Get rid of the junk. Adults do the grocery shopping, so if the cabinets are filled with chips, sugary cereals, ice cream, soda, fatty meats, and pastries, it is due to the adults in the household. It is thus the job of the adults to provide healthy and wholesome food. If children have healthy food in the house, that is what they will eat. This means the adults, too. Children are very aware of when adults adopt a "Do as I say, not as I do" approach. If you are eating junk food, they know that. You may need education yourself on healthy eating. If you grew up eating unhealthy food, you may not really know what a healthy diet looks, tastes, or feels like. Be careful of foods that pretend to be healthy. The cookie that is "made with real fruit" is still full of sugar and fat. Fruit juice is not meant to be guzzled all day long. The chicken nuggets "made with whole grain" may offer only a very little fiber. Make healthy substitutions. Some "upgrades" are not so difficult. Homemade baked chicken nuggets are typically far less fat and calories than the ones bought at the supermarket. A veggie burger may be a surprise hit. A yogurt smoothie instead of soda may be met with delight. Pay

attention to portion size. It is one thing to eat one grilled cheese sandwich, another to eat three. Instead, offer one grilled cheese sandwich and carrot sticks and some fruit. Be a good role model. It's not news that kids model behavior after their parents — even starting during infancy.[2] X Research source Use this opportunity to work on demonstrating a good attitude and good eating behaviors for your children to mimic. Show your children that you enjoy eating a wide variety of foods — including healthy and nutritious foods like lean protein, whole grains, fruits and vegetables. If you are not eating these foods, they will not, either. Talk about nutrition. Children need to know what foods are healthy, in what portions, and why. This can be at the dinner table, at the grocery store, in the garden, or anytime. Speak positively about food. Try not to label things as "good foods" or "bad foods." Some studies show that children ate more of and wanted more "bad foods" if they were labeled so by their parents. (After all, unhealthy foods often taste really good!)[3] X Research source In America, children's educational shows such as "Sesame Street" talks about the difference

between foods eaten every day, and "Sometimes Foods." This emphasizes that there are foods that are not eaten every day, even though they are delicious. Although treats should not be a common occurrence, there is some merit for not having them be extremely rare. A child who never has chocolate, or ice cream, or cupcakes may go overboard when off on their own. Choose eating out locations carefully. Eating at restaurants too frequently is a bad idea and so is eating at greasy fast-food restaurants. Eat meals together. Many families do not eat meals together — especially dinner. With busy work schedules, sports or music practices and fitting in homework, it can be difficult to find time to eat together; however, studies show that when families eat together, children eat better.[4] X Research source Aim to eat meals — particularly dinner — together as often as possible. This will give your family a time to reconnect after their day and allow children to watch their parents eating healthy, nutritious foods. A study in 2000 showed that children who ate dinner with their families on a regular basis ate more fruits, vegetables and ate fewer fried foods and soda.[5] X Research source

In addition, these children also had a more balanced diet. Overall, they consumed more calcium, iron and fiber during the day. These are all important nutrients for children's growth and development. When families eat "in shifts" there is a tendency to rely on prepackaged and often highly refined foods. For example, Dad might end up making macaroni and cheese for the kindergartner, heat up a slice of pizza for the teenager after play practice, and then Mom finally make a microwave meal after coming home from the PTA meeting. Get everyone involved in making healthy meals. Studies have shown that if you allow your kids to get involved in the choosing, preparing and cooking of foods, they're more likely to choose healthy and nutritious foods.[6] X Research source Allow children to come to the grocery store and pick out a new vegetable or fruit they want to try. Even if it is something you do not like or enjoy, be a good role model and allow the child to try this new food. Also let your child get involved in preparing and cooking foods. Even for toddlers, they can help wash, stir or cut (using a butter knife or other child-safe utensil) fruits and vegetables in the kitchen. Also ask

your child how they think you should prepare a new fruit or vegetable or what would make it taste delicious. Go to the garden. When children are involved with the growing of food, they are more likely to try it. Picking a tomato from a patio container can lead to trying it later in the day. Go on food field trips. Going to where food comes from has a way of connecting food with pleasant memories. Berry picking, visiting an orchard, farmer's markets, or the like can make a connection to the food. Avoid special "kid meals" — everyone eats the same meal. Some parents get into the habit of essentially preparing two meals: one for the adults, and one for the kids. In some cases, parents customize the dinner for each child! But this sort of accommodation teaches kids that they do not have to try something new or different — instead, they will get what they know they will like. [7] X Research source Of course, there may be some softening for this rule. Sometimes offering a choice of two vegetables, for instance, may avoid dinnertime angst while keeping nutrition paramount. After all, some people never come around to liking a vegetable, no matter how many times presented. If you always

