If your goal as a parent is to have children that eat healthy food, it will be to your benefit to teach your children how to eat healthy food and make healthy choices rather than force it on them. Forcing a child to do something will only work up to a certain extent. They will end up not wanting to do whatever it is in the end because children have the tendency to express their will and independence or autonomy. The key to success is to involve them in the process and to teach them.
Teaching children healthy eating is relatively easy if you start early. It begins by exposing them to healthy foods and monitoring their diets and food intake while they’re young. Apart from that, tell your children why you eat the things you eat. Letting them know the benefits of their eating what you serve is one way to entice a child to eat it. Being very frank and open with your children is one way to win them over to your side.
Another way of teaching children healthy eating is to turn the subject of healthy foods into a game or way for you and your children to spend time together. Get your child involved in the kitchen and have a list of foods you introduce to them once a week. This is a good way of introducing them to fruits and vegetables, quizzing them on the benefits of eating these foods (something you should have previously discussed), and part of the game is trying out the fruit and giving your opinions on it. You can also come up with little skits to entertain your child or buy fake fruit and allow them to play with it for a few days before showing them the real thing. Whatever you find works best as a game is probably what will work for your child.
Constantly remind your child about healthy eating and its benefits. Don’t be nagging about it though. You can ask them to remind you too. Say you forgot why vegetables are important and you need them to tell you again. This will help you see how much your child has absorbed.
Also, follow a healthy eating lifestyle in and out of your home at all times. It isn’t enough for your child to know the facts. They have to live the facts. Playing the game is one way to make healthy eating more tangible to them, but if you aren’t inclined to do so, just find creative ways of serving healthy food to your children and consistently make healthy choices no matter where you are. Lead by example. Just remember to teach them while they’re young and they will probably carry on the habit for the rest of their lives.