Just about every parent wants to help their child grow up to be a healthy eater, even if the parents themselves tend to subsist on donuts and TV dinners. Plenty of parents have embarked on the journey of parenting with the best of intentions regarding meal planning, only to miss a nutrient vital to their child’s health and learn of a problem during the child’s next doctor’s visit.
Children have different needs at every age. This is true of social, emotional, spiritual and, of course, physical needs. Food and nutrition is just a small part of those ever shifting physical needs.
When it comes to ensuring a child gets all the nutrients they need, knowledge is essential. There are dozens of books, websites, video series and blogs about exactly what to feed children based on their age and development. One of the biggest keys to helping children eat healthy, however, is the behavior of parents. Children who witness their parents eschewing vegetables for potato chips will likely loath eating salads. Parents who live off processed, pre-frozen meals, are likely to see their children wanting foods loaded with salt and fat. To help children eat healthy, parents need to eat healthy themselves and help their children come to love what they eat. That requires first, of course, knowing what to feed children at every age to ensure they get all the nutrients they need.