As a parent, you always want your children to be healthy. But there are times when that can feel like a daunting challenge. Building healthy habits for kids can be a challenge when sugar-filled fruit juices claim to be a “nutritious” drink option. And it doesn’t get easier when your kids would rather eat cake than broccoli.
But building healthy habits–both around the dinner table and beyond–is something that can be critically important to your child’s wellness over time. Good eating habits mean your kids will be healthier as they grow older and help them to be better equipped to handle injury and illness.
Of course, the definition of “healthy” will change as your child grows. A six month old child has very different nutritional requirements than a four year old–or a fourteen year old.
If you have questions about your child’s nutrition, you should always talk to your pediatrician to get a little guidance. After all, every child will be different. But by keeping up with healthy habits–both nutritional and non-nutritional–you can give your child the best possible start to a long, healthy life.
Healthy Habits for Kids Aged 4 Months
One of the most common questions parents have about healthy habits relates to peanuts and peanut allergies. That’s because peanut allergies can be quite serious. This makes early detection quite important.
During your child’s four month wellness check, your pediatrician will assess the condition of your child’s skin. If no remarkable eczema is found, your pediatrician will likely recommend that you begin to introduce peanut into your child’s diet.
This can be accomplished in several ways:
Bamba: Bamba is an Israeli peanut snack (it’s kind of like puffy Cheetos, but with peanuts instead of cheese). For children under 7 months of age, soften the Bamba with water and then feed to your child.
Peanut Butter/Fruit Puree Mixture: Mix 2 teaspoons of peanut butter with 2-3 tablespoons of a pureed fruit or vegetable that child has eaten before without problems. Add puree to reach desired thickness.
Peanut Butter/Water Mixture: Mix 2 teaspoons of peanut butter with 2-3 teaspoons of hot water. Stir until dissolved and blended, then let cool. Add water to thin further if needed.
Peanut Powder: Mix 2 teaspoons of peanut flour or peanut powder with 2 tablespoons of a pureed fruit or vegetable that the child has eaten before without problems.
When feeding your child peanut, watch for signs of an allergic reaction. Introducing your infant to peanuts early can help prevent your child from developing an allergy to peanuts later in life. This will help your child enjoy a broader variety of foods (and make communal eating experiences, such as pot lucks, a little safer as well).
Healthy Habits for Kids Ages 6 months - 12 months
Most babies can start eating solid food around 6 months or so. At this point, it’s a great idea to talk to your pediatrician about how much your baby should be eating every day. The general rule of thumb is to make sure food is available, but don’t force your baby to eat. (That said, if your baby is not gaining weight, you should talk to your pediatrician right away.)
Once your baby is six months old, you can feed them:
Some cooked meats: You can even feed your child cooked poultry, like chicken. Meat should be shredded and very easy to chew (or in very tiny pieces). Ensure that the meat is fully cooked and soft. Try to avoid giving your baby any tough meat to eat, as this can be a choking hazard.
Soft fruits: You can also feed your baby soft fruits, such as bananas or ripe pears. If you want to give your child harder fruits, make sure they are steamed or softened beforehand.
Dairy: You can give your baby either Greek or plain yogurt. And, of course, you can continue to give your six month old a steady diet of breast milk.
As your baby grows, you can begin giving them more food and diversifying their diet.
By the time your baby is six months old, they should be sleeping most of the way through the night. In general, make sure your child gets something like 9 hours of sleep per night, along with a nap during the day (their sleep should total between 10-11 hours per day). At this point, a natural amount of activity is just fine–no need to start anything more intensive.
Healthy Habits for Kids Ages 1-2 years
When your child becomes a toddler, their body is going to go through a significant growth spurt. Healthy habits for kids of these ages will begin to evolve. And because your baby will be growing a lot, they’re going to need a ton of energy. This is also when your kids could start exhibiting some picky behaviors, making meal times both challenging and (sometimes) contentious.
It’s important not to label your kids as “picky” eaters, as this is something that they can pick up and carry with them–reinforcing the very behavior you’re trying to discourage.
Here are some healthy habits that will help your kids get the calories they need and develop healthy eating habits later in life:
Eat your vegetables: It’s incredibly important for your child to eat vegetables. But force feeding them isn’t the answer. Instead, put the veggies on your child’s plate, and model good behavior by eating your own vegetables. If your kids see you eating broccoli (and loving it), they’re more likely to pick up the healthy habit.
Introduce milk: Your child can start drinking cow’s milk at the age of 12 months. It’s not necessary to phase out breast milk at this point, but that’s something you can talk to your pediatrician about. Cow’s milk is fortified with vitamin D and a great source of calcium, both essential nutrients for young children.
Keep a consistent schedule: Your toddler will likely benefit from a consistent food schedule. Try to ensure they receive three meals and two snacks every day. Between the ages of one and two, your child should be eating something like 1000 to 1600 calories a day.
