HOW DO WE HELP CHILDREN LIVE HEALTHY LIVES?

Even if you don’t have any children, advice below is a valuable, easy-to-apply advice that everybody can take to make their lifestyle healthier and prevent disease.

Education and Experience

Before age 7, a child’s mind operates with a more receptive brain frequency; accepting new information without critical questioning. Unfortunately, this means they can’t discern between advertisements and other media, so they will readily absorb marketing material.

Sheltering children from marketing messages should be coupled with sharing positive information about the benefits of a healthy diet. Talk to them about vegetables and fruits, explaining how they help the body function. Older children can even be encouraged to research with you.

Testing out Tastes

Children are more averse to bitter flavors (like dark green vegetables). As adults, we gradually educate our tastes to appreciate bitter foods for nutritional benefit. It takes at least four repetitions for the sense of taste to align with the nutritional benefit offered.

Disguise bitter flavors with sweeter ones, like dipping okra into mango puree. Keep it light and enjoyable, or hide intense flavors completely, in a smoothie, for example. Encourage children to try tiny amounts of new food, with as little stress as possible.

Snacks and Treats

Making healthy food appealing requires creativity, arranging fruit into a face or animal turns something dull into a fun treat. Playing with food removes fear and helps the child connect with their senses. Involving children in the planning and creation of food also grasps their interest early on, helping create accountability as they grow.

Healthy snacking is important for maintaining energy levels and meeting children’s nutritional needs. Avoid snacks before meals; space them out throughout the day. Consider creating a menu of snacks that you have worked on together, so they are given choice and change to input. These snack ideas will surely satisfy the whole family!

Make Movement Fun

Modern life might be sedentary; we attach ourselves to devices consuming passive entertainment. Children will naturally copy adults, so it’s critical we set a good example, get up and make movement fun! Finding ways to be silly, playful, and move in unique or unusual ways is an incredibly powerful way to build in exercise to a child’s routine. Making an obstacle course in the lounge or garden - that you jump, hop and skip around together – creates positive memories and gets everybody off the couch.