The food your child eats is important not only now but also for the rest of his or her life. A small child is going to need various types of foods for energy to play, grow, and to build a healthy body. Muscles and bones are forming over the first fifteen years of life, and when eating the right types of foods and including smart nutrition your child is more likely to avoid sickness and to ward off some types of disease.

Your child’s nutrition

Your child’s nutrition is going to start with you. You child is going to see what foods you eat, and when you are more likely to eat them, and your child is going to build their own habits from those habits he or she sees you following. If you eat breakfast on the go, all the time, your child will feel this is normal and ok, but you should be sitting down to a breakfast every morning for good nutrition basics. Even if you are eating a bowl of cereal or you are enjoying a glass of juice, taking five minutes will encourage better eating habits.

Nutrition for your child’s health

Healthy beginnings start with fruits, vegetables and good portions of meats. The food pyramid is going to be important in the early stages of life so that your child will learn to eat many types of foods, and not only the foods they like the taste and looks of. Giving your child many options in life will help them pick foods that are better for them in the long run. Healthy children are not going to eat burgers and fries for every meal, but they will have a well-rounded life with nutrition builders such as fruits, vegetables, meat, and variations of these builders.

Teaching good habits for your child’s nutrition awareness will start with reading labels. Learn about what preservatives and additives are in some of the foods you are eating, and then talk about these with your child as they grow. Include foods that are all natural, or that contain very little preservatives for a solid start in their understanding of nutrition.

Be patient.

Don’t try to force your children to eat if they refuse to finish their meal. By creating drama in the kitchen, you set a bad tone for the future. Kids will automatically think of mealtime as a negative experience and will only become more reluctant when it comes to eating. Be persistent by offering a variety of foods along with those you know they like. As new foods become familiar, your children will be more likely to try them.

* Remember, timing is everything. In the midst of a dinnertime showdown, children don’t want to hear all of the reasons why they should eat the food sitting on their plate.