How to Teach Nutrition to Kids

Co-authored by Andrea Rudominer, MD, MPH

Last Updated: February 4, 2023 References

Teaching kids about food and nutrition is an important job, whether you are a parent, relative, or work with children. Focus on balance and variety, and getting the right amounts of nutrients. And of course, try to have fun with it! Kids can learn about nutrition through following your behavior, having open conversations, and through interesting activities.

Part 1

Part 1 of 2:

Helping Kids to Learn About Food

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Talk about food and nutrition regularly. This can be at any time, but is most likely to happen during mealtimes or while cooking food. For younger children, this can be about the color, texture and smell of foods. For older kids, this involves talking about the nutrients that different foods can give them, and the different ways that the food can be prepared. ^{[1]
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- Have open discussions about food and nutrition rather than give lectures. ^{[2]
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  Expert Source
  
  Andrea Rudominer, MD, MPH
  Board Certified Pediatrician & Board Certified Integrative Medicine Doctor
  
  Expert Interview. 13 April 2020.} Ask the kids questions like “what sort of food do you think this is?” or “how did this food grow?” to have an open conversation.
- Make sure to ask kids about their favorite healthy food options, such as, “What is your favorite vegetable?” and “What fruits do you like best?”
- Talking about the differences between fruits, vegetables, proteins, fats, and carbohydrates is also a good conversation to have. Explain how they need some foods from all of those groups every day to keep them feeling good.
2
Include all food types for balance during meals. This means making sure that the kids are getting protein, carbohydrates, fats, fruits, and vegetables throughout the day. Including a wide variety of foods, and not excluding or forbidding any will keep them balanced and well. ^{[3]
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- Some good options for balanced meals are fish, chicken, or lean red meat, with 2 or 3 different vegetables such as potato, carrot, or peas. For lunches, whole-grain bread with a few slices of cheese, a yogurt, and 2 pieces of fruit is ideal. Brown rice, lentils, and chickpeas are good sources of plant-based protein.
- Although it can be tempting to forbid “junk” type foods, this will only make the kids want to eat them even more. Strive for balance and include them on occasion, turning these foods into an exciting treat.
- Make sure that you model healthy eating for them by choosing healthy foods yourself.
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Give them freedom to choose between two choices. ^{[4]
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Expert Source

Andrea Rudominer, MD, MPH
Board Certified Pediatrician & Board Certified Integrative Medicine Doctor

Expert Interview. 13 April 2020.} Rather than insisting that they eat cauliflower at a particular meal, ask “would you like red peppers or broccoli today?” Kids tend to be both more willing, and will eat more of foods that they pick themselves. ^{[5]
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- This also helps the kids to be independent and to grow in confidence towards choosing the foods they eat.
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Avoid labelling foods as good or bad. Food labels such as good, bad, healthy, unhealthy, or junk can make the child feel guilty for enjoying them. This also readily sets the tone for a parent-child power struggle. ^{[6]
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- Instead, try and keep all food talk within neutral terms. You could talk about how some foods have more protein, how others are full of iron or iodine, and how some foods don’t have as many vitamins.
- It can also be good to talk about food in terms of what advantages it can give to your kids. For example, you could talk about how spinach can give them lots of iron, which will help them to grow. For desserts, you can talk about how good it tastes, and how eating food should be enjoyable.
5
Talk about how eating too much of any one food won’t make them feel good. Eating too much of any type of food isn’t good for anybody, and it won’t give them the right nutrients that their bodies need to function well. For example, if all your kids ate was candy, they would probably get a stomach ache. Similarly, if all they ate was broccoli, they wouldn’t have enough energy to go to school or to play. ^{[7]
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- This opens up another discussion on balance, which is a great way to teach kids about nutrition.
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Part 2

Part 2 of 2:

Using Food and Nutrition Themed Activities

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Use games about food and nutrition to make it fun. There are many tablet applications available to get kids engaged with nutrition, which are available for Apple and Windows devices. Make sure that the apps don’t label foods as “good” or “bad”, but instead focus on balance and variety. ^{[8]
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- This Is My Food helps to teach kids about growing herbs, the digestive process, different food categories, and the nutrients of different food types. ^{[9]
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- Nicholas’ Garden is an app which focuses on cooking and nutrition for kids, encouraging them to try out different flavor combinations and to create their own recipes.
2
Read picture books together about food and nutrition. Green Eggs And Ham by Dr Seuss is great for discussing trying new foods to see what the child likes and dislikes. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle is also a good book to read with younger children about food and nutrition. ^{[10]
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- In The Very Hungry Caterpillar , the caterpillar grows big and strong enough from eating a variety of foods to turn into a butterfly, which is a positive message.
- Make sure to choose books that are age-appropriate.
3
Visit a farmers market with the kids. Farmers markets are the perfect place to explore a wide variety of foods with kids. It also creates a great learning experience for how different sorts of foods grow, and how the foods come to be on their plates. ^{[11]
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US Department of Agriculture
U.S. agency responsible for promoting good agricultural practices and protecting consumers
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- Instead of a farmers market, going berry picking is another good option.
- You could also grow some food with the kids if you have space in the garden. ^{[12]
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  Andrea Rudominer, MD, MPH
  Board Certified Pediatrician & Board Certified Integrative Medicine Doctor
  
