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Junk foods are becoming increasingly harder to avoid in our society. They have little to no nutritional value and are available at nearly every store in the country. Every kid loves to eat junk food because it tastes delicious. That’s why many parents are concerned about how to limit junk food intake for kids. Since it is a family duty to make sure that kids develop healthy habits, parents need to help children learn to limit or stop eating junk food. In this article, we have come up with some tips to help you limit junk food intake for kids.

Why Should Parents Limit Junk Food Intake For Kids?

Junk foods are known to be high in fat and sugar. These unhealthy ingredients increase the risk of heart diseases, diabetes, and other health problems. If your child eats mostly junk foods, chances are she is not getting enough nutrients from fruits and vegetables. This lack of nutrients can lead to poor brain development in kids. Although junk foods taste good, they are not good for the body as they do not provide any vital nutrients like proteins, vitamins, minerals, and fibers which are important for a healthy body. Therefore it is important that children eat healthy foods instead of eating junk food all the time. If children eat junk food excessively, they are more likely to develop social problems at an early age. They might become aggressive or hyperactive because of the high sugar content in junk foods.

How To Limit Junk Food Intake For Kids?

To help your kids stop eating junk foods and start eating healthy foods, you should first find out why your child loves to eat junk food so much. It could be that your child just likes the taste of it, but it is also possible that she is getting influenced by advertisements on TV or other social factors. Once you have found out a reason, you can come up with ways to limit junk food intake for kids. Here are some tips that you can use:

1. Set the right example

If you want to see your kids eat healthy foods, you should also eat healthy. You can start by choosing the right type of foods for your child and make sure that he eats them as well. For instance, if you always choose apples over other fruits, it will be easy for your child to take an apple instead of other fruits at the dinner table. You can set a good example and make it easier for your child to follow.

Also, It is important that your child sees you eating healthy foods and not eating junk foods. You should eat healthy foods even when nobody is around to see you or your child. This way, your child will have a good example to follow and realize that healthy foods are a part of the family’s daily routine.

2. Get your kids involved

If your child is involved in making the food, she is more likely to eat it. For example, if you are making a salad for dinner, get your child to help you by peeling or chopping vegetables. If cooking is not possible, you can involve your child in preparing snacks. You can have a cookery class at home where your children can learn to prepare healthy snacks with you.

Additionally, when you go grocery shopping, allow your child to choose his fruits and vegetables. You can make a game out of it by asking your child to guess what each fruit or vegetable offers to make it more interesting.

3. Have happy meals at home

Family meals are important because they help build positive relationships, create a strong bond between your children and you, and allow your children to be involved in healthy eating. Therefore, it is important that you have family meals at home regularly. When you prepare food together, it is easier to ensure that the food is healthy because everyone can have a say in what goes into the meal. Family meals also allow you to teach your children about eating healthy food and how to maintain a balanced diet.

In addition, Eating at home not only helps you control what your child eats but also it is cheaper as well. It will also allow you to prepare healthy meals that are not available at restaurants which can be another advantage of staying away from these eateries.

4. Disguise the taste of healthier foods

If you want your child to eat healthy foods but are not ready to try them, there are ways to make the food taste better without adding any unhealthy ingredients. You can mix fruits or vegetables in vegetable soup or add some sugar-free syrup or jelly to it. You can also add sugar-free vanilla syrup to carrot or apple juice to make the juice taste better.

5. Reward children for good behavior

Children are more likely to do good things if they get rewards. After eating a healthy meal, you can give them stars, stickers, or whatever they value. It will help them develop their sense of responsibility and encourage them to continue eating healthy foods and avoid junk food as much as possible. Give them the reward immediately after they have eaten a healthy meal so that they remember why they are getting the reward in the first place and understand what it entails. But remember not to overdo it as they might start misbehaving just to get a reward. So, limit the rewards and use them wisely. 