cater to your child's wants and desires when it comes to eating and trying new foods, you are not setting them up for a well-balanced or nutritious diet in the future. Kids will learn to expect and wait for you to make a special meal instead of trying a new food. This is a learned behavior. Only make one meal nightly for everyone. And make sure that everyone in the family has each food on the plate and will try at least a few bites. This sets up good behaviors in your child as well. Children will not die of hunger if they refuse dinner, or decide to give up after only three bites of asparagus. If they complain of hunger later, feel free to re-heat the dinner plate. Or, perhaps offer a healthy but not particularly appealing choice, such as carrots or a banana. Do not whip up a separate second dinner. Or, alternatively try the "You do not have to eat it" approach. This approach avoids power struggles over dinner by setting up a system in which the child is not forced to eat anything; however, the alternative is something pre-arranged and preferably what the child can make themselves, such as a peanut butter sandwich or baby carrots. This gives the message that the child has a choice

to eat the food — or not — but whims or fussiness will not be catered to. This approach avoids a power struggle, introduces the food, and honors the fact that in the end no one can really be forced to eat anything. Forcing someone to eat something rarely ends in the person actually liking it. Patience is key in this approach. Your child will be unlikely to try novel foods the first, second, or even subsequent times; however, by repeated exposure the "fear factor" is removed. Remember that in this approach you still do not make separate dinners. While this approach gives the child more choices, the adults are the ones that decide what is for dinner. Offer a variety of foods multiple times. Kids will notoriously be picky eaters (especially between the ages of two and six years old); however, offering a variety of nutritious foods multiple times increases the likelihood that your child will grow to like these new foods.[8] X Research source Offer your new foods a few times. You may want to consider preparing them differently to help entice your child's tastebuds. Although offering a "disliked food" multiple times may seem counterintuitive, it actually is a kid-friendly method of

eating. This is how children will eventually learn to be accustomed to certain tastes and textures of new foods. Remember, it can take up to 15 tries for a child to decide whether or not they like a new food or a more nutritious foods. In addition, their tastes will change and evolve each year as they grow. A "try" may be simply exposure. You do not necessarily have to get the child to eat the food for there to be some success. Just having the food on the plate — even if the food is not touched — helps emphasize this is a food. This can pave the way to actually eating the food down the line. Sneak in more fruits and vegetables. An easy way to get kids to eat more nutritious foods — especially vegetables — is by sneaking them into foods they are already familiar with and enjoy. Since there will be children who are exceptionally picky and all children (and even the adults) could use a few more fruits and vegetables, sneaking these nutritious foods into their meals is an easy way to boost your child's nutrition. Blending is a great trick to add a whole host of items to a variety of different foods. You can blend fruits and vegetables into yogurt smoothies, put blended or

pureed vegetables into baked goods like meatballs, meatloaf, soups, baked goods or casseroles like mac and cheese. Although you can hide many foods in your child's diet, this isn't a trick you should solely rely on. You need to continue introducing new nutritious foods in their whole state. Offer to "dip it." Another trick to get kids to eat more fruits or vegetables is by making these foods a little more fun by making them "dippable."[9] X Research source Kids like that they're able to hold "kid-sized foods" in their hands and dip into a tasty sauce or dressing. Cut up raw or slightly steamed vegetable sticks and serve with a homemade ranch dressing, yogurt dip or hummus. You can also serve cut up fruit or make fruit kabobs and serve them with a lightly sweetened yogurt dip. Make healthy foods fun. Turning healthy, nutritious foods and meals into fun and kid-friendly meals is important. Foods need to be easy to eat and the more visually appealing they are to kids, the more likely your kids will eat them. Cut up foods into bite sized pieces or serve bite sized foods. These little pieces are easy to pick up and perfectly sized for little kids. Try serving foods like: grapes, berries

