Parents will do anything to make their children eat what they prepare. It may surprise you to know the that the best way to help your child eat healthy is to stop trying so hard. There are simple things you can do to help your child eat healthy.

DOs

• Try the same food multiple times. You want to be patient with your child and try the same food multiple times. You don’t want to force them to eat. You may have to offer the food about 15 or 20 times for the child to like it.
• Make meal time a priority .It is important to eat together with your children. When your child watches you enjoy a variety of dishes, it encourages them to try new dishes themselves.
• Let the child serve herself. You can offer the child a serving bowl to serve herself rather that giving her a little bit of everything. You can guide them on appropriate child size options and let her  know that she  can get more if she’s  still hungry.
• Let the child try foods before you put them on the table . Get your child involved in food choices. Take her to the grocery store and let her pick out fruits she’s never tried before. You can also let her help prepare meals.
• Serve ” forbidden ” foods occasionally. It is important to  serve junk foods such as chips or cookies occasionally . If you forbid these foods, your child will eat too much when given the chance.
• Make eating healthy fun. You can cut fruits into funny shapes that kids will love. You can also hold a tasting party during snack time and add  fruits and vegetables to the party.

DONTs

• Dont serve only foods that your child likes. Add a couple of less preferred foods to the child’s meal but don’t expect her to eat all.
• Don’t feed your child on the go. If you give your child  something to eat each time they ask for it, it may be a challenged to get them to sit and eat. Kids can have water whenever they want to, However it is important that others such as breakfast, mid morning snack, lunch , afternoon snack, dinner and bedtime snack have a schedule.
• Dont force your child to eat. Kids will naturally resist what is forced on them. Kids learn how to eat food because they learn to enjoy them not because its forced on them. Give children the chance to go to the table and choosing what food is available on the table. It will help them try new food.
• Don’t use food as a reward. If you tell your child to eat for example celery before you give her something else, she will think that you are  holding on to something better than she’s eating. Parents should learn to relax when it comes to getting kids to eat healthy. It makes them more adventurous .