Food and healthy eating: Children and youth
As a parent or caregiver, it is important to role model healthy eating habits and ensure nutritious foods are offered to your child as much as possible.
Offering a variety of foods from Canada’s Food Guide throughout the day can help ensure your child or teen is getting the nutrition they need to grow well. Children and youth are going through many changes. They are growing quickly and need to eat frequent and nutritious meals. They may also be picky about the foods they eat or have certain likes and dislikes. As they get older, they may start eating away from home more often with their friends.
Check out these tips for feeding children and youth:
- Be a good role model (Unlockfood.ca). As a parent, you have a big influence over the food that is offered to your children and where meals take place. Offer nutritious foods at the table and try to keep mealtimes enjoyable.
- Have meals together as a family often (Canada’s Food Guide). Make time each week to sit together at the table with no distractions. Mealtimes are a great time to talk about the events of the day. Check out this video for more tips (Unlockfood.ca).
- Planning ahead helps (Canada’s Food Guide). Take some time each week to plan the meals you want to eat for the week. This helps cut down your grocery bill, minimize food waste, and makes it easier to cook nutritious meals.
- Keep mealtimes pressure-free. Remember, picky eating (Unlockfood.ca) is normal and your reaction is what is most important. Avoid bribing or forcing children to eat. It does not help! Allow children to listen to their hunger cues to decide how much they want to eat. They know when they are hungry and when they are full. As a parent, your role is to offer nutritious foods at the table.
- Get your child or teenager involved in preparing meals (Canada’s Food Guide). This way, they can help choose what they want to eat and learn new skills. Depending on their age, they might be able to help wash and chop vegetables, set the table, or mix ingredients. It is a great way to spend time together, and they are more likely to eat the food they help make.
- Help children feel good about themselves. Children come in all different shapes and sizes. Teach them this and help them realize that the images they see in the media are not realistic. Try not to criticize your own body or the bodies of others. Focus on praising your child’s actions and abilities, rather than commenting on how they look. This helps develop positive self-esteem and body image.
This item was last modified on October 3, 2024