestimate a child’s ability to understand the value of the food they eat when they learn by example. If they see their family eating nourishing foods and participate in family meal preparations they will be better equipped when they need to make their own decisions.
The LunchBoxKids web site has a colorful downloadable chart that helps to define the quality of food. This can be a starting point for the grownups to begin talking about nutrition. Post the chart on the refrigerator for everyone to review. Using the colored zones, children can choose something from the list to suggest for dinner, be taught how to plan a meal around the item or just decide on a snack.
If your children are preschool and do not yet read, you can “decorate” the chart with pictures from magazines, grocery circulars or print downloaded pictures and cut and paste them on the chart to visually depict the foods. If your children are older, they can help make grocery lists by referring to the chart to develop suggestions for the week’s meals. Engage your children in all aspects of nutrition so they can grow up making sound nutritional choices and living a healthier life.
Take on this challenge – make nutrition as fundamental as reading, writing and arithmetic. This is the only way we are going to turn around the national epidemics of obesity and type 2 diabetes.
Once you’ve started using the chart come back and tell me your insights on how using it has helped your children understand nutrition.
Click on the image to download the chart.
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