How to make sure your kids learn healthy eating habits

Mama, I know that you want what’s best for your kiddos. I know you want them to be happy and healthy. You support them in everything they do. But in the back of your head, are you also worrying about their food habits or their relationship with food? Sometimes we don’t realize that the patterns and habits that we have with food are being passed down to our kids. You want them to do better and have better! Let’s talk about three ways you can make sure you’re not passing down bad food habits to your kids so that they learn how to eat healthily. 

I want to preface this whole discussion with this truth: you are a good mom. Even if your kids eat nothing but junk food right now, that doesn’t make you a bad mom! You only know what you know.

But today is an opportunity to learn so that you can better serve your kids. You’re a great mom. And what we’re going to talk about today is only going to move you further along the super mom scale.

Let me ask you a few questions. Are your kids stuck on the same three foods? Is trying new foods completely out of the question? Do your kids turn up their noses at vegetables?

If you see these, or any other negative food choices, from your kids, I want you to look inside and see if you treat food in the same way. 

Do you cook the same five meals for dinner every night?

Do you grab fast food for lunch every day? 

Do you eat your veggies? 

Most times kids pick up their negative eating habits from us. If you want to lead your family to healthier living, then you have to practice what you preach! Show your kids you’re making the changes and ask them to follow along! Mama, you are the ultimate teacher, use your power to teach your kids how to use food to bless their lives. 

I’m going to give you the three most important food lessons that you can pass down to your kids so that they don’t have to struggle with food and dieting like you have.

Teach your kids what food is used for.

First and foremost, food is fuel! Food is necessary for life! It gives us the energy to grow, play and learn. 

Mama, food shouldn’t be avoided. You must teach your kids that food is what gives our bodies life. You want to create a positive attitude around food so that they don’t develop negative associations with food. 

On the flip side, I also want to talk about what food isn’t for. Food is not a coping mechanism. It is not a way to deal with your problems. 

How many times have you used food to help your kiddos feel better? I see this all the time, and not just in the mamas I coach but in my own family!

My husband uses food for every emotion. He wants to grab dinner to reward our kids for doing well at school. He wants to go get ice cream to lift our kids up when they’re sad or disappointed. Any emotion meant let’s grab a treat. And I love ice cream as much as the next person, but this wasn’t a healthy way to use food.

We had to fight this out and come to a place where we could agree on when a treat was necessary. But we settled on dealing with emotions before food entered the chat. Now our kids have all kinds of tools to handle celebrations as well as negative emotions and sometimes we grab ice cream after dealing with everything. But not every time.

I strongly believe that the way to create a positive relationship with food is to teach our children what it does for our bodies. If you don’t talk about food, it creates a stigma around it and can lead to disordered eating and negative food relationships. Your kids should know that they can talk to you about food - just like anything else!

Teach your kids when carbs, proteins and fats are appropriate.

I’ve taught my kids from a young age, what proteins, fats and carbs are and how they affect our bodies. Kids do not need to count their macros, but they should still learn what macros are and when to eat them.

When my kiddos were little I would teach them about macronutrients by teaching them what each macro did.

So when I’d ask, “What does protein do?” they’d respond, “Protein makes you strong!” and they’d flex their muscles. 

When I’d say, “What do carbs do?” they’d pump their arms like they were running and say “Carbs give you energy!”

When I asked, “What does fat do?” they’d say, “Fat makes you full!” while rubbing their tummies. 

It can be that simple. Knowing what each macro does will help your kiddos start to associate when to eat which one.

For example, if they’re about to head to soccer practice, then we look for a snack that will give them energy and keep them fueled for the entire practice. A good mix of carbs and fat is perfect for that.

After practice, we’ll look for a high-protein snack that also has a good amount of carbs that will help repair, recover and build their muscles after working them out. 

It’s always ok for kids to eat when they’re hungry! They’re growing, playing, learning and all of that excerpts a lot of energy. 

But there are definitely times when kids want to eat out of boredom or habit, and those are perfect times to teach kids about food boundaries.

For example, when kids are watching TV and they want a snack they usually aren’t hungry but they might be bored or just want something for their bodies to do and so they want a snack.

When this happens, I use the broccoli test to see if they’re really hungry or just eating out of boredom.

For the broccoli test, you ask if you’re hungry enough that a bowl of broccoli could satisfy you or even just sounds good because any food would tide you over. 

If the answer is yes, then it’s a good time to eat. 

But if the answer is no, then most likely you aren’t eating out of necessity, but out of boredom. 

If my kids answer no, then we talk about what they’re trying to accomplish by eating. What are they searching for? Do they just have a craving? Are they bored? Are they tired? After chatting about why they want to eat you can decide if a snack is necessary and what kind of snack would be best for them.

All that being said, you can still have fun with food! If you’re doing a family movie night and want to do snacks, that is totally different! Pop some popcorn - a high-fiber snack - and enjoy that family time!

Food shouldn’t be feared. But it should be used responsibly! By going through these exercises with them and teaching them how to choose foods that will fuel their bodies, you’ll give them life-long tools to use when they leave the house!

Teach your kids about balance and moderation.

Finally, and I think this is the most important lesson to teach our kids, there are no good foods or bad foods; only food accountability.

Each food group has a purpose. Sometimes food is used to strengthen our bodies and sometimes it just makes us happy!

I don’t think teaching children to villainize food groups is safe or healthy. It creates a bad relationship with food in general and can lead to disordered eating. 

I don’t teach my kids that sugar is bad. Instead, I teach them that sugar has a place in our diets, and processed sugar isn’t an everyday thing.

I teach my kids to prioritize protein so that they can get used to eating it. Protein is the building block of life - it literally makes up our cells. So kids need to know how to get protein in their diets.

I also teach my kids the importance of carbs, especially because carbs are the brain’s first form of energy. While they’re in school and demanding so much out of their brains and bodies I don’t want them restricting carbs. And I especially don’t want my daughters to think that’s how they “stay skinny.” That’s not healthy.

I encourage my kids to get fat from whole foods first, but not to fear foods that have fats from less healthy sources. 

As long as they’re aiming to do their best, they’ll grow up with a much healthier mindset around food than we did.

One of the hardest things for mamas to pass down to their kids is balance because no one taught us what it was! We hear “eat a balanced diet” all the time, but in our heads balanced doesn’t usually include carbs, fats or sweets! We think it means eating salads and boiled chicken.

Mama, if you want to lead your kiddos, then you have to learn what balance looks like for you first! And that takes education! 

Inside my Macros Made Easy Program, I help busy mamas learn how to balance protein, fat and carbs to reach their goals. If that’s something you need to learn, then schedule a Healthy Mama Blueprint Call and we can chat about where you’re at and what your goals are.

Once you understand macros and how to balance your diet you can pass down that skill to your kiddos. And let me tell you, just from my experience it’s been amazing seeing my three kiddos understand their nutrition and know how to navigate all of that. I wish I’d had that at their age!