With so many options of food available around – easy and cheap, it is almost impossible to keep a regular check on what you child is eating outside the house. Worries you, right? A child’s good health is a matter of concern for any mother and if we follow few basic simple steps, keeping a tab of your kid’s eating habits and health will not be so difficult! Check out how.

Include more Proteins in his Diet :- Before you start working on your kid’s health plan, it is important to increase your own knowledge in the field. Study about foods that are rich in protein as proteins play a crucial role in the developing years of a child. Make sure your child takes at least one bowl of pulses every day along with adequate intake of chicken, egg, fish and more.

Turn to Healthy Cooking Oil :- We may not realise but many a times it can be our cooking oil, the one we have been using for a long time, which could be causing health issues for our kid. You need to understand that not all types of cooking oils are suitable to everyone’s body and that children today, thanks to the lifestyle they lead, need that extra punch, which the regular cooking oil cannot provide. Thus it is best advised to go for olive oil and include the same in your daily cooking routine. You will surprised by the effect you see on your kid’s growth!

Cut Down on Junk :- This one might be the toughest to do as kids today seem to have a mind of their own and do not listen to anyone, especially where junk food is concerned. Pizzas, burgers, fried foods, chips, aerated drinks, noodles – all need to be taken in moderate portions. Be strict on their junk food intake. Try and limit it is maximum twice a week on just on weekends maybe. Threaten to cut down their pocket money if they do not listen to you!

Introduce him to Healthy Snacking :- It’s a myth that snacking is boring. These are your kid’s growing years and it is normal for him to get those in-between-meals hunger pangs. Substitute the junk with healthy snacking. Incorporate more fruits in his diet. Encourage him to opt for an apple than a pack of chips when those hunger pangs strike. Rather than outside chips, give him home fried chips that are fried using a healthy olive oil, which will not hamper his health and growth.

Ensure Physical Activity :- Many a times the kind of food we eat, especially heavy junk food, makes us lethargic and lazy, killing our mood to go out and play in the greens. It is your duty to push your child into some outside activity such as basketball, football, cricket, badminton, tennis and more. Being involved in such activities will also increase his metabolism and digestion rate, resulting in improved health of your kid.

Cut Down on ‘Idiot Box’ Time :- This is the next challenging task after junk food control. Thankfully, these days there are many active / smart learning channels available on the TV. Encourage your child to watch those rather than senseless cartoons or Bollywood nonsense.

Link Food to Prize :- When everything else fails, this works for sure. This might prove a bit taxing for you initially, but in order to get your child hooked to some good habits, doing this – linking food to prize is important. Every time he demands something junk from you, bargain it with a healthy food – Eat an apple first, then you can eat your chips or finish your sandwich first, then you can watch TV.

Sweet Nothings :– Many of us take the sweet cravings of our children as their ‘liking’ for sweets and do not pay them much attention. In fact, many a times, we substitute a normal meal with a huge piece of cake, a bowl of pudding and think that the child’s nutritional requirement has been met. Keep a vigil on his sweets intake and keep it within permissible limits.