Your Health

Your role as a parent

Eating healthy may require more than motivation alone. As parent, you can help make the healthy choice the easy choice.

Consider trying the following:

• Keep plenty of fruits and vegetables in the house.
• Have portable snacks like portioned raw veggies in the fridge.
• Cut up fresh fruits and make bowls of fruit salad.
• Plan and shop with your kids to increase their buy-in regarding the types of fruits and vegetable you purchase.

Here are some other tips to help caring parents support healthy eating in the teen years:

• Don't nag your kids to eat healthy because it's not going to work. The teen years are marked by a drive for autonomy. This is often a time when teens take on a particular eating style such as vegetarianism. Support your child's decision by taking an active role in helping them learn how to make healthy choices within their chosen diet. A great resource for vegetarianism is the book "Becoming Vegetarian" written by Registered Dietitians Vesanto Melina and Brenda Davis.
• Teach children from a young age what healthy eating looks like and why it's important to make nutritious choices. Messages such as "we drink milk because it helps bones grow strong" will demonstrate the value in food choices.
• Model healthy behaviours yourself. It is well known that children imitate what their parents do. This trait doesn't stop at adolescence. Make it a priority to eat healthy, together as a family.
• Involve teens in meal planning and preparation. You'll increase buy-in if they feel they have a say. If your child has enough experience in the kitchen, why not allow them to plan and cook a meal on their own for the whole family?

Back to "Power up"

	About Wave Wave is published six times a year by the Winnipeg Health Region in cooperation with the Winnipeg Free Press. It is available at newsstands, hospitals and clinics throughout Winnipeg, as well as McNally Robinson Books. Read the September / October 2012 issue of Wave