Children love to eat and enjoy snacks, meals, and treats, but healthy eating habits aren’t necessarily second nature. For many kids, a steady diet of Goldfish® crackers, pizza, and Oreos® sounds just about right. Thankfully, there is a lot parents can do to help their kids build joyful, well-balanced relationships with food. At The Gardner School, we believe in helping kids enjoy and value healthy, delicious food. Here are a few ways you can help your kids learn more about the tasty fuel on their plates!
Healthy Eating for Preschoolers Through Play
Preschoolers learn best through play, and food is a great way to engage in play with your child. Cutting veggies and fruits into silly shapes can make kids even more eager to try new or unusual foods. Don’t forget: ingredients can also be used in unique ways to prepare snacks. Think of the classic “ants on a log” made out of celery, peanut butter, and raisins, or kids can also use apples, peanut butter, and marshmallows to build “apple smiles.” For a fun, healthy twist, use jicama for the teeth between each apple slice. Cookie cutters can help you or your child turn a normal ham and cheese sandwich into a dinosaur, a bear, or even a giraffe!
Healthy Eating for Preschoolers Through Learning
Children love to be involved in food selection and preparation, and with a little creativity, you can find ways for your child to learn. When kids are young, giving them a variety of different foods helps them gain information about the texture, color, and flavor of different ingredients. Infants learn quickly that blueberries are squishy and apples are crunchy. As kids grow, bring them along with you to the grocery store or to a farmers’ market. If your family doesn’t live in a rural environment, your child may not know that what we eat comes from the Earth. Meeting the farmer who grows your cucumbers can help your child connect what’s on her plate to what grows in the ground.
Healthy Eating for Preschoolers Through Food Preparation
After your children have seen where (and who!) food comes from, you can involve them in recipe preparation. Foods change through chopping, salting, heating, and chilling, and kids love to watch these scientific transformations right in front of their eyes. Feel free to get creative with ideas about how your kids can help you prepare meals. After all, not all food prep involves knives or high heat. Kids can count out ingredients, stir a mixture, sprinkle with salt or spices, remove green stems from strawberries, or use a butter knife to cut soft foods like bananas.
Healthy Eating For Preschoolers Through Voice and Choice
Food preferences are highly personal, and that’s true for kids, too! There’s a delicate balance between listening to a kid’s preferences and encouraging him to try new flavors and textures. A good way to do both is to designate one meal, one day a week, or one part of the meal as an “experiment in eating.” Special times like “Wacky Wednesdays” or “Discovery Dinners” can build excitement and anticipation around trying new foods. Don’t forget to include adults in the fun. Haven’t you always wanted to try starfruit or ugli fruit? This is your chance! Outside of these times, kid favorites like macaroni and cheese, chicken nuggets, or rice can be comforting meals for kids who like routines.
Healthy Eating for Preschoolers Through Moderation
Any adult who’s enjoyed a slice of chocolate cake after a long day at work can tell you how a dessert or a treat can be a wonderful reward for a job well done. Using treats to celebrate special occasions like birthdays, holidays, or starting preschool can help a child connect sweet family time with sweeter foods as well. Adults who have healthy relationships with food know that the occasional indulgence is an important part of moderation and enjoyment. The same is true for kids. You can make sweet memories with children while mixing up a batch of cookies with them. Plus, you can spread the joy by sharing their sweet creations with neighbors, friends, and family members.
Healthy Eating for Preschoolers Through Shared Meals
With so many Americans living on-the-go lifestyles, it’s important to take time aside to eat together as a family. Eating together can help children learn to pause and enjoy sharing food, conversation, and space with the ones they love. If possible, it’s great to extend this approach to mealtimes throughout the day. Finding a preschool that serves family-style meals helps kids practice socialization, table manners, sharing, and community while they feed their bodies.
An Early Start for Healthy Habits
The Gardner School uses a variety of learning tools to help children understand the importance of healthy eating during the school day. In the Kids Café, our little ones develop healthy eating habits in a space that is made just for them. We offer cooking enrichment classes and help our students learn about health and nutrition. During the Camp Gardner summer program, our students can grow vegetables or other small plants as part of the camp curriculum. With a healthy mix of structured enrichment and free play, we give children the guidance they need to start learning as soon as they’re ready. To learn more about the advantages of an academic preschool, visit our website or schedule a tour today. Bon appétit!
