Strategies for Healthier Eating

Try these tips and tricks to make sure your kids actually eat all the great food you provide for them, whether they’re at home or away:

Eating At Home

• Store healthy snacks where kids can reach them, such as bottom drawers in the fridge or lower levels in the pantry.
• Serve sweets only with meals: eating produces saliva, which can help limit tooth decay by washing sugar away from the teeth.
• Avoid keeping unhealthy snacks in the home; if they’re not there, they can’t be eaten.
• Read labels. In Canada, it is required by law that every ingredient in packaged food be listed in order of relative weight. If a sugar is the first thing listed on a food’s package, it means there’s more sugar in that product than anything else. Sugar may be listed under a variety of different names: corn syrup, dextrose, fructose, glucose, honey, maple syrup, molasses, sucrose, agave, rice syrup, golden syrup, malt or evaporated cane juice, to name just a few.
• Check over-the-counter medications, such as cough syrup, for sugar content. While a spoonful of sugar might very well help the medicine go down, it may also lead to dental health issues. Ask your dentist or pharmacist about better options for your children’s teeth.

Eating Away from Home

Birthday parties, family get-togethers, holidays (especially Halloween!) and other special events can sometimes make it really difficult to ensure your children are eating properly.

Some ideas for keeping the sugar intake under control:

• Allow no more than 3 treats at each special event.
• Let young trick-or-treaters choose a limited number of pieces of candy from their haul, then dispose of the rest.
• Bring healthy meals and snacks to share at group events.
• Pack healthy lunches and recess snacks based on the tips above.

And, of course, try to make sure your kids brush and floss after each meal and snack time. Find out about making these important activities part of your children’s daily schedule here.

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