Good food habits for children (0-15 yrs)

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Permalink Reply by lemoned on July 15, 2009 at 5:33pm

One idea popped into my mind which isn't really food related but my kids really benefit from drinking a glass of water first thing in the morning. Compared to other things I've tried to explain to them, this one really was easy for them to understand.
Washing away the stuff that is left in the stomach, good for bowel movements, refreshing thing to do first thing, preparing the stomach for the day and so on really made sense to them and it easily became a habit. It's easy, doesn't taste "bad" and practically free.

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Permalink Reply by Silverfire on July 15, 2009 at 7:22pm

Wow, good on you!

I have so many ideas on this topic as it's a passion of mine and I do demonstrations to kids on fresh food and eating healthy.

The one thing I notice kids respond to really well is colourful pictures of fresh food, I'd include a couple of slides of these.

I have lots of little tricks to get the interest of kids, including holding up a lettuce and telling them 'did you know this is a solar powered battery?' and going on to explain that much of the goodness in a lettuce comes directly from the sun and why it's good for us to eat.

As for what type of greens, I'd say any mild greens (like lettuce, baby spinach, kale, mild herbs etc.)anything that's easy on a child's palate.

For other foods, I'd definitely check what's readily available locally, but I like to include bananas and mangoes (they get a great reception here) other colourful fruits and then a couple of exotic fruits that are available that the kids may not have ever had before (to show them that the world of fresh food is still not completely explored in their experience).

I almost always do a green smoothie demonstration too, this is a fantastic way to get greens into children. I sneakily tell them is a 'cheating' way to get your days worth of greens. I always give out recipes for them to take home of any of the demo foods I've made.

A good presentation for kids really depends on the host of the talk, kids like to be talked to on their own level, but not in a condescending way. They like a bit of science, a bit of kookiness, a bit of excitement. They also ADORE samples to taste and see! Interaction is the key to getting the info to stick in their heads (I've had children come up to me YEARS afterwards and wax lyrical about what I showed them).

If you like, send me a PM and I can send you a draft of a booklet for a workshop I'm preparing for a parent workshop.

Here's a demo description for a presentation I did at a major festival early this year.

http://www.slf.org.au/festival/program/talks/1837

Good luck, and good on you! :D

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Permalink Reply by Mukesh on July 17, 2009 at 1:50pm

Lemoned: That is a very good habit. I recall my parents insisted on us when we were growing up and I have seen myself a great difference to start the day with a glass of water. Thanks for the suggestion! I think this will be the first slide!

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Permalink Reply by Mukesh on July 17, 2009 at 1:54pm

Hi Silverfire

It is amazing and inspiring to see you have actually done it. Great. I would love to read the draft you mentioned, please send to mmukesh@gmail.com and the presentation is just wonderful. Now I have a clear idea of what I am doing! Looking forward to your email. Thanks much.

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Permalink Reply by Silverfire on July 19, 2009 at 5:32am

No worries Mukesh, I will send the draft now. :D

Just be aware, it IS a draft, and a work in progress. I'm a bit busy with organising some major events for my local vegetarian organisation and writing up some articles (one on getting kids to drink green smoothies) so sadly I haven't worked on it in a couple of months. I'm aiming to have it finished by southern hemisphere spring.

I'm sure your presentation will be wonderful!

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