Child Health

A Recipe for Good Eating Habits and Self-Esteem

(ARA) - Moms are learning that involving kids in the kitchen is a fun and easy way to teach good eating habits and helps foster a sense of independence. Eating nutritious food makes a child healthier and more emotionally stable, and can even help improve school performance.

A nourishing breakfast provides energy to start the school day. On their own, many kids choose sweet and unhealthy foods, such as doughnuts, that provide little more than a quick sugar rush. Providing options enables kids to make smart decisions about their diet. For instance, let your child pick from different types of cereals and choose add-ins such as nuts, raisins and other fruits.

Often the first meal that parents let kids make for themselves is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Skippy peanut butter has made the process easier and safer than ever before by introducing Squeez' It, the first peanut butter in a tube. The product comes with a special spreader cap that eliminates the need to use a knife. Skippy Squeez' It is also easy to spread onto healthy foods, such as apples, banana slices, celery sticks or yogurt.

"Kids love to help make meals, and their involvement in eating decisions is an important step in social development," says Eibhlin Donlon-Farry, DSW, CSW, an expert in child development. "As children grow up, they seek greater self-reliance, and the ability to make a sandwich or simple snack can be an incredibly empowering experience. Making his or her own meals reinforces a child's sense of independence and achievement."

After school snacks don't have to be unhealthy. Parents can make a list of approved nutritious snacks for their kids. Options include trail mix, cheese sticks, popcorn, banana chips or even orange juice popsicles. If your child is a peanut butter fan, Skippy peanut butter has also introduced Squeeze Stix, single servings of peanut butter in portable tubes that can hold over hunger pangs until dinner.

A little creativity and flexibility can make children feel part of the dinner process. Let your kids suggest which foods you will prepare for dinner. Then help them serve themselves and decide how much to put on their plates. Children should be expected to taste every dish. If they don't like it, they don't have to eat more, but expanding food horizons is a natural result. Meanwhile, the sense of family involvement and feelings of empowerment grow.