Empower Children to Choose Healthy Foods

Kids get a Hands-on Experience in Reading Labels

Making your kids get an insight into reading food labels helps them to make wise food choices throughout their lives. The world around you, be it at the supermarket, at home or at school, provides your child with a myriad of opportunities to know about eating good healthy food.

Young kids can start eating healthy foods by choosing foods from each food group and eating mindfully. Older children and teens can learn about individual nutrients on the Nutrition Facts Label and learn to interpret food label claims.

Home. Home is the best place to start teaching kids about the basics of nutrition and label-reading as the kitchenette is filled with various foods which can be of use to discuss about the nutritional information on hand. Follow some of these tips to teach your children about mindful and healthy eating.

• Sit along with your child to plan a meal based on the various food groups. Select from various protein sources, choosing whole grains and picking colorful fruits and vegetables.
• Guide your child to refer to the nutrition facts label and serving size to snack on healthy food.

Supermarket. Supermarkets play a pivotal role in label reading as this is the place from where most of the foods at home are stocked from. Send your child on a hunting expenditure to read labels in the supermarket for healthy options like:

• Canned fruit packed in water or their own juices.
• Frozen veggies with no added salt.
• Whole-grain cereal with low sugar and high fiber content.

Lunchroom. It is practically difficult to monitor the foods that children eat in the lunchroom, hence it is better to be precautious and make healthy choices beforehand.

• Make a deal with your child to choose foods from each food group every day.
• Motivate your child to read the labels in the cafeteria items and choose the ones that have low fat, sugar and salt content.
• Leave a friendly note for your children about the healthy options in their lunch and why they are included.

Consult a registered dietitian nutritionist at www.firsteatright.com for further information on setting your child up for healthy nutrition for life.

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