Community Choice

Q: How can we get our children to eat healthy?

A: Most people think it would be easy to start your children off at a young age, with proper eating habits. However, a lot of the time this is not the case. They live by example. In many cases, if the child sees the adult eating certain foods, they will follow suit.

Here are some recommendations on how to get them to eat or drink a bit healthier. Please keep in mind, not every child is the same. So different suggestions may work for some children and not others.

1) Children love most things that are colorful - set up a paint with food session. Lay out some butcher paper and gather veggies and fruits of bright fun colors. With each small dish of your food pick, lay out a pallet of different pureed food that they can paint with their fingers. Let them know its eatable, so they can lick their fingers clean. Then if they like the way it tastes on their fingers, you can show them the actual fruit or veggie that made their yummy color of choice. Do this enough, and they may start to munch on the actual fruit and veggie while painting as to licking their fingers clean.

2) Out To Eat - Lots of children, love the idea of McDonald's because of the toy and happy meal box they get. So make your own happy meal box. You can go to Joann or Michael's craft stores, and get your own happy meal boxes. Granted you will have to design it yourself, but that gives you a fun activity to do with your child. Build and Make the Ultimate Happy Meal Box. Then fill it with the goodies you want to see in a happy meal. Fruits, Yogurts, Nuts, String Cheese, Etc. As for toys get things they can do outside, like sidewalk chalk, water guns, etc.

3) Present Wraps - Go to your grocery store and get any type of Baking Paper. That night, when you go to make dinner, prepare everything in the baking paper, wrap them like presents, and set them in the oven to bake or stay heated. Your seasons and spices will remain in the package. Take some veggies that are great to eat raw and cut them up like confetti, cut some strawberries up to look like a bow and decorate your Present Wrap. Place it all on a plate and call it, Surprise Dinner Wraps. Make it fun and easy for your child to enjoy what they need to eat.