Children's Day is a time to honor those whose fresh timeline is framed by learning and the right to feel cared for and protected. But what does it mean for a child to feel safe? It's not about emptying the compendium of Maslow's needs into them. It's about making them feel love, closeness, and yes, setting some rules. 

At mealtime, limits are not overlooked. Beyond the measures of coexistence, what matters more is the what than the how. What they learn about nutrition in their early years is a kind of inheritance. The thing is this: if we educate them to eat healthily, we will likely gift them health in the future. And that's no small feat. However, without depriving them of the right to be kids: there's no bad pizza if it magically appears in the living room from time to time. 

The topic of being a parent is not easy. I imagine the dilemma of many who wish to get their children to eat healthily without being frowned upon. In the end, the best lesson is the example. As Juan Gabriel said: what is seen is not questioned. In that sense, talking to them about healthy eating will not be as powerful as them seeing you enjoy a plate overflowing with vegetables. 

Jennifer Asencio, one of the nutritionists at Kiwi Te cuida, listed some tips that will help you in that titanic and essential task: to create good eating habits in children to gift them health.

1. The best breakfast, lunch, or dinner is the one that contains all three food groups: carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Preferably use cereals with a low glycemic index, like tortillas. “Get your kids used to eating tortillas, baked tostadas; avoid giving them processed flours like bread because they are also addictive,” Jennifer comments. A good breakfast would be a sunny-side-up egg on a tortilla from the griddle, decorated with slices of avocado and tomato shaped like a palm tree. Delicious and eye-catching. 

2. Children will always ask us for junk food and desserts. It all depends on the amount we give them. Serve them smaller portions, ration for the week. Encourage them to take care of themselves and to eat junk food once or twice a week. 

3. Teach them to have other types of desserts: a fruit is a dessert, peanuts, nuts, almonds, or pistachios are also desserts. “We have to change our children's mindset. Mexico is in first place in childhood obesity for a reason.”

4. Create good eating habits and schedules: have them eat breakfast before starting their classes. Give them a snack mid-morning, a complete meal in the afternoon, a small snack in the mid-afternoon, and dinner. This way, they will be satisfied before they think about junk food. “Opt for healthy snacks: you can offer them jícama between meals, prepare natural popcorn without butter,” Jennifer recommends. 

5. A child's diet is more than breaded fingers and nuggets 24/7. After three years, a child can eat everything. “If you don't get them used to it from a young age, children will not want to eat, for example, fish with herbs.” 

6. Invent ways to eat. Make the moment fun for them. Allow them to touch their food, smell it. Give shape and color to the dishes. “We need to teach them not to be afraid of food, to enjoy it, to savor it, to pick it up with their fingers so they can start to have a kind and friendly relationship with it.”

7. Invite your child to the kitchen. Establishing a bond between your child and food will bring them closer to it positively. “Give yourselves the chance to eat a little chocolate while cooking, enjoy the moment.” Assign them easy tasks that will also help with their motor coordination, like stirring the egg, making balls for tuna patties, or meatballs. 

8. Be cautious with sugary foods. A bread with milk is not a healthy breakfast for every day. 

9. Choose real foods. Do not base your diet or your children's diet on processed foods. “It's not bad to give them pizza from time to time. Nothing beats making it at home by preparing the dough yourself while they do the same process at their little table. Put the ingredients together and enjoy. This way, you will create a lovely moment and consume fewer calories.”

10. Teach them to have a healthy relationship with food: preferably do not establish rewards or punishments with it. It is important for them to know that sweets are little luxuries you will give them sometimes because you want to take care of them. 

If this has made you want to cook with your children, here are some fun ideas. Don’t worry. The rest of the week you can prepare healthy recipes that they are sure to love.