Our commitment to a healthy relationship with food
Lily does all the grocery shopping for the meal preparations. She’s always looking for the healthiest, most wholesome options for nutrition. She takes pride in filling the grocery cart with Non-GMO foods. No Artificial flavors/colors and especially No High Fructose Corn Syrup. For fruits and veggies, she opts only for Organic produce. Rest assured, your child will be snacking on whole-hearty, carefully prepared foods every day. But what about when your child isn’t at childcare? On the weekends, if you’re struggling to keep up with that same routine at home, we’ve got a few tips for you.
Keeping it balanced between Childcare and Home
The biggest hurdle is finding time to plan everything. Lily’s Lighthouse Childcare suggests giving a meal planning app a try. There are so many apps that have family friendly meal planners. We did some research for you and one in particular kept popping up. Note: This is not sponsored.
Prep Time
Sometimes even when you have all the ingredients, you still don’t know any recipes or food combinations that your child will like. Try Pinterest like: https://babyfoode.com/blog/75-toddler-meals-healthy-easy-recipes/ or a simple google search on the best foods to prepare for your kiddo. Here are a few snack recommendations:
- Fresh and dried fruits
- Crackers with cheese or hummus
- Yogurt (this can be frozen in hot weather in place of ice cream)
- Raisin bread, fruit loaf or toasted muffins
- Plain biscuits, scones or buns
- Carrots, blueberries, raspberries, sliced strawberries and bananas
- Dip and biscuits or vegetable sticks – remember that hard vegetables should be thinly sliced, grated or steamed for children under three years of age to reduce the risk of choking.
Let your kids have fun with food! Invite them to help you prepare the meal by having them do simple tasks under your supervision. Ask them to pour water in the pot and follow it with pouring in the oatmeal or rice. Letting kids wash the vegetables before they eat it will make them feel included in the process, therefore getting them more pumped to eat it. Remember when you used to eat those potatoes shaped like smiley faces? Or those star & dino shaped nuggets? Try using a cookie cutter to make food more fun to eat.
Lead by Example. Your kids look to you for guidance. If you’re eating unhealthy snacks and skipping out on important meals, they will think it’s normal to do the same. Along with that, make sure you’re eating meals together at the table. Snacking with your kids also encourages them to have a healthy relationship with food.
It’s okay for them to say no. Forcing your child to eat things they don’t want to eat can have a negative impact on their relationship with food. At Lighthouse Childcare, we give children different foods to eat everyday so they don’t get bored with the taste. There are times when kids just don’t want to eat their carrots or broccoli and there are times when they are in the mood for it.
Timing is important. At Lily’s, your kids are on a schedule. They have meals at a set time and they have snacks at a set time. When your kids are refusing to eat at home, consider the time you’re offering them food. They may be too tired to eat because it’s nap time, or they can’t focus on food because it’s playtime.
Don’t Give Up
With all these tips and things to remember, you may feel overwhelmed. The first week went great, but the second week may be tough. You just had a heavy workload or you’re coming home from a busy errand day. It happens to the best of parents. Remember that being willing to try and putting in effort for this to be a trained routine is all that matters.
Practice makes perfect better.
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