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More Healthy Habits for Life

Since preschoolers' stomachs are small, most young children will be hungry within 2 or 3 hours after a meal. It is important to provide children with healthy snacks as part of a well-balanced diet.

Print out a "My Healthy Habits Chart" for your child to track their daily routines for good health.

Make Healthy Habits Fun

Various foods and meal-time activities should be introduced and reinforced in creative, colorful, and playful ways. Children should be allowed to explore the various properties of different foods by touching, tasting, smelling, and hearing. Messages about foods and eating behaviors should be connected to other aspects of health through hygiene and routine (the importance of washing hands before eating) and physical activity (how food gives the body energy to move or think). Expose children to the concept that various foods help the body different in different ways (cheese has calcium and protein for stronger bones and teeth; apples have vitamins A and C that help keep you healthy).

It is important that we do not present certain foods as "good" or "bad" but that certain foods should be eaten as "everyday foods," while others are "sometimes" foods.

Enjoy and have fun with healthy foods!

• “Whole-grains” keep your heart healthy! Eat plenty of “whole-grain” breads, cereals, and rice for a healthy heart and a healthy you!
• Eat your colors everyday! Encourage your child to pick five different colored fruits and vegetables to eat each day! They provide a wide range of nutrients your family needs to stay healthy and strong!
• Fuel up on a healthy breakfast! Studies have found that children who eat breakfast everyday perform better in school, have improved attention and memory, are more likely to participate in physical activities and be healthier overall.
• Invite your child to plan the menu for one family meal. Encourage your child to go shopping with you to buy the foods. Then, let your child help prepare and serve the meal. After the meal, talk about what your child learned about food.
• Encourage your child to try new healthy foods, and don’t be discouraged if your child doesn’t immediately like them. Research shows that a child often has to taste a new food on several different occasions before deciding if he or she likes it.

Be active and play everyday!

• Skip the elevator and take the stairs! Small steps like this can make a BIG difference in helping your body stay strong and healthy.
• The brain controls all you do so take good care of your brain! Protect your brain and don’t forget to wear that helmet! Boost your brainpower by eating lots of healthy foods and getting a good night’s sleep.
• Play “Follow the Leader” with your child. Perform a simple movement such as jumping up and down or turning around. Have your child imitate what you do. Then let your child be the leader and follow what he or she does.
• Enjoy safe fun in the sun by protecting your eyes and skin! Whether you’re playing outside, swimming at the beach, or skiing the slopes, put on sunscreen, wear a hat and those cool sunglasses with 100% UV protection!
• Ask your child to move like their favorite sports stars: “Move like a basketball player, balance like your favorite gymnast, leap like your favorite dancer, or throw like your favorite football player.”

Make healthy choices at the market!

• Encourage your child to pick brightly colored fruits to make a fruit salad!
• Redirect your child from a sugary snack by asking her to find a snack that will help make her bones grow strong, like low-fat yogurt, chocolate milk or string cheese.
• Involve your child in the selection of healthy options will allow them to be actively engaged while learning skills needed to be a healthy consumer.
• Make a game out of finding different, brightly colored fresh vegetables and fruits at the supermarket and letting your child choose the brightest for your basket.

• Play the Ingredient Game. Ask your child to listen for a particular ingredient, like “whole grain.” Then, talk about how certain ingredients help the body stay healthy and strong.
• Ask your child to help you pick foods that come in their own natural wrapper – like bananas and oranges!
• Click here for some fun recipe ideas.