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Hi
I worked out that when my daughter was round 5yrs old, that she was old enough to understand the “4 basic food groups” principle.
So I proceeded to teach her about this at each meal, teaching her which types of food fit into which category – she quite enjoyed it because it felt like a game. I was careful to explain the benefits of each kind, and why we need them i.e. proteins for ‘strong muscles to help with jungle gym climbing’ and vitamins for ‘helping your body’s soldiers to fit the baddy germs that make you sick’, etc
She really took to this to the extent that one day, when a friend asked her ‘what’s your favourite food?’ , instead of the usual suspects, she answered “carbs!”
How this has helped is that SHE will point now out to ME when her meal is not balanced, and therefore be prepared to take a carrot stick with her peanut butter sandwich, even though she doesn’t really enjoy it.
And the bonus, I explained to her one day that junk food, sweets, chips, etc have virtually no nutritional value for growing kids, and this has really helped her become sensible about how much junk she will eat – although she loves the junk, she’s prepared to have some sweets and save some for later or the next day, after she’s eaten a good balanced meal.
She’s now almost 7yrs old and all still works perfectly.
It works for us, but perhaps it’s a combination of sensible parenting, and a sensible kid?
From
A mom working hard at it!
I worked out that when my daughter was round 5yrs old, that she was old enough to understand the “4 basic food groups” principle.
So I proceeded to teach her about this at each meal, teaching her which types of food fit into which category – she quite enjoyed it because it felt like a game. I was careful to explain the benefits of each kind, and why we need them i.e. proteins for ‘strong muscles to help with jungle gym climbing’ and vitamins for ‘helping your body’s soldiers to fit the baddy germs that make you sick’, etc
She really took to this to the extent that one day, when a friend asked her ‘what’s your favourite food?’ , instead of the usual suspects, she answered “carbs!”
How this has helped is that SHE will point now out to ME when her meal is not balanced, and therefore be prepared to take a carrot stick with her peanut butter sandwich, even though she doesn’t really enjoy it.
And the bonus, I explained to her one day that junk food, sweets, chips, etc have virtually no nutritional value for growing kids, and this has really helped her become sensible about how much junk she will eat – although she loves the junk, she’s prepared to have some sweets and save some for later or the next day, after she’s eaten a good balanced meal.
She’s now almost 7yrs old and all still works perfectly.
It works for us, but perhaps it’s a combination of sensible parenting, and a sensible kid?
From
A mom working hard at it!