  Expert Interview. 13 April 2020.} Strawberries or tomatoes are easy and quick to grow in the backyard, and this will help the kids to see how food is made. It will also give you some yummy produce to enjoy too! ^{[13]
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4
Role play about food and nutrition with older children and teens. Role playing is particularly good for discussing dieting, which is something that more children are being exposed to as social media grows. Create scenarios such as a friend expressing that they want to try a juice cleanse, and have older children act out how they would respond. ^{[14]
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- Other scenarios for role playing include how missing breakfast can make kids feel tired during the day, or how eating too much before dinner and ruining their appetite can result in tension at mealtimes. ^{[15]
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- Role playing is good for sensitive issues such as dieting and weight management, as it lets the kids step out of their own shoes and become somebody else.
- As kids become more comfortable with role playing, this will help to open up the floor to real-life situations, such as if a child feels as though they have to avoid particular foods because they are “bad”. This is the ideal time to talk about body positivity, how diets are harmful, and how eating a wide variety of foods is best.
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Hold a taste test or a play picnic. This activity is perfect for toddlers and younger children, as it will help to introduce them to a wide variety of foods. Let them explore different foods such as chopped up banana, carrots, broccoli, star fruit, and avocado, to see how they smell, feel, look, and taste. ^{[16]
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- For a play picnic, spread a tablecloth on the ground and put out a variety of different foods, such as chopped fruits and vegetables, nuts, and sandwiches, or cooked foods like spaghetti. Encourage the toddlers to explore the foods through play, and to try some foods if they want, but with no pressure to. ^{[17]
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  Expert Source
  
  Andrea Rudominer, MD, MPH
  Board Certified Pediatrician & Board Certified Integrative Medicine Doctor
  
  Expert Interview. 13 April 2020.}
- Even if a child isn’t willing to taste a certain food just yet, they can still be involved in these activities by using their other senses to explore the food, and by having a conversation about it.
- Offer only a small amount of a new food at first, and make sure to indicate that this is an exciting thing, such as by saying, “Guess what!? We get to have some asparagus with dinner tonight!”
6
Involve kids of all ages in preparing and cooking food. Younger children can wash fruits and veggies, or mix salads together. Older kids are able to measure out ingredients, season dishes, and learn about using heat to cook foods. ^{[18]
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- Kids are more likely to enjoy eating foods that they have been involved in preparing. This will also create a good opportunity for talking about the nutrition of different types of foods.
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How can I explain nutrition to my kids?

Andrea Rudominer, MD, MPH
Board Certified Pediatrician
Dr. Andrea Rudominer is a board certified Pediatrician and board certified Integrative Medicine Doctor based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Dr. Rudominer has over 15 years of medical care experience and specializes in preventive health care, obesity, adolescent care, ADHD, and culturally competent care. Dr. Rudominer received her MD from the University of California, Davis, and completed a residency at the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford University. Dr. Rudominer also has an MPH in Maternal Child Health from the University of California, Berkeley. She is a Member of the American Board of Pediatrics, a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, a Member and Delegate of the California Medical Association, and a Member of the Santa Clara County Medical Association.

Andrea Rudominer, MD, MPH

Board Certified Pediatrician

Expert Answer

Try to make eating food an exciting experience for your child. Have them help you cook and choose ingredients. As you're cooking, talk to your child about foods that will make their body strong and healthy.

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Tips

If mealtimes are stressful due to kids being picky eaters, pick a different time to discuss food and nutrition when there is less tension and pressure.

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Warnings

Never talk about foods in terms of weight gain or loss. This won’t be helpful to the children, and can instil fear and guilt. Always focus on balance and variety instead.

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Expert Source

Andrea Rudominer, MD, MPH
Board Certified Pediatrician & Board Certified Integrative Medicine Doctor

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How to Teach Nutrition to Kids

Steps

Helping Kids to Learn About Food

Using Food and Nutrition Themed Activities

Expert Q&A

Tips

Warnings

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References

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