like blueberries or raspberries, mini meatballs, olives, steamed and cut up broccoli florets or halved snap peas. Make foods fun in other ways too. Try cutting out shapes of your child's sandwich by using cookie cutters or making "sushi" by rolling deli meat and cheese in a wrap and slicing into little rounds. Also go for bright and unique colors. This visual appeal may tempt your child into trying a new food. For example, try yellow or red beets, orange sweet potatoes, purple carrots or blood oranges for something exciting! Avoid placing newer, more nutritious foods next to your child's favorite foods. An easy trick to make your child's whole dinner plate more kid friendly is by decreasing the "food competition" that's on the plate to begin with.[10] X Research source For example, if you put a new food or a food previously disliked next to a favorite food (like pasta, chicken nuggets or fruit), your child will most likely automatically go for the favorite food first. This may leave little room for and appetite for the "new food." Present new foods first — maybe at an afternoon snack or with foods that kids do not feel very strongly about. Serve vegetables and dip as an afternoon

snack in addition to serving these foods with their dinner meals. Choose leaner protein sources. When preparing meals at home for your family, choose nutritious foods to serve. Lean protein is an essential food group for both you and your children and should be included at every meal. Lean protein is lower in calories and unhealthy sources of fat. Although children don't need to be overly concerned about calories, you do not want to feed them fatty cuts of meat that are overly high in saturated fat.[11] X Trustworthy Source USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion U.S. agency responsible for promoting good nutrition based on scientific research Go to source Include a 1 – 2 oz serving (about half the size of a deck of cards) of lean protein at your child's meals. Including protein at each meal will ensure that they meet their daily recommended intake of protein.[12] X Trustworthy Source USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion U.S. agency responsible for promoting good nutrition based on scientific research Go to source Try a variety of lean proteins throughout the week. Remember, they may not like some foods immediately, so continue to expose your child as often as

you can. Try: poultry, eggs, seafood, lean beef, pork, legumes and low-fat dairy products. Dryer or tougher cuts of meat like a grilled chicken breast or a steak may be too difficult for your child to chew and swallow. They may show a dislike due to a texture difficulty. Serve moister protein choices or serve them with a sauce. For example, instead of grilled chicken breast, try roasted chicken thighs. Eat fruits and vegetables at every meal. Fruits and vegetables may be tricky food groups to get your child to eat (especially vegetables; however, aim to serve these foods at each meal and snack. Children do not need overly large quantities of fruits or vegetables each day. But give them a small serving around 1/2 cup each time they eat a meal or snack. This will help them meet their daily minimum intake.[13] X Trustworthy Source USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion U.S. agency responsible for promoting good nutrition based on scientific research Go to source [14] X Trustworthy Source USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion U.S. agency responsible for promoting good nutrition based on scientific research Go to source Fruits and vegetables are important food groups

for kids and adults alike. These foods are "nutritional powerhouses" and contain high amounts of fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Although vegetables can be the most tricky group for kids to like and be willing to eat, be patient and continue to expose them to new vegetables and new ways of preparing them. Go for the whole grains. When you're preparing meals, also include whole grains. These are a much more nutritious choice than more refined grains. Whole grains are minimally processed and offer higher amounts of fiber. Both children and adults should aim to make most of their grain choices, whole grain.[15] X Trustworthy Source USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion U.S. agency responsible for promoting good nutrition based on scientific research Go to source Some children may not like the nutty flavor, chewy texture or darker color that many whole grain foods have. Again, patience and continued exposure can help. However, many food companies are now making 100% whole grain foods with "white whole grains." These foods are white in color, have less of an intense flavor and a less chewy texture. Many children will eat these foods easily and never realize they are

eating a healthy food. Drink mostly water. Children love sweet things, and juice and sugary drinks are typically a favored beverage However, children (and adults) typically only need water. Make sure your child stays hydrated everyday. Aim to have them drink about 2-3 cups of water each day.[16] X Research source In addition to water, kids should also drink low-fat milk. This provides protein, calcium and vitamin D which are essential for healthy growth and development.[17] X Research source Aim to have your child drink about 2 cups daily of low fat milk. Avoid fruit juice cocktails or juice drinks, sodas, sports drinks and other sweetened beverages. If your child does want juice occasionally, always serve 100% juice. Even 100% juice is a very concentrated source of sugar, albeit natural sugars. It is still not as healthy as whole fruit. While some is fine, it should be limited. Diluting fruit juice is a good habit to start early so they don't get used to the taste of 100% juice. Give children diluted juice early (i.e. 1/2 water, 1/2 juice) A good guideline for fluid intake is to keep servings of juice to one or two a day, and at mealtime. Milk is for the other meals. Water is

served any other time of day.