To achieve wellness, children must eat a variety of nutritious foods that support optimal energy, immunity, mental health, and growth and development. Fortunately, these principles are easy to apply in everyday life!
1. Eat Plenty of Fruits and Vegetables
If you're looking to help your child achieve optimal wellness, you want to make sure they're eating plenty of fruits and vegetables. These nutrient-dense foods are full of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that can promote good health in many ways.
In addition to being a great source of vitamins, veggies are packed with nutrients that can fight off diseases such as cancer and heart disease. Some of the best vegetables to include in your child's diet include broccoli, spinach, kale, and tomatoes. Broccoli is high in Vitamins C, D, E, and K and is known for its immune-boosting properties. It's also a great vegetable to cook with because it takes just a few minutes to prepare.
It's important to note that kids have a natural preference for sweet foods, so it can be challenging to get them to eat vegetables and fruits. One way to encourage them is by pairing new foods with a flavor masking condiment or dip that they love. This is especially useful when your child is trying a new food that's not easy to chew, such as broccoli.
Achieving and maintaining optimal wellness requires a delicate balance of performance and mental/physiological alertness, which is difficult to achieve without a healthy diet. If your child's mental or physiological state is out of balance, they could manifest a range of negative behaviors.
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2. Eat Healthy Fats
For the best of all worlds, it is recommended that kids consume about 25 to 35 percent of their daily calories as fat. A higher proportion of these fats is the optimal source of fuel for active children, as they provide a higher concentration of energy than carbohydrates or protein. The most important part of eating healthy fats for kids is to choose the ones that are sourced from the right sources such as whole milk, olive oil, and avocados.
3. Eat a Balanced Diet
One of the most important things you can do to help your children achieve optimal wellness is to eat a balanced diet. This means eating foods from all of the food groups (fruits, vegetables, dairy, grains, and protein) to make sure they are getting the right amount of nutrients to grow up healthy and strong.
Fruits and vegetables provide kids with essential vitamins, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants. They are also rich sources of iron and Vitamin C, which are needed for their immune system. Besides these, kids need a variety of other nutrients for their growth and development.
Milk and other dairy products are important sources of calcium, which is necessary for strong bones. They also have vitamin D, which is needed to absorb sunlight and protect against certain cancers.
Grains are also important for kids, as they offer complex carbohydrates, which help your child's body to use energy more efficiently. They can get these from whole grain breads and pastas, oats, beans, nuts, and more.
A balanced diet also includes lean proteins and fats, as well as plenty of fiber. These include nuts, seeds, legumes, fish (mackerel and sardines), and lean meats.
Eating a balanced diet isn't always easy, but it can be made much easier by planning meals ahead of time. This will save you a lot of time and effort when cooking and ensure that your kid is getting enough nutrition.
A balanced diet also means limiting snacks between meals. These can be high in sugar, fat and salt, so it's best to limit them to mealtimes.
4. Get Plenty of Sleep
It also improves their ability to focus and complete homework, and enables them to be more patient with others. As a result, they are happier and more likely to be successful in school.
Teens are the most sleep-deprived segment of society today, and they need to be encouraged to get more rest to grow and develop. That’s why it’s so important for parents to help teens create healthy sleep habits, says Eve Van Cauter, a professor emeritus at the University of Chicago Department of Medicine and the founder and former director of the Sleep, Metabolism and Health Center.
To ensure your teen is getting the sleep they need, try to set a consistent bedtime and encourage them to go to sleep at a reasonable time. Even a 30 minute shift in bedtime every night translates to an extra 3.5 hours of sleep.
Another tip is to cut down on screen-time an hour before bedtime. Electronics emit blue light, which can keep kids awake and make it more difficult to fall asleep.
If your child isn’t sleeping well, they could be prone to developing chronic insomnia and other sleep problems. This could be due to a variety of issues, including stress or anxiety.
To combat this, talk to your child about their concerns and work on ways to reduce their anxiety. It’s important for them to know that you’re there for them when they need you, but you also want them to be able to handle their own emotions and worries in the moment.
5. Get Active
What are some of your favorite healthy eating tips for kids?
