Tips to get kids to eat healthier

Arab News interviewed nutritionist Dr. Shaima Zahir to learn more about children's food habits: Children between 1-3 years: The love of discovering starts in an early age in kids, which distracts their attention from food. The child refuses food. One of the mistakes committed by mothers is forcing their children to eat, or completing big amounts of meal. It is recommended to make several small portions, and provide colored fruits and vegetables to attract your kid. Children between 3-5 years: Kids during this stage care about main meals, however, recent studies approved of the importance of snacks, because it forms 20 percent of the daily calories. Foods that cause weight gain should be avoided, like sweetened juices. Parents must start teaching their kids the difference between good and bad food. Children between 5-10 years: Friends are considered the most essential factor that influences food habits in this age. Kids start comparing themselves with other kids, so their habits and attitude change, ARAB NEWS reports. Some tips that help your child to gain healthy food habits: • Keep your kid busy with choosing and preparing meals. • Try to make new meals and avoid routine in food. • Make sure to provide your kid with healthy homemade snacks, instead of snacks from out. • Wake your kid up early for a healthy breakfast before school. • Look for a sport your kid loves practicing. • Share your kid's meal so that you can be his role model, because kids love to imitate their parents. • Avoid using food as a motivation/punishment for your kid. • Turn-off the TV during the meal because it makes them consume big amounts of food. Childhood is the most problematic period when it comes to food. Eating disorders may occur in different ages. One such problem is compulsive eating and usually the cause of this is the family. It is widespread among big families where food is served all the time. Some mothers like to see their kids chubby and fat and thus end up using rich recipes so that the children gain weight. What they do not realize is that the child's fat cells are being formed in that age and which can lead to obesity in the future. On the other hand, loss of appetite is very common among children and is more likely to be found in hyperactive kids. They tend to be busy in playing instead of eating. In such a case, there should be a fixed time at which the entire family eats. The mother must get to the bottom of the problem and find out if it is related to the child's psychological state as the problem may intensify in case of moving to another place.