A Healthy Diet for Healthy Kids Planning a child’s diet is tricky. Your son or daughter may not show interest today in a meal they devoured yesterday! As a parent, it can be tempting to pressure your child into finishing their plate, or to use food to gain leverage in your negotiations with them. Contrary to popular belief, it is essential to let them eat according to their own appetite. Influencing them could be detrimental to their health and make it difficult for them to maintain a healthy weight. When children eat with the sole purpose of obeying their parents or educator, they are less receptive to the body signals that tell them when they are hungry or full. It’s not rare for a child to refuse to eat a meal that you offer them for the first time. The reluctance to an unknown taste, or new foods, is very normal. This is called food neophobia. To decrease this behavior in young children, and to help develop their sense of taste, encourage them to take part in meal preparations! Cooking Recipes and Healthy Snacks for Kids When children cook, they have to manipulate unknown foods, in a variety of ways, to fit their preferences. While preparing a meal, children use math skills to measure quantities, and use their dexterity to peel and chop ingredients, as well as to pour liquids without spilling. The Web contains a wide variety of recipes, ranging from healthy snacks for kids, to full meals, depending on the degree of complexity you’re looking for. Some recipes are even created for very young children, which showcase bright colors. By encouraging kids to roll up their sleeves and lend a hand, this can help improve a child’s self-esteem. Our Berry Delightful smoothie is the perfect recipe for kids to make—it’s healthy, simple, and very colorful! The Role of Free Time in Children’s Health In a world that is in constant motion, free time has wrongly become a symbol of boredom and unproductivity. As a result, we often stimulate children by increasing their extracurricular activities. However, periods of unsupervised playtime are just as beneficial as a swim or music lesson. Children confronted with their own boredom should learn to entertain themselves alone or in a group. It is during this free time that they develop their power of creation and their imagination. They discover their interests and sharpen their ability to solve problems on their own. So let your children play alone and allow them to learn to tame solitude and transform it into a moment of inventiveness! References http://sante.gouv.qc.ca/conseils-et-prevention/les-enfants-et-l-alimentation/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28535257 http://www.psychologies.com/Famille/Enfants/Epanouissement-de-l-enfant/Reponses-d-expert/Pourquoi-mon-enfant-ne-sait-pas-jouer-tout-seul
