Healthy Eating Starts with Parent Role Models
Parents are role models and the most important influence in children's lives. Children watch and imitate adults, and look to them to learn proper behavior for everything from saying please and thank you to learning about fitness and nutrition.
Children can also pick up on their parents’ attitudes about food. As role models, parents need to monitor their own behavior so that their children acquire healthy attitudes toward eating.
Teaching Healthy Habits at Mealtime
What you do will make more of an impact than what you say. Modeling healthy eating supports the development of healthy behaviors in children.
For example, research shows that young girls are more likely to drink milk if their moms drink milk -- milk contains calcium, an important nutrient for bone growth and development. It is important, however, not to restrict or label foods as "good" or "bad," however, since doing so may actually increase consumption of these foods in unrestricted settings (Fisher, 1999).
Cooking the family meals with kids can also be a good experience! One study demonstrated that meal preparation also provided a learning opportunity for kids regarding meal planning, eating behaviors, and the composition of a “balanced” meal (Gable, 2007).
Benefits of Family Meals
Eating meals as a family plays a key role in raising high-achieving, healthy and well-adjusted children. Family meals lead to improved academic achievement, better nutrition and higher self-esteem for your children.
Gable et al. found that kids who ate with their families had healthier diets than those who did not. Specifically, kids whose parents were present at the dinner table had a higher intake of fruits and vegetables than did the kids who did not eat with their parents (Videon, 2003).
The long-term effect of these family meals was reflected by the lower prevalence of overweight children in the group who ate more frequently with their families (Gable, 2007).
Research also demonstrated that the frequency of family meals was inversely related to development of eating disorders and participation in high risk and violent activities in teenage females (Eisenberg, 2008).
Our printable tip sheet offers tips for parents:
Healthy Eating Starts with Parent Role Models - Tips for Parents
While it is unrealistic to expect any parent to be a perfect role model, trying your best to demonstrate good eating habits will positively impact your child.
