The food choices that school-age children and youth make directly influence their learning and health. Good nutrition contributes to healthy growth and development, and promotes concentration.
Healthy eating is not just about what you eat but how you eat.
Visit Health Canada for more tips on healthy eating for children and youth.
Ideas to Encourage Healthy Eating
Make meal and snack times pleasant for talking as a family.
- Eat meals and snacks together as a family. Children who sit down with others regularly for meals are more likely to eat healthier, learn table manners and develop stronger relationships.
- Avoid talking about difficult issues that can make mealtime stressful – plan another time to discuss them.
- Allow enough time for children to eat and encourage them to eat slowly.
- Reduce distractions by turning off the TV in order to focus on food, family and friends.
Try new foods.
- Encourage children and youth to try new foods along with familiar foods without forcing them.
- It can take many attempts before some children and youth will taste and enjoy a new food.
- Include foods that aren’t your favourites. Children and youth may like peas even if you don’t. They pick up messages about how you view food. If you are excited about a new food, they may be too.
Involve children and youth in the planning, shopping, preparing and serving of meals.
Eat and enjoy a variety of foods every day.
- Begin every day with a healthy breakfast.
- Limit offering highly processed foods.
- Prepare healthy snacks and healthy meals.
- Try serving raw vegetables at dinner – children and youth often like them better than cooked vegetables.
- Fill a bowl with fruit and put it where it can be easily reached.
Make water your drink of choice.
- Plain milk and unsweetened fortified soy beverage are also healthy choices.
- Limit drinks with caffeine and/or added sugars (e.g. tea, coffee, soft drinks, fruit drinks and sport drinks). Energy drinks are not recommended for children or youth.
Accept that adults are responsible for what, when and where children eat.
- Adults are responsible for providing children with a variety of nutritious foods to choose from, regular times to eat, and a safe and relaxing place to eat
Listen to your body and allow children and youth to do the same
- When children and youth are healthy and active, adults need to trust that children know when they are hungry, when they are full, and how much to eat.
- Children and youth should stop eating when they feel full, even if they have not finished everything on their plate. Let them choose foods from the healthy choices available at each meal.
- Children have small stomachs and may need to eat often during the day to make sure they get all the nutrition they need to grow, learn and play.
Help children develop a positive relationship with food.
- Avoid using food as a reward or punishment. It can change how children view food. Soothe hurt feelings with a hug instead of food.
- Use neutral language when talking about food. Call food by its name. Avoid labeling foods as “good”, “bad”, “healthy”, “unhealthy”, “treat” or “junk food”.
- Talk about how bodies come in all shapes and sizes; short, tall, fat, thin. All bodies are good bodies and deserve respect.
Student nutrition programs:
- Provide nutrients and energy so that students are ready to learn and participate in school.
- Create healthier eating habits.
- Support better scores in math, reading and science.
