Heinz - Tinytums

Learning

You can’t be there when they’re choosing their school dinner or asking for a snack at a friend’s house. But you can help them understand and delight in healthy food at an early age, so that later on, they’ll make more of the right choices.

Just telling a child something is good for them can even be counter-productive. But you can try to inspire their interest in healthy foods. Early on, why not share a herb garden with your toddler? You don’t need an outside space, just a small spot with natural light and a small planting box. Together you can enjoy planting, watering and picking fragrant, natural herbs. If you have more space, of course this can extend to vegetables and tomatoes. But they’ll find real joy watching something grow and then eventually eating it.

Pointing out plants and vegetables in the world around them and then pointing them out in their diet will really help too. You can teach them through play too. Like getting them to learn as many different fruit and vegetable names as possible. Or give them the choice of which vegetables or fruits they want for dinner.  

Let your child begin to delight in the way food reaches their table by showing them animals and plants being farmed. Most regions have city or rural farms allowing visitors. By helping toddlers begin to understand food, you’re helping them to make a better choice about what they eat.