During your child’s tweens and teens years, they are trying to differentiate themselves from you, their parent. But even so, this is a time when what YOU do really affects what THEY do, since children mainly learn from their parents’ example.
Even when they think they’re doing something different, they end up doing what you do. That’s why parents who are active tend to have active kids. Some of it is genetics, but most of it is lifestyle and dietary choices.
So, here is my advice for helping your tween or teen eat more healthily during this period of their lives.
It’s likely they will have started learning cooking skills at school and want extra practice in the comfort of their own home, and you should make time for this.
Tweens and Teens Food – What to do
Do: Set the Example
Your child watches everything you do. Therefore, if you really want them to make good choices surrounding food, then you need to also ensure that they see you making good choices. Not only that, you don’t want to be seen struggling and having a lot of emotions around food, because that will pass on to them. Your child will begin growing like weeds, fast – really fast! They need calcium and vitamin D for strong bones. Meat-based protein with beans and legumes will really help shape their muscles.
Do: Provide Variety
Everyone has different taste buds and they change as we get older. What tastes great to you may not to your child, and that’s perfectly normal. Some of this is genetics and some of it is just that your child may take longer to warm up to some foods, so the trick is to provide variety. That way if your child hates broccoli mix it in with another veg that they will enjoy.
Do: Eat Healthy Snacks
Snacking is not bad for you! If you’re hungry you should eat, but you want to ensure that you have a variety of healthy snacks. The key to a healthy snack is that it is not processed and it is a whole food. If you have a lot of whole food snacks around and no processed food snacks, it’s more than likely your child will choose healthy even if they’re not home. The better the snack the more energetic and full you will feel!
At this age, they are most likely staying for after school clubs or have practice somewhere. Packing them a snack containing complex, fiber-rich carbs such as bananas, apple slices, carrots, and popcorn for quick energy release and healthy fats and protein, such as peanut butter, dried fruit and nuts, and dark chocolate, for stamina until dinner time.
Do: Offer Regular Meal Times
Even as your child enters the busy tween and teenage years, they still need to have stability at home. Breakfast, lunch, dinner and healthy snacks need to be offered in reasonable time blocks. While sometimes your child may need to miss dinner for practice or for other activities, you can keep it warm for them until they get home. Eating together really is so important throughout their childhood.
Do: Get Them Involved
One way to ensure that your tweens and teens not only understand the importance of a healthy meal but also enjoy it is to get them involved. Let them plan one meal a week including grocery shopping, budgeting, and preparation. Not only will this make them more likely to appreciate your efforts; it will also teach them what to do as an adult. A lot of healthy kids end up overweight once they leave home due to not learning how to prepare healthy food. This will stand them in good stead for when they are away at college and will not have you on hand to cater for them.
Tweens and Teens Food – What Not to do
Don’t: Criticize, Judge or Threaten
One of the worst things you can do is be negative with your teenager around food. If they have nutritional issues, the whole family should work on it – not just the one child. The chances of them rebelling is really high at this stage, so be supportive and listen to them. Discover what interests they have and participate with them as this will give you the time to eat with them afterward. Wraps with meat or tuna, toasted sandwiches, wholegrain breakfast cereal, smoothies, milkshakes or sushi are all appealing options and should spark some interest with them!
Don’t: Have a “Do what I say” Mentality
Kids don’t really fall for this. If you smoke, your child has a much higher chance of smoking. If you eat an entire box of donuts every week, your child likely will too. If you have issues surrounding food, you will pass it on to your children if you aren’t careful. The best way to teach children about food is to realize that they’re going to do what you do, not what you say.
I’m a big believer in looking at myself first, good and bad habits, and then working on my weaknesses whilst promoting my strengths. Sure, it can be a bit painful and some hard work is needed but we all want the best for our kids and so this is super important!
Don’t: Keep Sweet Drinks or Artificial Drinks Around
Teenagers the world over are known to drink a lot of soda. The problem is, it’s probably one of the leading causes of health problems as it destroys the good bacteria in our intestines. Infusing sparkling water with flavor is so easy, sliced lemons, oranges, limes, watermelon, cucumber or add mint leaves and you have a fabulously healthy alternative! Juicing is also a great way to stay hydrated and consume otherwise unpalatable food!
Don’t: Stop Them from Preparing Meals
When and if your tween or teen decides they’d like to prepare meals, let them. Guide them regarding budget and healthy food choices, but let them make it themselves. This will help them learn how to fix meals for themselves when they are on their own, which is going to happen sooner than you think. It’s likely they will have started learning cooking skills at school and want extra practice in the comfort of their own home, and you should make time for this.
Don’t: Encourage Meal Skipping
One thing that teens do often, especially girls, is to skip meals. The meals they most often skip are breakfast and lunch. The reason is due to time. Often girls are in a big hurry in the morning and the lunch at school isn’t very appetizing and it’s not very long either. Always have something prepared that they can grab as they are leaving the house, even if they eat it on the way into school it is way better than nothing.
Taking a packed lunch into school is not cool anymore?! Come up with a plan of purchasing a school meal once a week and a packed lunch the other days. I designed a bento lunch box to cater for school kids and I’m completely overwhelmed at how many families this has helped out – the feedback has been amazing!
Here are some other articles you may like:
Elementary School Lunch: Food Do’s & Don’ts 2021
Food Do’s & Don’ts Series: What Best to Eat When You Have a Stomach Bug
