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What parent does not want to get their children to eat all their fruit and vegetables and stay away from all that fast food? But, it is certainly easier said than done. Green broccoli doesn’t stand a chance when set against golden crispy French fries steaming at the drive up window and cakes and cookies are so much more tempting than some grapes.

However, if you begin early, nutrition for children should not be such a challenge as children will have not known anything different. If you want them to change eating habits later in life, then it will be much more problematic. Here are some practical tips to make this arduous\taxing task marginally easier.

Lead By Example
Parents are the number one role models for young children and whilst we might feel they watch Banrney and Dora all the time, they watch what we do even more. Nutrition for children is much easier to focus on if everyone in the family is eating healthy. For instance, if they see you drinking a lot of water as opposed to soda and other stuff, they are more likely to follow suit. Or, if they see Mom making a sandwich on whole wheat bread for herself, then they wouldn’t even ask for the refined, white version.
That means making sure your grocery basket is full of good nutritious foods and snacks.

Share Mealtimes
Even though day planners [pin]seem to be|are getting [/spin]increasingly busy, sitting down and having at least one meal together on a daily basis is a huge step in the right direction towards nutrition for children. Nutritious meals are easier to prepare and serve if everyone is going to eat them as opposed to making several meals from scratch for just one or two members of the family.
Try to make these meals a relaxing affair around a table – no TV dinners. It’s an opportunity for everyone to discuss their day.

Get the Children Involved
If nutrition for kids is important to you, get them involved in menu planning, grocery shopping and food preparation. This way they will feel they have more control over what they eat and if you provide the right guidelines they just might get into the habit of making healthy choices.
One suggestion that I have found works really well is to try a new ‘color’ vegetable or fruit each week. Make a chart, so if week one is purple, they might try egg plant or purple grapes and if week two is yellow, they may try squash and banana milkshake. In our family we took it a step further. It originally started near Halloween time when I said to the kids that if they tried squash as a vegetable at dinner time I would paint a pumpkin face painting design on their cheeks. After that there was no problem getting the kids to try new fruits or vegetables or new dishes. And, not surprisingly my face painting skills improved too as the kids came up with new designs for me to learn.
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Think of teaching nutrition to children as an investment in your family’s future. While you cannot predict or completely prevent anyone from any disease, you can at least try your best. Who knows, your healthy eater may positively influence his or her spouse and another generation where nutrition plays a key role in the family dynamic.