Healthy Eating Activities for Kids

December 2, 2021
Written by:
Guest Author
Elementary Homeschool, Homeschool High School, Homeschooling Middle School, Parenting

Guest post by Heidi Rosenberg

Homeschooling is a challenging prospect, but it is now becoming more of a norm thanks to the pandemic raging all over the world. Proper nutrition can help to ward off many different kinds of illnesses, even as it lengthens our life spans, and eases our discomfort. Learning all about proper nutrition can ensure that our children won’t have to end up struggling with obesity and other conditions later on in their adult life.  If you teach your homeschooled kids properly, you may rest assured that they will learn sound diet techniques quite naturally and without any sort of difficulty. Let us look at ways to make sure that your homeschooled children adopt healthy eating practices.

Have Food Challenges That Involve Everyone

Many kids respond very well to challenges if you think of them as a sort of game. It doesn’t have to be something really competitive with lots of pressure as long as they are loads of fun. They would work well with homeschooled kids who have issues with certain types of food. For example, there is the A-Z food challenge where you ask them the names of various healthy food items. There is the “Eat your fruit and vegetables” challenge where the one who finishes his or her greens first gets a prize. You can also ask them to make art with their food, and finally, there is the “guess the size of the serving” challenge.

Moderation is Very Important

The winning key to just about any healthy diet is not to go all out and give up everything they like that might be unhealthy. This will just lead to resentment and rebellion. You have to allow them to eat some unhealthy food items provided that they eat healthy most of the time.  You can allow a bi-monthly “all you can eat” binge of anything their little hearts desire if they are willing to eat their veggies and fruits over the intervening period. If you won’t allow them an outlet for their taste buds, they will eventually find some way to indulge themselves and would refuse to eat what you make for them. This is the best of both worlds where everyone gets what they want.

The same applies to high school kids as well. You can get more tips on homeschooling high school kids here.

Teach Portion ControlHealthy Eating Activities for Kids

A key problem today with homeschooled kids is not so much that they eat junk food but that they eat too much of it. The average portion size is meant for adults and is just too big. People all over the world do indulge in poor food choices, but they temper them down with smaller portions. A simple way to do this is to go from double to single serving for your kids. It won’t be easy at first, especially if they are used to eating all they want. Nevertheless, you can do this by using smaller plates, cups, and spoons. In time, they will get used to it. If they are still hungry afterward, you can always give them something healthy as a post-meal treat.

Teach the Difference Between Carbs, Proteins, and Fats

You can make a song about it and sing along with them. While we need all three of these food groups, we have to know just how much to eat and when to do so.  If they are getting too many carbs via white bread, switch to its brown version. Make sure they don’t take fats in very high quantities and also check their protein intake.

Augment Their Diet with Supplements

Sometimes, food alone is not enough and you will have to give them healthy supplements and vitamins, such as magnesium gummies for kids, in order to ensure that they grow up strong and healthy. These supplements will go a long way towards taking care of any deficiencies they may have in their diets.

Conclusion

Kids don’t yet know what is best for them, so you will have to take care of their diets for them. You can teach them moderation and portion control, as well as the differences between various food groups so they learn to appreciate healthy food items.

This article was contributed by Heidi Rosenberg.

 

Additional Homeschool Resources

Keeping Homeschool Kids Active and Healthy

How Physical Activity Can Help You Make Friends

Homeschool Healthy Kid-Friendly Snacks

 

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