Starting Healthy Eating Habits with Your Child Right from the Start

Childhood obesity is a widespread epidemic in the United States and many countries around the world. New studies have shown that even France is packing on the pounds year after year. It all comes down to our bad eating habits and lack of activity. We eat too much of the wrong foods, we watch far too much television, and we're content to let our children spend hours playing computer games. These unhealthy habits are passed down from generation to generation. If your parents are overweight, then it's likely that you are overweight too. So what do you do now that you have kids of your own?

The health risks to an overweight person are no secret. Flip through a magazine or turn on the television, even cookie monster knows that nowadays "cookies are a sometimes food"! While I think we can all agree that cookie monster didn't start the obesity epidemic in our country, Sesame Street is sending the right message to parents. Healthy eating habit need to start early.

Food is an addiction, any overeater can tell you that. Some of us eat when we're bored, eat for comfort, some of us are binge eaters, other closet eaters. We can all make excuses for our bad eating habits. "I don't have time to make diner so I order pizza." Or "I don't wake up early enough to pack my lunch so I get fast food." We can make excuses for our own bad habits all day long, but there's no excuse for passing those habits onto our children.

You gave your child the gift of life, now him or her the gift of health. That may mean that you have to make a few sacrifices along the way. The best way to get your child to eat healthy is to start them off that way. When babies are eating jar food, most of us parents have no trouble keeping them on a healthy diet. Green beans, peas, peaches, apples, carrots, sweet potatoes all nutrient rich food that comes ready for your little one to eat. It's usually around the time when babies grow into toddlers and start eating table foods that the problem arises.

It's not difficult to keep healthy foods around the house, and it shouldn't be too hard to get your kid to eat them. I have quite a few healthy meals and snacks for my 16 month old always on hand. Nothing she eats is at all difficult to prepare, in fact, all I usually have to do it open a can and heat it up. Sometimes theirs some handy knife work involved with slicing fruits. Here are some ideas, if your drawing a blank for good foods to feed your kids. Beans, I buy kidney beans and chick peas. They're great for meals or snacks and she loves them right out of the can. If your child doesn't like the taste of them then try coating them with a sweet sauce, like tomato, it could make all the difference.

Vegetable soups and stir fry. You can get delicious soups right out of the can, and tasty stir fry's in the frozen food section. I recommend "Contessa" brand stir fry, the veggies stay crisp and the sauce is delicious. About a month ago I couldn't get my daughter to touch a vegetable, she continually rejected her usual steamed veggies. Until she tried the veggie soup and stir fry, she loves both of them and she's getting all her veggies in. Children's tastes change too just like adults, we're not always in the mood for the same thing. If you have a hard time getting your child to eat veggies, try spicing them up a bit. My daughter loved cinnamon on her carrots and sweet potatoes. Just experiment, a little extra flavor may be all that is needed.

It's a good idea to set up a meal schedule to stick to daily. Toddlers and children love daily routines. They like to know what's coming next, it provides them with a sense of comfort and control. You should decide where you're going to eat, it should be at a table or at least not in front of the television, we all tend to get lazy, eat more, and eat more of the wrong thing, when we're sitting in front of the television.

Treats are great. Every young child or toddler loves treats, ice cream, cake, even yummy pizza. There's nothing wrong with letting your child eat these things, as long as it's in moderation. It's important to teach your child how to eat sweets and treats responsibly, banning them from ever having a cookie will backfire. Planning a light dessert, like two cookies after diner should keep them on the right track.

It's the most important thing you can do for your kids, give them healthy habits that will last a life time.