By Idiong Akpanuko
Everyone, including children, develops natural likeness for food, they enjoy the most and as time goes on this likeness for foods turns into habit.
It has to be said here, that healthy eating is not all about strict adherence to nutritional diet.
Rather, it is all about feeling great, and keeping one’s self as healthy as possible.
Concerning children and nutrition, as they are young, they require the same healthy foods adults eat, along with major vitamins and minerals to support growing bodies.
For these reasons, healthy eating can be promoted through offering a variety of food to children right from tender age. Such foods must be as nutritious and wholesome as possible, while allowing for some of their favorite treats.
Therefore, parents and caregivers while planning for children’s diets, should try to cut down open processed foods and sugary items.
Some health problems people encounter at adulthood are simply the culminations of unhealthy eating habits developed at tender age.
It should be considered that an important part of children’s food must be calcium-rich foods that would prevent iron deficiency, which can affect their growth, learning and behavior.
At school age, eating becomes a social activity in this stage of life, as children probably spend more time in school than they do at home, parents should instill in them eating habits that should keep them healthy all the time. They should not give them any chance to adopt unhealthy eating habit from their peers at school.
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Children should be trained to understand that eating home cooked meal is healthier for the whole family and this would set a good example for the young people about the importance of eating healthy foods.
Also parents, should have time to discuss different fruits and vegetables with their children such as where the items are cultivated and how they are prepared for consumption.
To really support a healthy growth in children, foods with more vitamins and minerals, such as wheat, oaths, millet, as well as a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetable, should be given high premium.
According to experts children need some amount of calcium, in addition to healthy proteinous items like fish, eggs, poultry, lean meat, nuts and seeds.
Healthy eating habits, are pretty well set at infant stage before children grow into adults. If the child’s choices are less than the ideal, it can only be a challenging time for a course correction
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