I, like everyone else in the world, am a huge believer in making sure kids get the proper nutrition. Nothing is more sad than kids living in a country that can provide everything they need, yet they still aren't getting the proper nutrition. Getting your kids to eat the right food can be a battle, but trust me it's a battle worth fighting for as a parent.
Vitamins
Pick a multivitamin for your child. It can be chewable, though as they get old enough to swallow pills, the pill form is preferable. I'll admit I hate swallowing pills, so even I take adult gummy vitamins. You'd be surprised how much better they taste than those chalky chewable ones you had as a kid. You don't have to worry about getting your child 300% of their daily vitamin a intake, you just need to find something that has about 100% of the basic vitamins and minerals. If your child particularly hates milk or has low iron you might consider one with more calcium or iron, but otherwise 100% across the board is a good start.
Sugar
Cut it out of your child's diet. There is no reason you need to feed your child anything with sugar added to it. They get enough natural sugars from the fruits that they eat. Cut out the juice. Children should only have about 4oz worth of juice in a day. Try drinks like water and milk instead. If you want a special treat, try carbonated water with your kids. Juices fill kids up with sugars instead of eating the proper food and don't give the kids the proper nutrition that they need. Besides that, most juices or worse juice drinks can have up to 16 grams of sugar in that one little serving.
Food
Feed them the food you want them to eat. Stock the house with the good, nutritious foods they should be eating instead of fatty snacks. You might have to play the waiting game but eventually they are going to get hungry enough to want to eat the meals you are providing. Let them go to the store with you and pick veggies and fruits that they want to try and eat. Make food fun! There are tons of websites dedicated to turning healthy snacks into cute looking things that your children will want to eat. Have your children help cook with you, they might be more willing to eat food that they made themselves.
Lead by Example
Flashbacks to that smoking commercial that aired in the U.S. in the early 90's where the kid says "I learned it from you!" Set a good example for your kids. If you are drinking milk with dinner, your kids are going to be more likely to want to drink milk too. Your kids idolize you and watch you more than you might think, so don't let them catch you with a bag of chips munch raw veggies instead. Do fun, family activities that gets everyone getting some exercise. Set good habits now so when your children are in school and influenced by others, they still choose to eat right and make the right choices.
Vitamins
Pick a multivitamin for your child. It can be chewable, though as they get old enough to swallow pills, the pill form is preferable. I'll admit I hate swallowing pills, so even I take adult gummy vitamins. You'd be surprised how much better they taste than those chalky chewable ones you had as a kid. You don't have to worry about getting your child 300% of their daily vitamin a intake, you just need to find something that has about 100% of the basic vitamins and minerals. If your child particularly hates milk or has low iron you might consider one with more calcium or iron, but otherwise 100% across the board is a good start.
Sugar
Cut it out of your child's diet. There is no reason you need to feed your child anything with sugar added to it. They get enough natural sugars from the fruits that they eat. Cut out the juice. Children should only have about 4oz worth of juice in a day. Try drinks like water and milk instead. If you want a special treat, try carbonated water with your kids. Juices fill kids up with sugars instead of eating the proper food and don't give the kids the proper nutrition that they need. Besides that, most juices or worse juice drinks can have up to 16 grams of sugar in that one little serving.
Food
Feed them the food you want them to eat. Stock the house with the good, nutritious foods they should be eating instead of fatty snacks. You might have to play the waiting game but eventually they are going to get hungry enough to want to eat the meals you are providing. Let them go to the store with you and pick veggies and fruits that they want to try and eat. Make food fun! There are tons of websites dedicated to turning healthy snacks into cute looking things that your children will want to eat. Have your children help cook with you, they might be more willing to eat food that they made themselves.
Lead by Example
Flashbacks to that smoking commercial that aired in the U.S. in the early 90's where the kid says "I learned it from you!" Set a good example for your kids. If you are drinking milk with dinner, your kids are going to be more likely to want to drink milk too. Your kids idolize you and watch you more than you might think, so don't let them catch you with a bag of chips munch raw veggies instead. Do fun, family activities that gets everyone getting some exercise. Set good habits now so when your children are in school and influenced by others, they still choose to eat right and make the right choices.
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