Whether you’re an experienced parent, doing it for the first time or have a very short babysitting resume, there’s one thing everyone can agree on. Kids can be picky eaters, which in turn can be a real pain for those feeding them. We all know that kids can’t be put in charge of their own eating habits. Your kid’s diet would never be balanced enough if they had total control.
I mean, put a carrot and a chocolate bar in front of them and which do you think they’ll pick?
The point is that children need a balanced diet to grow up to be healthy and strong. As their caregivers, it is our duty to make sure that children grow up around happy and healthy eating habits that they’ll take into the rest of their lives.
Eating Healthy for Vision
Creating a balanced diet for your children won’t just benefit their overall health and development, but it will also keep their eyes healthy. It’s no secret that a good diet will improve your eyesight and keep is strong for a lifetime.
However, eating healthy is especially important for children, whose eyes are constantly developing until the age of 18. Without a balanced diet, kids run the risk of developing deficiencies. Because children are less in tune with their bodies, it can be more difficult to tell if they have a deficiency unless they visit a doctor.
Vitamin A Deficiency
A vitamin A deficiency is the worst deficiency your eyes could take. Vitamin A is probably the most important vitamin for your eyes. Vitamin A helps to produce these pigments in your eyes that allow you to perceive the entire light spectrum. A lack of production of these pigments can lead to night blindness. Vitamin A is also in charge of keeping the cornea properly moisturized to avoid dry eyes.
A vitamin A deficiency can lead to a number of conditions including dry eyes, night blindness, blurred or cloudy vision and eventually blindness. A vitamin A deficiency is actually the leading cause of preventable blindness in children worldwide, with an estimated 250,000 to 500,000 children going blind due to a lack of vitamin A.
The good news is that this type of blindness, as stated, is completely preventable. There is no reason for any child to suffer from a vitamin A deficiency and to lose their vision because of it. All it takes is a few little tweaks in their diets to significantly improve their vision health.
Eating a Balanced Diet: What to Eat
Eating a balanced diet that is also rich in vitamin A is actually pretty easy when you think about it. Mix in some veggies and fruit into your child’s lunchbox and you’re basically golden. It really doesn’t take much to ward off a vitamin A deficiency.
The trouble arises when your child throws their carrots on the floor in a fit because they don’t like the taste or would rather eat another piece of cheese instead. When you have a finicky eater, meals can be harder to balance.
The best thing to do here is to trick your kids into eating their veggies and fruit if they won’t do it on their own. You only want what’s best for them and sometimes trickery is the answer!
Fruit and Veggie Ideas
Dress up veggies with healthy dips. Alternatives include hummus or a yogurt based dip. Or try making your own! Cooking with your child might even inspire them to want to make their own healthy snacks and meals.
Purees are also a great way to trick your kids into eating their veggies. Try blending carrots into a smooth puree and serving it with a nice sandwich. A carrot puree is basically colorful mashed potatoes right? Sort of, but that’s what you’ll tell your kids.
Fruit is an easy food to get kids to eat. Because fruit is so sweet, you’ll probably have an easier time getting your kids to eat them. But in case they’re still not going for it, try letting them eating it with a little bit of chocolate spread. But only a little!
Provide them with a small portion of chocolate spread with a huge portion of fruit. That way, they can have some fruit with the added dressing, but the rest of the fruit has to be eaten plain.
Your children need you to be their guide when it comes to healthy eating. Lead by example and you’ll be reaping the health benefits just as much as your kids will!
This post originally appeared on Rebuild Your Vision.