Getting your child off to a good start can prevent health problems later. With back to school right around the corner, it’s a great time to develop good lifelong eating habits.
Seven Rules for Healthy Eating
These seven rules for healthy eating helps to raise a healthy eater by defining what the parent is in charge of and what the child is in charge of with regard to their meals and snacks.
1. Responsibility- a parent’s responsibility is to provide nutritious food and regular mealtimes and snack times. Decide where your child should eat. Give food only at the table. Let your child make choices from a variety of good foods. A child’s responsibility is to decide how much to eat.
2. Respect- respect a child’s need to be guarded about trying new foods. Encourage, yet never force a child to try something new.
3. Resist- resist power struggles. Don’t make mealtimes a battle. Choosing to eat is your child’s job. Your job is to provide healthy food and to keep the atmosphere relaxed.
4. Reinforce-reinforce good eating habits. Don’t purchase sugar cereals. Ignore whining for junk food, yet do allow your child to have an occasional treat. Avoid using food as a way to keep a child entertained. Establish regular meal and snack times. Set a good example by eating and enjoying a variety of foods. Your child learns by watching you!
5. Replace- Don’t allow a child to carry around a bottle or cup of milk, juice or soda. This encourages eating for comfort not hunger.
6. Recognize- learn to recognize correct portion sizes. Offer your child the correct portion sizes
7. Relax! Providing healthy foods, regular times for meals and snacks and a calm, relaxing environment will help set the pace for healthy eating.
Family meals are extremely important for you and your family. It is a perfect time to engage in conversations about the day. Children who have frequent family meals:
• Develop good manners and eating habits
• Improve conversation skills
• Learn to compromise and not always have their favorite foods
• Eat more vegetables
• Are frequently happier
• Do better in school
• Often avoid teenage problems such as eating disorders and substance abuse
Start today having family dinners as many nights as possible!
Resources: American Academy Pediatrics/family dinners
Author: Beth Stefura M Ed, RD, LD, Family & Consumer Science, Ohio State University Extension, Mahoning County, stefura.2@osu.edu
Reviewer: Elizabeth Smith, RD,LD, Program Specialist, SNAP-Ed, Ohio State University Extension, smith.3993@osu.edu
Live Healthy Live Well 
Many people don’t realize that exposing children to a variety of healthy foods gives them the ability to make healthy food choices. We as parents mustn’t assume that children want the sugariest, processed foods that are marketed to them. Give them healthy options and they just may like it.
My seven-year-old turns down unhealthy foods, because I have been honest with him about what they do to our bodies. We owe it to our children to have a real discussion about the consequences of unhealthy eating.