3 easy ways to control your children’s portion sizes
These portion-controlled plates make it easy for your kids to eat healthily.
By Aimee Heckel
While you may be setting your own New Year’s health resolutions this month, don’t forget about your children’s health, too.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, childhood obesity has more than doubled in children in the past 30 years. In fact, more than one third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese in 2010.
At the same time, our portion sizes have also blown up. The size of a hamburger has tripled in the last 50 years. A portion of fries has more than doubled. Don’t even get us started on the size of a glass of soda.
Many health and fitness experts agree that teaching your children about proper portion sizes is one important piece in teaching them to eat healthily. Here are some easy ways to help control how much your kids are eating, and set them up for a lifetime of health.
1. Serve food on portion-controlled plates. This takes the guesswork out of mealtime for you and your kids.
GrabCart.com sells a stack of Portion-Size Matters plates ($18.84) that are divided up into five sections, labeled for each food group, with the appropriate portion measurements in each section. With the exact volume and portion, fill to the top and eat.
Save money at GrabCart.com with these coupons. Read more articles about GrabCart.com here.
2. Teach your child about the food pyramid. Pick up a food pyramid poster and hang it on your fridge. Find a poster for $14.20 at HomeSchoolingSupply.com.
3. Make a game out of learning about food. This MyPlate Island Activity Cube makes learning about the food pyramid fun.
Save money on other purchases for your kids with these babies and kids coupons.
Or just go online and play free food pyramid games at NourishInteractive.com. Play educational puzzles, memory matching games and more.
MyPlate.gov, the government website, also has a great selection of fun, educational games to teach kids about healthy eating — even a unique “nutrition Sodoku” game. Got a musical child? Click on the MyPlate songs and videos link, including a “Best Bones Forever” dance routine. No kidding.
Other articles you might also enjoy:
