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Food labels

Unlocking the mystery of nutrition and empowering kids to understand food labels

The ingredients that make up a dish are very important and as we are getting prepared food all too often, reading and understanding the labels to see what in inside is a must teach to your kids.

When you first think about teaching your kids to read labels and understand ingredients, it can be quite overwhelming.  So think about how your children will react when you try to integrate this knowledge into their heads.  However, once you get the repetition down the overall result will leave them thinking about health and nutrition almost every time they eat.

Learning to read labels and find the ingredients

Make a resolution and start training them in understanding food labels as soon as they can read. It will easier than you think. As with anything, kids will learn the concept quicker than adults. Kids are natural learners. 

At your age, can you imagine trying to learn Geometry today if you had no prior knowledge of it?  It would be quite difficult, right?  Well, even though it may take a few tries when reading labels, your children will pick up on everything quicker than you did.  Just keep in mind it might be a challenge in the beginning.  The best way to start is by getting out a box of cereal.  The labels are bigger and showing them which ones have low sugar and high fiber will begin the process

Teach them first how to choose the healthy options and how to look for certain aspects for different foods such as low sugar and high fiber for cereal in breakfast cereals. 

The average calorie intake

Food labels are based on an average 2,000 calorie diet. The diet of moderately active adult man. So you will need to teach them what their healthy estimation should be for their age, size, and activity level. 

Make sure your children know this and then incorporate what is appropriate for them.  This will be based on how old they are, how much they weigh, and how active they are in everyday life.  Since everyone is unique, the recommended numbers will vary, but staying within the right amount will be crucial over their young years.

Give food label tasks that are age appropriate. Young kids can learn only about sugars and fats on the labels. Tweens will move to everything else they can read on the label. That way you can expect your teens to be fully knowledgeable about food and nutrition and be ready to fly away from the nest without straying from their healthy eating path. 

The trick behind pronunciation

Okay, are you ready for this one?  As your educational time grows and the children start to ask more questions, they're going to wonder how you pronounce half the things they find on a label.  Instead of tripping over the words yourself, one thing to remember is if you can't pronounce it, most likely it's not good for you or your children.  So pass this one on and it will help tremendously.

Foods that have strange names, or difficult to read, are probably not suitable for kids. A good idea is tell kids that if they can't pronounce it, then it's probably not good for them. 

Teaching appropiate portions

The information on serving size helps you teach them about portions. Beware, the fact it gives a serving size on the label does not mean that size is a healthy portion. Check to see if the servings on the container are the servings you are actually eating regularly. Let your kids know that servings over 400 calories are high. 

The aim of this exercise is to always keep sodium, saturated fats, trans fats, and cholesterol low. Give special attention to sodium as it is one of the main problems with prepared foods. Sodium in the whole package should be under 140mg to keep it low per serving. Your kids are worth the effort.

What's the benefit

You probably already know the answer to this, but to be honest there is more than one.  Teaching your kids to read labels will leave them curious about different foods.  This will promote nutritional value, and even get them to try new foods.  If they understand that healthy food doesn't mean bad taste, then it will make your job a whole lot easier in the end.