With a fresh school year around the corner, it’s a great time to implement fresh nutrition ideas. For kids and parents alike, this can also be a great time to either get back into or establish a new routine. The behaviors and habits parents instill in children surrounding food and nutrition can have a lasting impact on their relationship with food and body image. Below are some tips and food for thought to help your children nourish their bodies and minds for school and play.

First and foremost, take your kids grocery shopping with you. Including them in the planning process will make them excited to eat the items they have selected. Encourage them to pick out a variety of foods and food groups. Start by asking them to help you pick one or two items from each section of the grocery store – fruits, vegetables, proteins, grains and snack foods. Emphasize the importance of eating a variety of nutrients. Since children tend to be more visual, encourage your children to “eat the rainbow” so they can benefit from all of those different vitamins.

On the note of shopping, if your child likes to bring their lunch to school, purchasing a new lunch kit may add to the back-to-school excitement. When shopping for a new backpack and school supplies, take a peek at the lunch box section and look for a lunch kit that has a lot of zippers and compartments to house various containers. This can create a game for kids to find and eat everything packed in the lunch kit. It also encourages the concept of variety that is so important for their growth and development.

Presentation matters, especially for kids! When preparing meals for school or home, plating can go a long way. Providing a variety of fruits on kebabs instead of scattered on a plate may be the difference in your child eating or turning their nose up. There are a ton of fun cookie cutter shapes that can be used for sandwiches instead of sweet treats. Shoutout to my mom for always sending me to school with a sandwich shaped like a butterfly! Themed meals can also encourage kids to be more curious about what’s on their plates and set the stage to learn about new foods and different cultures. This can be done in packed lunches or at home.

Though it’s always easier said than done, we know that one of the best ways to set your kiddos up to be well-fueled is by planning ahead! Preparing and packing lunch with your children is another great opportunity to make them feel involved. Ask them to help you wash produce and pick out what they want to pack for lunch. When feeding children, visually aim for half of their plate to consist of two or three colors of fruits and vegetables. The other half of the plate should be split between protein and carbohydrates, each of which plays important roles in their overall health. If your child primarily leans toward one food group, help guide them in adding more food groups to their plates by saying things like “I think you need some more grains for brain power”, or “Let’s pick out a source of dairy to help your bones continue to grow strong”.

Grocery shopping and preparing meals together can also spark important conversations about nutrition and provide insight as to how your children feel about food and their bodies. We live in a society that is inundated with messaging about counting calories, restricting food, and promotion of the “thin ideal” – and we start receiving these inputs at a very early age. As a parent, you may be going through your own journey with nutrition and weight, but one of the best things you can do for your child is keep those thoughts and discussions away from your children.

It is essential to talk about healthy foods in the context of overall health, not weight. Most often, making comments like “Ugh, I ate too much sugar today, I’m going to have to be extra good tomorrow!” is subconscious. Though unintentional, such commentary can have a profound impact on the malleable minds of little ones. It can influence them to avoid foods that can contribute positively to their health, and create significant gaps in nutrition that have physiologic consequences. Make an effort to not label specific foods “good” or “bad”. Emphasize how eating well can lead to better health inside the body; be aware about not connecting eating well with being thin or losing weight.

We also want to avoid forcing kids to become members of the clean plate club. Children are naturally very in touch with their bodies as well as their hunger and fullness cues. They are very good about communicating when they are hungry and stopping eating when they are full, which begins in infancy. If your child won’t touch the greens on their plate, encourage them to try a few bites and always make a variety of greens available in case they change their mind. Sometimes it’s just not happening, and it’s okay to take no for an answer.

At home, make sure your kitchen environment is set up in a way that makes healthy options accessible to anyone feeling peckish. Keep a bowl of fruit out on the counter and pre-cut produce in the fridge that makes it easy for busy kiddos to grab and go. In the pantry, designate a shelf as a “snack station”, where you can keep a variety of non-perishable options available like pretzels, applesauce, granola bars, crackers, any peanut-butter related snack or trail mix. Let them enjoy fun foods like chocolate or ice cream to teach them that no food is off limits as we continue to emphasize health and nutrient density.

Most importantly, check in with your kids! If you notice they come home famished after school and want to load up on snacks, ask how they’re eating at school. Maybe they aren’t eating enough at lunch or don’t have as much time as they need, which is where sending them to school with more snacks can be a game changer. Sit down and eat together as often as possible. This time together is invaluable in opening the floor for conversations about nutrition, health and any seeds that have been planted from external influences that may impact your child’s relationship with food or body image.