{"id":4624,"date":"2016-02-08T07:00:41","date_gmt":"2016-02-08T07:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/craftykidsathome.com\/?p=4624"},"modified":"2018-05-17T09:06:40","modified_gmt":"2018-05-17T08:06:40","slug":"developing-healthy-eating-habits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/craftykidsathome.com\/developing-healthy-eating-habits\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Bother to Feed Your Kids a Healthy Diet?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Teaching your children to eat healthily can seem like an overwhelming task. However much you try to offer healthy options, they naturally reach for the biscuits, the chips, the cakes. They automatically choose the unhealthy option. Actually, when you know how and are in the habit of doing so, it\u2019s easy to feed your children a healthy diet<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"How<\/p>\n

Welcome to Dr Orlena Kerek who has kindly provided\u00a0Crafty Kids at Home\u00a0with a 3-part series all about developing healthy eating habits from an early age.<\/p>\n

Dr Orlena Kerek is a pediatric doctor and mother of four young children. She writes about developing healthy habits from an early age, especially healthy eating habits. She believes in fun healthy food the stress free way. You can find her over at <\/em>Snotty Noses.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Part 1 – Why Bother to Feed you Kids a Healthy Diet?<\/h2>\n

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.<\/em><\/p>\n

First of all, let\u2019s take a step back. Let us have a look at the situation from afar. I want you to let go of all the stress that is involved around eating, especially eating healthy foods.<\/p>\n

Let me explain.<\/p>\n

Why do you want your children to eat a healthy diet? Yes, I know it\u2019s important, but WHY is it important? What are you, or more importantly your children going to gain from eating healthily?<\/p>\n

The Short Term Benefits of Feeding your\u00a0Children a Healthy Diet<\/h2>\n

First of all, there are what we call \u201cshort term benefits\u201d. Those are all the good things that your children will get right now and in the immediate future. For children, that\u2019s avoiding being constipated (which is a big problem and very painful). Plus they will avoid childhood weight problems and obesity.<\/p>\n

If your children don\u2019t suffer from the above, why bother? Surely they can just start to eat healthily as an adult and fill up on junk as a child? In theory, that could happen. The reality is that it doesn\u2019t. Our eating habits form as children. We can change them as adults, but most people don\u2019t.<\/p>\n

\"Free<\/a><\/p>\n

The Long Term Benefits of Feeding your Children a Healthy Diet<\/h2>\n

The other group of benefits that we get are called \u201clong term benefits\u201d and those are the ones that we\u2019ll see when our children are adults. This is where healthy eating REALLY pays off. The benefits here are HUGE.<\/p>\n

If you eat healthily, you have less chance of being overweight (you won\u2019t be overweight unless you have medical problem), you are unlikely to get type 2 diabetes, you have much less chance of heart disease. And here\u2019s the icing on the cake, you have a reduced risk of getting lots of cancers.<\/p>\n

\"Why<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Developing Healthy Eating Habits<\/h2>\n

In short, you are more likely to live longer AND live a healthy, active life. Awesome eh? Just from eating fruit and vegetables and less junk.<\/p>\n

This may make you feel stressed about making sure that your children eat healthily but actually it\u2019s great news. You have time on your side. It doesn\u2019t matter right now if they don\u2019t eat that carrot, that bit of broccoli. It doesn\u2019t matter if they eat one too many biscuits, or only have bread for lunch.<\/p>\n

What is important is that you teach them to enjoy healthy food. You teach them to want to eat vegetables. You teach them that junk food is a treat, not everyday food.<\/p>\n

You teach them healthy eating\u00a0habits.<\/p>\n

Habits don\u2019t form overnight. It takes time to teach your children to eat healthily. That\u2019s OK, you have their entire childhood.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not saying you should forget about it and come back to in when they\u2019re 18. Quite the opposite. I\u2019m saying you need to work on it EVERY SINGLE DAY.<\/p>\n

But.
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