Simple + Practical Nutrition Advice To Keep Kids Full, Happy + Growing
How do you keep little busy bodies growing and healthy?
Start with the good stuff!
The good stuff is delicious, healthy food that keeps them full, and gives them the right sort of energy they need to get through the day and keep their brain active.
“We have such a great opportunity to set babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers up for life by instilling healthy habits at a young age,” says Lindsay Loomes, General Manager of Explorers Learning Academy in Mittagong.
“We want our kids to grow with positive attitudes about their bodies and health, and serving up the right balance of food will do just that.”
“They need to learn to make good choices for themselves.”
Awesome!
So, here’s some simple and practical tips to help your mini-Highlander embrace the concept of healthy eating.
1 :: Give kids autonomy and independence around food
Kids love doing things for themselves, so use that to your advantage by giving them a little bit more control around what they eat.
“At Explorers, we encourage the children to serve themselves,” Lindsay says.
“We place food in the middle of the table which means they can select what they would like to eat and place it on their plate.”
Doing this at home can remove a lot of the stress that can sometimes be associated with mealtime.
Giving them a bit more control over what they place on their plates and where can help with kids who might not like certain things like sauce touching the potato or don’t like food mixed together.
“While we’re giving kids control over what they serve themselves, it’s actually the parents and carers who are in control,” Lindsay explains.
“We choose what food we place out for them to select, knowing we’ve given the children what they need but they’re in control of what they put on their plate. Everyone wins!”
Kids love feeling independent and allowing kids to serve themselves is a powerful way to teach them to be responsible for themselves, their health and their bodies.
But, we have to ask….will they be able to self-moderate?
“Absolutely, kids are actually very good at this,” says Lindsay.
“Parents and carers just need to be patient, guide when needed and give the kids some time to adjust and learn when serving themselves.”
2 :: Snack attack
How many times have you heard “I’m huuuuuuungreeeeeeeeeee….” ?
Every second minute it seems. Growing bodies burn up a lot of energy so need to refuel regularly.
Snacks between meals is absolutely fine but keep them healthy to make sure their energy boost is a slow burn, rather than a hectic sugar high that’s followed by a slump [and usually some sort of meltdown – we’ve allll been there!].
“We always have a bowl of fruit available for kids to self-serve. They’re welcome to grab a piece of fruit throughout the day when they’re hungry,” says Lindsay.
“This reiterates the point we made earlier about empowering children to self moderate and control their food choices. We just make sure they have access to healthy choices.”
Check out this sample menu Explorers use for some snack inspo at home!
3 :: Make it easy to handle
Food is a sensory experience.
“We know that young children touch everything, so food needs to be an experience where they get a chance to explore the different textures,” Lindsay says.
“Children also need to access a range of different foods to help develop their palate, so we keep on serving foods in the hope that one day, they might try and like it.
Try not to give in and say they don’t like a particular food because one day they may just decide they like it!
It’s just about consistency, encouragement and not making a big deal about it,” Lindsay suggests.
Making food an enjoyable experience sets kids up for looking forward to meal times rather than dreading them.
Kids also love getting a bit messy and hands-on with their food. That’s half the fun of it, right?
4 :: Water water water everywhere
Make water easily available to kids, especially during the warmer months.
Children can dehydrate quickly, especially when they’re zipping around the place like they do!
It’s recommended toddlers drink up to a litre per day and pre-schoolers around 1.2 litres a day.
5 :: Get the kids involved
Children enjoy role playing which provides opportunities for teachable moments.
“A group of children at Explorers might be going ‘shopping’ and loading up their baskets with items to take back to the play toy kitchen to prepare a feast,” says Lindsay.
“This is where our educators would take the opportunity to add another layer of learning on the children’s creative play and prompt a discussion about healthy food.”
You can go one step further at home and involve your child in the meal planning, shopping, preparation, cooking and serving up of their meals too.
It’s fun to get kids in the kitchen and teach them their meals don’t just miraculously appear on the dinner table!
If they’re more involved in the process, they’re more likely to eat it too.
6 :: Show them where their food comes from
We’re so lucky to live in an area where amazing farmers produce beautiful fresh food for us.
So, why not take advantage of that and show your kids where their food actually comes from?
Educate them about how important supporting local and buying fresh food is for their health and the environment by taking them on a farm tour or stopping at a local farmgate stall to buy fresh produce.
“We have taken our children at Explorers on field trips to places like a potato farm in Robertson where children can see firsthand where their food comes from,” Lindsay says.
“We also have our own chickens. The children love collecting the eggs in the morning and once a week, Mel or Irma [our cooks at Belmore Street] make scrambled eggs for morning tea.”
“At our Etheridge Street centre, our cooks Steph and Maria have amazing veggie patches where they grow herbs and veggies to use too. So the children really do get to experience paddock to plate in their own backyards!”
7 :: Be patient
Kids can be messy eaters, slow eaters, fussy eaters, awesome eaters, or only eat red food one day and orange food the next!
Eating is another learning experience for them, so it’s important to be patient and not attach negative emotions to mealtimes or specific types of food. That can be stressful for everyone!
Awesome tips! Thanks Lindsay!
Hey gang, here’s an easy dish the Explorers Learning Academy team have shared with us.
Give this Savoury Baked Beans recipe a go – it’s packed with veggies and super easy for us parents wearing 259 hats right now to whip up!!
Let us know how you go.
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