6. Have a snack plan

A snack plan is very important as it allows you to control what your child eats between meals and when they are hungry. Make sure you plan out your snacks at the beginning of the week so that you can include healthy snack options like fruits, vegetables, nuts, or juice on your menu. However, if you are going out for the day or on a long trip, you can prepare some healthy snacks for your children before leaving so that they do not feel hungry and crave unhealthy food. Packages of prepared vegetables are also available in some stores if you do not have time to prepare the vegetables yourself.

7. Keep junk food out of sight

Out of sight is out of mind, so if junk food is not available in your home, your children will not feel tempted by it. Therefore, it is important that you keep the junk food out of the house and make healthy foods easily available. If you want to keep junk food at home for guests or yourself and your children are around, make sure that they do not see you eating it. This way, they will be encouraged to eat healthy foods instead.

8. Control your child’s TV time

TV commercials for junk food are the biggest reason children love to eat junk food. So it is important that you control your child’s TV time to limit the amount of time he watches television. If you can, get rid of the TV at home and try to go out more often with your children so that they do not have as much time to watch television. In addition, when you do let your children watch TV, try to limit their watching time only for educational channels or when you are in their company.

9. Don’t ban junk food

Banning junk food will only make your child want to eat it more. Instead, allow your children to eat junk food once in a while. However, you should remind them that it should be eaten as an occasional treat and not all the time. You can tell them about the harmful effects of these foods and explain why they should not be eaten frequently.

10. Start Gardening

If you can, start a garden at your home. Gardening is an easy way for children to get involved in healthy eating. It is fun to grow vegetables and fruits in your garden and eat them right off the plant. It will also be a learning experience for your child because he can learn how fruits and vegetables grow from the seeds they plant. It will instill a sense of ownership in your child, making him more proud to eat what he has grown. Gardening can also be a great activity for you to do with your children as it creates opportunities to spend quality time with them. 

11. Encourage children to read books

Reading books is an important tool for children to learn about healthy eating. Reading about nutritious foods will help your child understand what foods are good for him and which ones are not. It will also help your child understand the importance of eating good food. Reading books also enables children to know more about the world around them and helps them better understand their surroundings. Reading books can be done at home with your child or in a park or library. 

There are a lot of books available for children to learn about healthy eating. Some books written to motivate children to eat healthy are Rah, Rah, Radishes: A Vegetable Chant by April Pulley Sayre, Summer Supper by Rubin Pfeffer, and many other books that teach children about healthy eating habits.

12. Create an atmosphere of family fun

Family fun is an important way to encourage children to eat healthy foods. In order to make the food fun, make all the activities related to eating healthy and include them every time you plan a family outing. For example, whenever you go on a picnic, make sure that enough fruits are available for the whole family to eat. Or pack healthy finger snacks like pita chips or raw vegetable sticks when you go out to play some game outside so that the whole family can enjoy them. This way, the children will love eating healthy foods, and children who do not like any of these foods will also enjoy them because they will have a chance to try them in different ways.

Conclusion: Junk foods are addictive and delicious, but the negative effects on our health are well documented. However, even though there are many reasons to encourage children to eat healthy foods, do not forget that they are still young individuals who have the ability to make decisions for themselves. 

As a parent, you can decide which method is best for your child and what will work for his age. Since the best way to avoid junk food is not to give any of it in their homes, you should keep junk food out of sight in your home and avoid giving children candy or junk food gifts. This way, you can ensure that they would be encouraged to eat good food as much as possible and not be tempted by junk foods. You may also consider all the other tips above to help you encourage your children to eat healthy foods and avoid junk food intake.

Author Bio

Andrea is currently the head of content management at SpringHive Web Design Company, a digital agency that provides creative web design, social media marketing, email marketing, and search engine optimization services to small businesses and entrepreneurs. She is also a blog contributor at Baby Steps Preschool where she writes storytime themes, parenting tips, and seasonal activities to entertain children.