Week 3: Steps to Teach Children to Eat Healthily

I kept a few things in mind when researching my Genius Hour topic this week. One of my main goals was to review past studies that have been successful in educating children on eating healthily. My research was mainly guided by the question “What are some of the best ways to help children develop positive relationships with food?” I wanted to come up with some specific steps that people could take to help the future generation develop positive eating habits.

Unknown (2017). 12 steps to develop early age Healthy Eating Habits. Retrieved from Anybody Can Bake

One of the main goals that we should be striving to ensure for people, when it comes to eating habits, is that we stay in touch with our “hunger cues”. Too often, people grow older and slowly lose this ability due to dieting and overeating cycles. We need to focus our efforts in this regard on children, since humans are born knowing to eat when we’re hungry and stop when we’re full (Alli, 2016). This is easy to ignore, however, when we are surrounded by snacks and giant portions. Therefore, to help kids listen to their bodies, we should avoid pushing them to have “one more bite” or to finish their plate (Swanson, 2014). Instead, we need to listen to children when they ask for more or say that they are full, since they know their own bodies the best.

As adults, we must also ensure that we are modeling good eating habits for youth. If you push your kids to eat spinach but won’t touch it yourself, your children will pick up on this and not want to eat these foods either. In contrast, if all you eat is fast food, your children will grow up thinking that this is the norm and want to do it themselves (Alli, 2016).

Another main aim when trying to facilitate such eating habits for children is to create positive eating environments. In particular, try to eat meals together (as a family or with friends). While eating is meant to fuel our bodies with nutrients, it is just as much a social endeavour. “We have to eat; we like to eat; eating makes us feel good” is how Robin Fox (2019) explains the anthropological perspective of eating. Food is not only fuel, but it is also an occasion meant to be enjoyed with others. Forcing children to eat alone or in front of the television is a disservice to them and their relationship with food. In other words, food is more than just nutrition; it provides people with a sense of contentment and security (Dunbar, 2017). Mealtimes provide an opportunity for children, adolescents, and adults to interact and understand one another (Mental Health UK, 2020).

Welch, A. (2015). The Sneaky Chef's 7 Tips to Get Kids Eating Healthy. Retrieved from Everyday Health

Another extremely important element when creating positive experiences with food for children is to consider mental health related to food. Having positive conversations about different eating lifestyles can teach kids not to feel shame around food and not to shame others (Sweeney, 2019). Sweeney adds that we must not focus on weight or dieting during conversations about healthy eating, since this will directly negate the positive food relationship that we are trying to create. She concludes by advocating that it is okay to occasionally incorporate less-than-healthy foods into meal plans, and not to stress if a child will not eat certain things. All in all, it is crucial to keep conversations around food positive and to avoid making negative comments about anyone’s appearance or eating patterns (Muth, 2019).

References

Alli, R.A. (2016). Teaching Kids to Eat Healthy. Web MD. Retrieved from https://www.webmd.com/parenting/guide/food-smart-kids#2

Dunbar, R.I.M. (2017). Breaking Bread: the Functions of Social Eating. Adaptive Human Behaviour and Physiology (2017) 3: 198. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1007/s40750-017-0061-4

Fox, R. (2019). Food and Eating: An Anthropological Perspective. Social Issues Research Centre. Retrieved from http://www.sirc.org/publik/food_and_eating_1.html

Muth, N. (2019). American Academy of Pediatrics. Personal Communication.

Swanson, W.S (2014). No More “Clean Plate Club”. Healthy Children. Retrieved from https://www.healthychildren.org/English/healthy-living/nutrition/Pages/The-Clean-Plate-Club.aspx

Sweeney, E. (2019). How to Teach Children About Healthy Eating, Without Food Shaming. Feeding & Nutrition. Retrieved from https://parenting.nytimes.com/feeding/healthy-eating-habits

Unknown (2020). Mealtimes and mental health. Mental Health UK. Retrieved from https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/m/mealtimes-and-mental-health