Healthy Eating While Remote Learning
A Guest Blog by Christine Alvarez
In these unprecedented times, it’s been a struggle for everyone to adjust to a new normal and what has been challenging as well is healthy habits while taking on remote learning. Going from keeping your child’s screen time to a minimum to having them focus on a screen for several hours a day may change their dynamic and especially their eating habits. As parents, you want what’s best for your child, but realistically children can be picky. They become impatient and you tend to whip up something quickly to provide them a fast meal, but this is actually a time to help them be more engaged not only on screen but off screen.
Tips and Resources for Keeping Your Little Scholar Engaged in Healthy Eating
Choosemyplate.gov for kids offers educational resources to showcase the importance and benefits of the food groups and also includes games and kid friendly healthy recipes.
Keep a steady schedule
It is essential for a growing child to make sure they are getting their meals in that are nutritious and provide the energy they will need to focus for the school day. Try to keep a schedule that allows them to eat, have some time in between to digest and allow them to gather themselves. The hardest times can seem like the mornings, but you got this!
Get them in the kitchen
Especially for picky eaters, getting your child in the kitchen with you on some downtime off screen can help introduce new foods and provide a sense of ownership for your child. Having them help you make meals encourages the engagement of all senses and they will want to eat the food more because they were hands on with it. Try setting aside their own tools such as a kid’s safety knife to help cut vegetables under your supervision for an example. Have them try things along the way as it is cooking too and use encouraging statements.
This website provides information on kid friendly tasks in the kitchen according to age range to help master simple cooking basics before moving onto complex skills providing a fun experience and information for parents that may not know where to begin.