In part because they are developing and growing so quickly, children between the ages of one and two will need a significant amount of sleep. The average toddler is going to need somewhere between 11-14 hours of sleep per day. That means a good long sleep at night and a couple of naps.
You’ll also want to make sure that your toddler is receiving something like three hours of physical activity a day. This will help keep your toddler happy and make bedtime (and naptime) much easier.
Healthy Habits for Kids Ages 2-4
Once your toddler grows out of their twos, their growth rate may slow. But they’re still going to be developing very rapidly, especially compared to their adult parents. Make sure to keep those healthy habits you’ve already developed going. In general, the nutrition guidelines for ages 2-4 will be very similar to those of ages 1-2. But there are a few things you can keep in mind as your child’s relationship to food and eating continues to develop:
Try not to use treats as an incentive or reward. It’s fine if your kids want ice cream after a while; but avoid situations where, for example, your child must clean their plate to get a bowl of ice cream.
Try to eat your meals together as a family. This can help strengthen bonds and provide a supportive environment for your kids to try new foods.
Continue to lead the way on veggies. The more you like and eat vegetables, the more your children will like and eat vegetables. (That said, you will likely encounter resistance at some point. That’s okay.)
Children who are 3-4 years old typically need about 10 hours of sleep. As you get them ready for preschool and Kindergarten, you may begin to slowly wean your child off of their naps. This age group should also spend at least three hours a day in physical activity. The more often you can be active with your children outdoors, the better.
Healthy Habits for Kids Ages 5-6
Once your child begins school, things can change quickly. If your kid attends all day Kindergarten, for example, they may suddenly spend much of their time away from home. As a result, parents have less control over the development of healthy habits. This can dramatically impact your child’s wellness–both in good and challenging ways. This is something you can always discuss with your pediatrician during your child’s annual wellness exam.
For parents, there are some ways you can continue to build great eating and activity habits while your child begins school:
Add fruits and vegetables to your child’s lunchbox. If your child eats a hot lunch at school, try to encourage your child to eat fruits and vegetables that are available. (You can also send fruits or vegetables as a snack.) The point is simply to continue to make healthy options available for your child.
Talk to your kids about what a balanced plate looks like. At this point, they’re old enough to understand what you’re talking about! This will help your child make healthy decisions as they continue to move through school
Focus on boosting your child’s self-esteem. When you talk about making healthy choices, avoid framing it as a way of avoiding getting “fat” or as a means of staying “skinny.”
At this age, children need between 9-11 hours of sleep per day. Because school takes the possibility of napping out of the equation, it’s often important to ensure that your child is going to bed early enough to get a good amount of sleep.
You should also try to make sure that your child gets at least 60 minutes of activity every day. Some, but likely not all, of this activity will take place at school.
Healthy Habits for School Age Children and Teens
As your child grows throughout their school years, there are some good rules of thumb that can help your child stay on track and continue developing healthy habits.
Consider the following, easy to remember reminder:
5 - Ensure your child gets at least five servings of fruits and vegetables every day. Not all of these servings need be a giant heaping plate of lettuce. For example, you can dice up an onion and include it in your spaghetti sauce. Or encourage your child to have a banana for breakfast.
4 - Ensure your child drinks at least four servings of water every day. Your kids may prefer fruit juice or soda, but there’s really no comparison to the hydration and nutritional benefits of simple water. Encourage your child to drink at least four servings of water a day (and reserve soda or juice for special treats)!
3 - Ensure your child gets three servings of dairy per day–preferably low fat dairy. This could mean anything from low fat yogurt to low fat milk. (Eating cereal with low fat milk is a great way to get a quick serving of dairy). The calcium and fortified vitamin D can be very good for your child.
2 - Ensure your child gets two hours or less of screen time every day. This will get harder as your child gets older; but less screen time means more activity and interactivity time. Screens tend to be very passive. Instead, focus on filling your child’s day with active time.
1 - Ensure your child gets one hour or more of physical activity every day. This can help build lifelong skills that keep them healthy for years to come.
Like all kids, teenagers are going to need a lot of sleep. It’s important to remember that even though they’ve grown up a lot, teenagers aren’t yet fully developed. So even though they want to stay up late (and are forced to wake up early), the reality is that most teens need 8-10 hours of sleep per night.
Teenagers are also trying to very firmly establish their own identities. This can make forming habits based on your recommendations and encouragement tough to do. That’s why it’s often easier and more effective to form these habits earlier in their lives.
Be a Healthy Role Model
One of the most efficient ways to encourage these healthy habits is also one of the simplest: being a good role model. Your children will be more likely to eat vegetables if you eat them first–and talk about how delicious they are! They’re watching so see what you do, so it’s very helpful to model healthy behavior when it comes to eating, sleeping, and activity levels. (They might not internalize these habits until much later in life, it’s worth noting.)
If you have questions about your child’s health and wellness as they age, it’s important to bring these questions to the attention of your pediatrician. Contact us at our Chicago and Northbrook offices to schedule an appointment!