Your Growing Kids and Good Nutrition

Not only are adults risk becoming overweight, getting heart disease or any other disease for that matter; even children are at risk for things like this as well. With this reality parents need to be more aware of their kids and nutrition. One of the best ways that you can deal with such a reality is preventing it from happening to your own kids. Exercise as well as a healthy balanced diet that contains the right nutrition is one of your best bets for combating these things. It’s never too early to be aware and start your children on good nutrition, it will be a good practice that they can carry on to adulthood and benefit from even in the long run.

Good nutrition can start even before your child takes in solid foods. You can practice this by opting for breast milk over formula. It is the purest and most natural source of nutrients for any infant. It contains high sources of bacteria fighting components to help your child keep away from sickness; other than this it also has the necessary nutrients to help your child develop both mentally and physically. As your child grows you can continue to practice good nutrition by being careful with the foods that you introduce. Instead of having your young one eat instant baby food try boiling and mashing real foods such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, peas and carrots. Many toddlers can be prone to food allergies so make it a point to introduce new foods one at a time. Keep foods such as eggs and nuts for when your child is older since these are common allergy foods. Avoid foods with high sodium and sugar contents.

By the time that your kids reach school age they will have grown accustomed to eating nutritious foods, but this may not necessarily mean that they will not be picky. Sometimes as kids grow older then it becomes more difficult to feed them. If you have a picky eater try serving different kinds of dishes so that they don’t grow tired of foods easily. Try not to make a big deal over them not eating all of their vegetables or other food. Instead, try to supplement the lost nutrients with healthy snacks that have the same nutritional value. Do make it a point to introduce as many different kinds of food possible to your kid. A well rounded palate will mean that your kids will be more open to eating different dishes that contain different nutrients.

Finally don’t forget to be aware of your kids and nutrition all the time. When you shop for food make a habit out of reading the nutrition labels so that you know what your children are getting from the food they eat.