August is National Kids Eat Right Month! The focus of this campaign is to spotlight healthy nutrition and active lifestyles for children and families. August is a time, we are getting children ready to go back to school and a perfect time to get kids focused on healthier food choices and healthy habits. This campaign is sponsored by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and its Foundation
The three key ways you can help children eat healthier:
Help your child celebrate National Kids Eat Right Month!
The best way to get your children interested in eating healthier foods is through positive interactive experiences. Children enjoy learning when they can actively participate. Here are some great ways to get your children involved!
Before you go to the grocery store, have children help create the meal plan for the week. Get kids involved in picking the foods they eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner. If they have input on the foods they choose, they may be more likely to eat them. Use the five food groups as a template for creating healthy meals.
Breakfast Meal activity sheets
Have children help prepare the meals. There are plenty of safe, age appropriate activities for children. When children help prepare the food, it gives them a sense of pride when the meal is served and can offer opportunities to teach children about healthy foods to cook with. Cooking is a necessary part of healthy eating. You always know what you put into your own meals!
it sounds simple but yet with todays hustle and bustle schedule, many families do not eat together. If they do, it is often distracted by the television or other device being used during mealtime. Research has shown that eating together as a family increases children's self confidence and improves overall school performance.
Use these fun nutrition conversation cards to talk about nutrition during mealtime.
There are many studies that have shown the benefits of creating a garden with children. It can be as simple as one vegetable in a potted planter on the patio. The important factor is that children are actively growing a vegetable or fruit. Not only will this peak their interest about fruits and vegetables but it will also provide a wonderful opportunity to learn where food comes from and why natural, unprocessed foods are so healthy.
Kids Gardening Activity, Learning and Coloring Sheets
Setting a healthy goal is easier than you think. Think simple and one very specific, achievable goal. A great goal could be "eating one green vegetable at dinner time" or "reading one food label at the grocery store." No matter what your goal is, do it together as a family. Then track it in a public place so the whole family can see their progress.