When it comes to learning about healthy eating, the younger, the better! Children need to develop healthy eating habits when they are young in order to maintain good oral health and their overall well-being. Of course, this isn’t always easy. There is so much misinformation out there and plenty of foods that are advertised as healthy are actually not – hello hidden sugar! Here are some helpful tips to teach kids about healthy foods and the impact they have on their chompers.
As we’ve said before, food art is a great way to introduce more variety into your kid’s diet in a fun and less pressurized way. This way kids are already familiar with most of the foods before you even start explaining the benefits.
Explain what healthy means. Healthy means you’re not sick and you feel good. You’re able to run, play, and grow.
Explain what a cavity is and how germs grow. Kool Smiles has a helpful post on this!
Ask the children what foods they think are healthy. It’s okay if they get it wrong – don’t be negative and always make sure to reinforce the correct answers!
Use games and fun pictures. There’s no reason why learning has to be all talk and no play. Reinforce their learning with games and activities like this handy little matchmaking sheet we’ve made. Print it out and give it to your kids for some fun practical learning.
